While there may not be a magical formula that advertisers can use in order to create a wildly successful Facebook campaign, there are certain things you can do to increase your ad’s likelihood of success. You may have heard that movement attracts users to your ads, but we wanted to put that to the test. So, our advertising team created a Facebook experiment comparing the results of image-based ads and video-based ads. Let’s dig into the experiment and conclusion!
Here are the designs we tested:
Let's dig into the data...
In order to compare the results of our ten-day experiment, we've screenshot the results below and highlighted the information that's pertinent to analyze. So, let's dig in!
CTR COMPARISON
So, it seems what everyone has been saying may have some validity! The three video-based ads garnered CTRs at 2.38%, 1.99%, 1.66%, and 1.05% while the 4 of 6 of the image-based ads were under 1.3% (aside from two outliers that produced 3.48% and 3.88% CTRs). However, this hasn't proved anything concrete yet. So, let's keep looking at the data!
VIDEO PERCENTAGE WATCHED
Now, this is truly impressive! Each of these videos ran between 4-5 seconds and their average "video percentage watched" is staggering - 573.83%, 389.80%, 542.27%, and 531.17%. That means users stopped and watched these videos for 20-25 seconds ON AVERAGE.
This is powerful - imagine scrolling on through your Facebook feed. Typically, users scroll past ads because well... they're ads and their eyes simply glaze over. That's an issue many Facebook advertisers run into - how can I stand out and catch their attention between their best friend's post, memes, animal videos, etc. How can I stand out?
By simply using movement within our ads, users stopped and paid attention. We snagged their attention and halted the monotonous newsfeed scroll. With users spending 20-25 seconds watching your video and reading your ad copy, it makes total sense why the CTR were higher than the image-based ads.
CONVERSIONS (THANK YOU PAGE)
Does anyone else notice something extremely compelling about these video-based ads vs image-based ads? ALL OF THE CONVERSIONS RESULTED FROM THE VIDEO-BASED ADS. Not a single conversion took place on any of our image-based ads.
This is even more interesting considering all of the image-based ads garnered a significantly higher amount of impressions and clicks than any of our video-based ads. Take a look at the numbers - the video-based ads received anywhere from 1,148-2,346 impressions while the image-based ads received a range from 1,669-22,690 impressions. Clearly, movement within the ads is like glimmering jewelry in the ocean.
CPC & COST PER RESULT
Now, here's where it gets crazy. If you review the data, image-based ads CPC and cost per result are exponentially lower than video-based ads. Even with the extremely low and seemingly advantageous CPC & cost per result, these ads couldn't convert?
Image-based ad's average CPC: $0.41
Video-based ad's average CPC: $1.41.
Image-based cost per result (landing page view): $0.84
Video-based cost per result (landing page view): $3.49
TOTAL SPEND
The entire campaign resulted in a total spend of $481.02. Roughly 30% of the budget was spent on video-based ads while 70% was spent on image-based ads. This is incredible considering the CPC was much lower for the image-based ads - although the CPC was wildly low, these ads ate the majority of the budget and had nothing to show for it.
Total spent on video-based ads: $141.26 (producing 7 conversions)
Total spent on image-based ads: $339.76 (producing 0 conversions)
So, what's the verdict?
Clear Champion: Video-based ads
I mean... did you read the information above? The clear champion of our Facebook experiment is the video-based ads. While their CPCs and cost per results were pricier than the image-based ads, they proved to be way more successful in driving conversions and capturing user's attention.
Image-based ads you have some explaining to do. You had more impressions, more clicks, lower CPCs, lower cost per conversions, and STILL didn't result in any conversions? Shame on you!
Oh, BTW! Did you know that more than 50% professionals around the globe consider video to be the type of content that promises the highest ROI? Find out more in our blog about why you should use videos in your content marketing!
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Morgan Rudd
Creative Marketing Manager
Morgan is the head of our Paid Search Management and Graphic Design departments at Atlantic Health Solutions, a boutique healthcare marketing agency specializing in digital and creative marketing.