What is a pre roll? Pre-roll script: how to create an effective promotional video

Many companies order advertising in video blogs. Thus, Samsung organized a battle of bloggers in Asia, Unilever made Katya Clapp and Max +100500 Ax ambassadors, and L’Oreal organized testing of its products among popular beauty bloggers.

Effectiveness of the official Samsung channel and video bloggers ()

When collaborating with novice video bloggers, an advertiser may be faced with their reluctance to write a script and shoot a commercial for the customer. They charge inexpensively for publishing advertisements, but are not willing to pay attention to filming the advertising product. Advertisers have to make videos for embedding themselves.

If the budget allows, it is better to entrust the script writing and filming to an agency. If you have less money than you would like, you will have to cope on your own.

Features of creating an advertising video

A person's attention span decreased to 8 seconds and became less than that of aquarium fish, in which this figure is even slightly higher – about 9 seconds.

In advertising, the conditions are even more stringent: it is believed that you need to attract the attention of a potential client in 5 seconds. If it fails, he will go to competitors. That's why it's so important to create quality product, which you want to watch to the end.

You only have 5 seconds to convince a person to watch the entire commercial.

We have already talked about the technical intricacies of shooting an interesting advertising video. Now let’s talk about something else - how to write a script for a video so that it can be shortened without compromising the meaning.

How a script is created

Decide why the video is being shot and what the task is. The very first seconds of the commercial should be aimed at solving it. And most importantly, they must capture the audience's attention. Ideally, they will be built around the problem of your target audience and the solution you propose.

A person must clearly see that their problem is solved with the help of your product or service.

If the viewer is interested, he will continue to watch the video. Here it’s worth talking about the features of the product, its uniqueness and dissimilarity from a dozen analogues.

Google has two placement options:

• Ads appear at the beginning, middle or end of a YouTube video, and the Skip button appears after 5 seconds
• Advertising videos lasting 15-30 seconds, which are shown on the display network. You can't miss them.

VKontakte allows you to add short video content to already published video content. commercials for 15-20 seconds. Some time after the advertisement starts, a button to skip the advertisement appears. If the video is interesting, the viewer clicks on it to watch it in its entirety.

What should the pre-roll script be like? When writing a script, it is important to compose the video so that it is suitable for both a 30-second pre-roll in a blogger’s video and for advertising through Google AdWords, where there are only 5 seconds to interest the viewer.

There is a popular formula for creating a 30-second video:

• Say it (first 5 seconds)
• Explain it (20 seconds)
• Repeat this (final 5 seconds)

The principle of a ring composition helps to “fix” information in the viewer’s head. The better the information is remembered, the more likely it is that the viewer will make the decision the advertiser needs.

The formula works on longer videos too. Therefore, we recommend using it when creating a script. That is, at the beginning, report the problem and the existing solution. Then show how the problem is solved. And at the end - repeat what was said.

This is also beneficial from the point of view that from a full-length video with an exciting beginning, you can make a mini-video simply by using the first five seconds. You won't have to make another video, which means saving time and money.

1. The first 5 seconds are catchy phrases, relevant questions for the target audience, provocation.
2. The next 5 seconds - introduction, name of the video/brand, slogan.
3. The next 15 seconds are a story about how the viewer’s problem is solved using your product. Persuasive arguments, sometimes a call to action is used.
4. Final 5 seconds. Repetition of the main idea of ​​the video, demonstration of the product/link.

Another important point, regarding advertising videos for video bloggers and YouTube channels. The script should be written with a view to persuasion, not imposition of a product. That is, the resulting video should convince the viewer of something, and not sell him a specific product.

There is enough imposition in traditional advertising. Video bloggers present information more gently, organically woven into the topic of the video. They infect their audience with the desire to buy a product or perform some action, rather than requiring them to do so. Roughly speaking, the phrase “look at this cool thing I have” will work better than “we’re all buying product X.”

What a pre-roll video could be like

Let's say you already have a video, and the blogger agrees to post it. But for another site a pre-roll was needed. What to do in this situation?

There are several options here. You can make a successful cut of frames from the finished video with new voice acting. It will turn out interesting and inexpensive.

You can simply use the first 30 seconds of the finished video as a pre-roll. If the advertisement was filmed according to all the rules, then even if it is cut down to 5 seconds, the essence of the advertising message will be preserved.

