7 Overlooked Must-Have Elements for App Marketing Video

App previews, or video promo, are nowadays essential in any App Store Optimization (ASO) strategy.

By working with many clients over the years to help them create app videos that would lead to increased user engagement, we’ve seen common mistakes when they first come to us with video ideas. In this post, we will share with you the top 7 overlooked video elements that your app marketing video must have.

This is a guest blog written by Hugh Kimura, Inbound Marketing Manager at Apptamin.

1. Win 5-second battles with your preview video

The first 5 seconds of your video are super important because it will determine if the person will keep watching or look for one of your competitors.

But that’s not all…

You want to win the next 5 seconds…

…and the 5 seconds after that.

So keep your preview video moving and interesting.

• Show the best benefits of your app first, as users will probably only watch part of your video before deciding to download your app or not.
• At the same time, don’t try to cram every single feature of your app into your video. Stick to the top three or four benefits and know when to stop.

2. Know the platform where you want to show your app video

Why would you use the same video for AppleTV and Instagram? Their size requirements are totally different.

• Text and details that you might be able to see easily on Apple TV probably won’t be as readable on smaller devices. The same goes for logos and pictures.

• In addition, the video content that does well on Google Play probably won’t do quite as well on Instagram, as users are looking for different things. Instagram is more about showing lifestyles (how people use your app), while you want to highlight the best features of your app on Google Play.

One platform that you should pay particular attention to is the App Store. They have strict requirements, when it comes to what you can have in your video. Get the complete details here.

3. Create preview videos without sound

The most effective app marketing videos get downloads without making a sound. This is because these videos assume that people will be watching the video with the sound off.

If you think about platforms like Facebook or Instagram, you will understand why this is important. Quite often, users will watch your video on a platform where the sound is turned off by default.

Therefore, you should create your app promo video with this in mind. You can create great sound effects and voiceovers for your videos, but remember that it is not the most important thing.

4. Keep your app preview videos simple

There is nothing wrong with creating your own app promo video, even if you have never done it before. But it can be easy to get in over your head.

• The key to creating a killer app video, as a beginner, is to keep things as simple as possible. App marketers run into problems when they try to use all of the tools at their disposal (at the same time) or use tools that they have not mastered yet. For example, you may want to create a fancy animation for the beginning of your video. But if you have no experience with motion graphics, then you are probably better off with a static image.

• Another mistake that we commonly see is the overuse of complicated transitions between scenes. If you know how to use Photoshop, then this is kind of like using drop shadow on text all the time. It is something that only newbies do and everyone can spot it from a mile away.

• Keeping it simple also applies when you hire a professional to do it for you. While a video where a bear morphs into a unicorn and then into a phoenix is pretty cool, it probably won’t get more people to download your recipe app.

5. Be wary of copyright violations

It can be really easy to include assets in your video that violate copyrights. You might think that nobody will notice if you include that one small picture, a person in the background or a short music clip, but it isn’t worth it to find out.

You can buy stock assets or get custom graphics, music, and simple animation done relatively inexpensively. So don’t be cheap and do it right the first time.

Violating copyrights could get your app banned or at least give your company a bad name. Even if you never get caught, violating copyrights is just the wrong thing to do. Put yourself in the other other person’s shoes – how would you feel if someone stole your stuff?

When in doubt, ask or leave it out.

6. Research well before creating an app video

If you have cool features, graphics, and raving fans for your app or game, don’t keep them a secret. This might sound weird, but some app publishers don’t put their best marketing in a marketing video.

We aren’t sure why this is, but sometimes when you are so involved in your app on a daily basis, you take certain things for granted. So before you create your video, take some time to read your app reviews and ask people what they like the most about your app.

The best parts of your app might not be what you think.

7. Add relevant prompts in your video to guide users

Finally, even if your video fulfills all of the criteria above and the person watching your video is super excited about your app, your efforts could be in vain if you don’t tell the viewer what to do next.

Tell the person watching to download your app. Which app store should they go to? What is the name of your app? Is there a keyword that they could search for that would make it easier to find your app?

If your primary goal isn’t for people to download your app, then be sure to know your desired outcome. What should they do next?

Be specific.

When you ask for what you want, you are more likely to get it. This sounds elementary, but it is often overlooked. Notice how many times this video shows which app stores you can get the app in.

Conclusion

Regardless if you are working on your first app promo video, or your fifth, we hope that these tips will help you create app marketing videos that entertain, educate and most importantly…get downloads.

Do you have any other questions about creating app marketing videos? Let me know in the comments below…