With the rapid development of technology, creating video content, particularly ads, has become trickier.

Google Indonesia creative lead Ishak Reza said during a press conference in late August that video viewers’ behavior had changed in the past 20 years.

Instead of television, viewers nowadays spend more time on mobile phones.

“They’re holding smartphones while they’re watching television,” he said.

Ishak also said that viewers had become more active in looking for content.

“In the past, we [received] every content [that appeared] on television. [Now], if the content isn’t interesting, we will shift to our smartphones,” he said.

Although the behavior has changed, Ishak said that many brands or creative agencies were under the impression that people were sitting still when they watched video ads.

Many also create ads with the flow of a movie, kicking off the video with an introduction and putting the important part in the middle or the end.

With that in mind, Ishak shared three tips to make YouTube ads more effective.

Read also: 'Create with Google' platform for creative makers launched in Jakarta

Google Indonesia creative lead Ishak Reza during an interview with The Jakarta Post. (JP/Narabeto Korohama )

The three-second rule

Ishak suggests brands or creative agencies try winning the viewers within the first three seconds. He said that most people placed their thumbs on the “skip” button when watching a video advertising campaign on YouTube.

To keep the viewers captivated, Ishak suggests putting something unexpected at the beginning of the video, saying that emotional scenes or facial expressions could also help keep the viewer’s attention to the ad. 

Make ads for small screens

Brands and creative agencies are recommended to consider smartphones' 3-inch screens when creating ads as most people tend to spend more time on mobile phones.

Some things to consider include bigger text and brightness.

Large-font text is said to help people read the message more easily. 

For brightness, Ishak says that as most people use battery-saving mode on their smartphones, viewers will not be able to see an ad clearly if it is too dark.

Personalized videos

Ishak says that many brands or creative agencies have a tendency to make one video advertisement for all audiences.

“Each generation has their own perception [and preferences],” he said.

Since one video advertisement for all is not an effective approach, Ishak recommends making personalized videos for each target market.

“We need to create a video with different contexts depending on the target audience,” he said. (wng)