There is a third option. In the pre-roll some kind of important question, and the answer is promised at the end of the video. If raised important topic, the viewer will view all the advertising material.

But you can do something fundamentally different. Screenwriters are happy to use a technique called “twist”: an unexpected plot twist. The illogicality, suddenness, and strangeness of the actions of one of the characters “hook” the viewer, making him want to watch the video to the end in order to understand what is happening and how it will all end.

This is what the American did, for example. Insurance Company Geico. Her commercials ended just as the "Skip" button appeared. And the viewer had to choose - watch an interesting advertising video to the end, or press the button. One of the most memorable pre-rolls for the audience showed a family sitting decorously at the dinner table, and at the fifth second a dog jumped onto the table, starting to eat the prepared dinner.

Another successful example was given to us by the Opel automaker. While advertising their new SUV, they decided to use increased attention viewers to the “Skip” button for their own purposes. In pre-rolls, the car interacted with the button - drove around it, crashed into it, etc. It was funny and unusual. And the audience watched the entire video.

Thus, when writing a script, you need to remember that the goal of the entire video, as well as the pre-roll, is to infect the audience with emotions and be remembered by them. The examples above show that this is quite possible.

If you don’t have enough ideas, you can watch top video blogs. Many bloggers have successful examples of pre-rolls and full-fledged advertising videos. This is a good source of inspiration. So feel free to use other people's experiences to your advantage.

Where to post the finished video

Choose an advertising channel that targets your audience. VKontakte, AdWords, Facebook - there are enough options. We also recommend making more active use of the capabilities of video bloggers by publishing advertisements through the Webartex service. Here you can quickly find a channel with the target audience you need, and for little money show potential clients information that is useful to them.

Pre-roll - a truth that will fascinate many! Greetings to all readers of the blog "From words to deeds!" Today we continue the topic of advertising channels on Youtube and everything connected with it. I am finally convinced that the prices for pre-rolls from our popular video bloggers are greatly inflated and in most cases, you will not get the promised (desired) result for your money. This, of course, does not mean that pre-rolls do not work, but you also need to buy them correctly. But let's put everything in order...

Pre-roll(Pre-roll) — what is a pre-roll? A pre-roll is an advertising video that is loaded at the beginning of the video (usually a short video of 10-20 seconds of advertising nature). There is also another concept "Post-roll"- this is the same thing, but the video is inserted at the end of the main video material. Post-rolls are slightly cheaper than pre-rolls, since according to statistics, not all users watch the video to the end (about one in three).

I think we’ve sorted out the terminology a little (what if someone doesn’t know). Now let's move on. The problem is that subscribers of popular video bloggers are already so accustomed to advertising at the beginning of the video that they don’t even perceive it! They just scroll for 15 - 20 seconds. and that's all... Very low percentage of transitions! This is partly due to the fact that the advertisement, in fact, goes to the same channel on a similar topic, but it’s just not as popular, not as promoted and does not have as much activity as on the channel on which a person sees the advertisement!

And activity is very important! In this case, the herd instinct works, if everyone is there, then I am there, and if there is no one there, then I don’t need to go there either! I have even observed situations on popular channels when there is a group of people (almost all popular video bloggers have these groups of fans of the channel) who are not as interested in the content itself as in the party on the channel. They “compete” with each other to see who will be the first commentator (that is, they sit on the channel page and wait for an update, knowing the time the video will be released). They communicate with each other in the comments and why do they need a new unfamiliar party! Such people completely ignore the pre-roll in most cases without even watching it!

Now about the channel topics for ordering a pre-roll! Almost all gurus advise advertising on channels with similar topics! Miss again!!! I think this is not entirely correct! Let's remember: a popular channel, its own party, frantic activity, etc.! Viewers are already subscribed to this channel! I think that you need to select channels for advertising where there is not a big difference in the advertised content! Not coordinated, not big! It is clear that if subscribers on a channel regularly watch, for example, videos on topics such as “cheap cars from Europe,” and you send them advertising like “how to care for indoor plants,” this is an immediate failure. Advertising should be in context but not like a carbon copy of a similar channel! I think I explained it clearly.

