There is no denying that social media ads work. They help you get in touch with your preferred target audience with minimal fuss. However, this is only half the battle. To ensure that your ad will actually have the desired impact, there are quite a few editing tips that you have to keep in mind.
People tend to stay on top of things when they are shooting or creating an ad. It is only when it comes to the editing process that a number of slipups are made. If this is something you want to avoid, then you need to be aware of the following dos and don’ts of editing social media ads.
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Do Stay on Top of Changing Specs
Before you do anything else, make sure that you are aware of the latest social media ad video specs. A refresher may be in order if you haven’t created or launched an ad in a while. These specs actually change rather frequently, across all social media platforms.
Thus, it is a good idea to check on the new specs before starting the editing process. By following the appropriate guidelines, you will reduce the risk of your ad getting rejected. Not to mention, you will not have to re-do all of your editing work. So, make sure to get it right the first time around.
On this note, here are the video specs for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter:
| File Type | most are supported |
| Video Ratio | 9:16 to 16:9 |
| Recommended Resolution | highest-resolution video available that meets file size and ratio limits |
| Video File Size | 4GB max |
| Video Minimum Length (Instream) | 5 seconds |
| Video Maximum Length (Instream) | 15 seconds |
| File Type | MP4 or MOV |
| Video Ratio | depends on format: Square – 1:1 Landscape – 1.91:1 Vertical – 4:5 |
| Recommended Resolution | highest-resolution video available that meets file size and ratio limits |
| Video File Size | up to 4GB max |
| Minimum/Max Resolution | 600 x 315 pixels – 1,936 x 1,936 pixels |
| Video Maximum Length (Instream) | up to 120 seconds |
Read more in our ultimate guide to Instagram videos.
| File Type | MP4 or MOV |
| Video Ratio | 16:9, 9:16, or 1:1 (square) |
| Video Resolution | 720×1280 (portrait), 1280×720 (landscape), 720×720 (square) |
| Video File Size | 1GB |
| Video Maximum Length | up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds |
Don’t Forget About Your Marketing Goal
Quite a bit of work goes into the production process. Due to this, you may end up with more footage on your hands than you expected. What’s more, much of this footage is probably well-shot or produced and contains high-quality content. As a result, you may be hesitant to cut any of the video out.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, shorter ads are often more effective. These days, people on social media have quite a bit to scroll through and explore. So, you can only hold their attention for a few seconds at a time – make this count.
When scientists last checked, it appeared that the human attention span was down to just 8 seconds. Naturally, this can be a too-short frame for most ads. Thus, make sure to give your ad an emotional hook that will help to keep audiences’ attention for a little longer. Even then, you shouldn’t create an ad that goes over 15 seconds.
There is also the fact that you have a marketing goal with your social media ad. If you include too much of media content, you will end up losing out on your original intent. So, make sure that you get rid of anything that is not in line with your original objective.
Do Focus on Seamless Transition
These days, an increasing number of brands are implementing user-generated content into their social media ads. Now, this is an excellent idea since it does have quite a positive impact on your target audience. Nonetheless, you do have to be careful regarding how you go about this.
In many instances, this user-generated content is in the form of images. Thus, you will be tasked with merging all these digital photos into one. As you can imagine, this can be rather tricky. Not only will you have to edit images for uniformity, but you must also merge them together to form a cohesive storyline.
To explain this a little more clearly, let’s imagine that you are a fashion brand that focuses on retro styles. And, to encourage UGC, you have asked your customers to send in side-by-shots of them as well as their old photos of their grandmothers sporting similar styles.
The problem here, of course, is that the quality of some of the older photographs will be naturally compromised. Due to this, your first action should be to edit and restore the photos with the help of digital services, such as instarestoration. This will help to add clarity to the older photos and allow them to be more comparable to the modern images.
The next thing you will need to pay attention to is the transition points of the video. These need to be seamless. This is why it is often much better to opt for simple transitions – you can then ensure that the focus is on the images and not the fancy animations taking place.
Now, remember, these photos do need to tell a story. Thus, when grouping them together, make it a point to create some kind of flow. For instance, staying in line with the above example, you can organize the photos according to decade.
Learn more about slideshow making.
Don’t Rely Only on Audio
On a final note, get into the habit of editing your videos with the sound off. Mute the video and add subtitles as necessary. Why? Well, this is how most people will be watching the ad anyway. Keep in mind, a large majority of your target audience will be using their phones or tablets to access social media platforms.
There is also a good chance that they will be doing so in public. This means that they don’t want people knowing what they are doing. To help with this – and to ensure that your base will not move away from your ad – create a muted version as well. You will notice that these types of videos actually fare rather well.
So, there you have it – the main dos and don’ts of editing social media ads. Before you get started on your next ad, go through these points and determine if there is any information that you can use. In turn, you will find that your efforts are well rewarded on the various social media platforms.