So, just buying a pre-roll to start a channel on YouTube is not enough, my friends! I’ll say even more - you can buy a dozen pre-rolls and not get results! Since the “trick” of the channel and its content are much more important! If there is a feature + cool content, then a very small push of 2-3 pre-rolls on popular channels will be enough for you to start and the YouTube audience will already know about you. If the content is so-so, above the YouTube average, then you need more pre-rolls, people will subscribe, but weakly, sluggishly... But if the content is frank....., I think everything is clear here, I won’t even write it.

So whether to buy a pre-roll or not is up to everyone to decide for themselves. I bought one pre-roll from one popular channel and that video received 400,000 views on the author’s channel. 100+ people have subscribed to mine. Just some 100 people!!! This is a very small percentage. The videos on my channel are no worse, and the editing is even better, but in fact there are only 100 subscribers. These are the pies.

I started to analyze the situation and it turned out that people just stupidly waste the pre-roll and don’t watch it at all!!! On this channel, where I ordered a pre-roll, videos are released every day (we must pay tribute to the author’s ability to work) and its viewers are so accustomed to the fact that from 5 to 20 seconds there is a pre-roll (advertising for another channel) that they reflexively turn on the video from 20+ seconds. This is clearly visible in the analytics. The author, by the way, is a great guy (he answered all the questions correctly, provided all the statistics), but that’s understandable - it’s his money! But the exhaust from the pre-roll was very weak!

Looking at this situation, I think that ordering a pre-roll on mega popular channels is a waste of money! The viewer stupidly skips and doesn’t look. Now I want to try to order a couple of post-rolls and see what happens.

This post was written by me a long time ago, but unfortunately it got lost in the blog drafts and was not published right away! So I’m making up for this mistake and publishing a post about pre-rolls. Well, the next post is about ordering contextual advertising in AdWords and its results. So, whoever is in the know, subscribe (subscription form below) so as not to miss my new posts, we’ll test it together!

Buy and order pre-roll

NOTES
Channels on business, earnings, reviews, etc. are accepted.
Channels not allowed: children's, cooking and vlogs
We can refuse without explanation
Advertising remains for the entire duration of the channel’s existence

What is Pre-roll?
If you explain in simple words, then this is an advertisement, for example, of a website, store, channel, event (or anything else), at the beginning of a video on YouTube. Usually it takes from 10 to 15 seconds, no less and no more.
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In fact, this is the best type of advertising today. It gives you direct viewers from a particular channel. Approximate statistics of clicks on your link (to your website) - 20% of viewers of the video where your pre-roll was posted.

This is a fairly large number, and therefore this type of advertising is very popular. The big advantage is that visitors and potential clients from one posted pre-roll will be permanent, because the video is not deleted and it also appears in the search query. So investing in this type of advertising is an excellent investment that will bear fruit for many years.

​Why is Preroll so effective?
Everything is very simple, people don’t just go to this or that channel, but in order to get what they want, for example, find out the news, find out how it’s done, watch their favorite video blogger, learn something. After all, YouTube is a huge network where people want to find something for some purpose. And of course, they will watch the beginning of the video for these 15 seconds, and as we know, if the advertisement is intriguing and necessary for us, we will go through it.
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When a video with your Pre-roll comes out, it gains the peak of views and referrals to you, then within 2-3 weeks the number decreases significantly, and then becomes a small but stable source of your traffic and possible sales or clients (depending on what you offer).
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Here are examples:
1. I’ll take as an example my channel on the topic of Business on the Internet, with 10,000 subscribers on the channel, the video will be viewed on the first day by 2,000 people, in a month, perhaps from 200 to 2,000 people will watch it per day.
2. Children's channel Miss Katya - more than 2,000,000 subscribers, a new video on the first day will be watched more than 6,000,000 times, and then a month later the video will have 30,000 views per day.
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What this means depends on the topic of the channel and the advertising you want to offer. You shouldn’t order a pre-roll for a channel about business if you advertise diapers, and you shouldn’t order advertising for a channel about business if you offer frying pans. Order Pre-roll based on your topic, or approximately.
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For example, if my channel has 100,000 subscribers, then it will have equal importance with a children's channel that has 2,000,000 subscribers. It’s very easy to get viewers for a children’s channel, but very difficult for a business channel. The children's channel is watched by children, but the guys with money are talking about business. Remember, friends, all these nuances.
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The more popular the channel, the more expensive advertising is on it. The effect will be faster.