Create 6- or 15-Second Videos On The Fly

Video performance via social channels can be a bit of a mixed bag, with performance varying from channel to channel.

YouTube is a rockstar, but few marketers understand how to make it work. Facebook stripped back video in the News Feed in early 2018. LinkedIn’s only really come to the party in the last 18 months, and Instagram video performance lags photos by a large margin.

But, that is on the organic side of things.

On the paid side of the equation, social video ads have become increasingly popular, now driving one out of three ad dollars.

Social video ads come to life in a variety of placement and formats, from feeds to Stories, trending topics, outstream, pre-roll, mid-roll, Carousels and Collections. To name a few.

And that’s before you get into the various strategic applications.

However, while video ad campaigns are very much de rigueur, with online video consumption exploding due to lockdown, it’s all somewhat moot if you do not have any vids ads.

Thankfully, Google has now made its free YouTube Video Builder available for beta access, which should make life a bit easier for those wanting some quick video ads.

Ali Miller, Director, Product Management, YouTube Ads

“Because businesses of all sizes are strapped for time and resources and in-person video shoots are no longer practical in many countries, we are accelerating the next stage of Video Builder availability.

With this tool, any business who needs a video can create one that helps connect with their customers and keep them informed, whether through an advertising campaign, website or email.”

Building on from the Bumper Builder which YouTube launched in 2019, the snappily named,  YouTube Video Builder is a lightweight tool that lets businesses animate static assets, like text, images and logos, with music and transitions for ads on YouTube.

Easy Video Production Wins

You can choose from a variety of YouTube-optimised video layouts based on your message and goals, customise visual aspects like colours and font, and quickly generate a short YouTube video (6 seconds, 15 seconds, or 16 seconds).

A restaurant may want to communicate changing hours or promotions, while a supermarket may highlight new services like roadside pickup. For brands or agencies with existing video resources, Video Builder can help bring agility and experimentation to the creation process by generating supplemental, lightweight videos.

For smaller businesses and those with less creative experience, it can provide an efficient, low-resource way to create videos, perhaps even for the first time.

Before you can use Video Builder, you’ll need to request access using this form. Most requests are handled within five business days.

In the form, enter all required information. The email address that you provide in the form should be the same email address that you use for your Google Account. If you’re not sure, check if your email address is connected to a Google Account. If you don’t have a Google Account, connect your non-Gmail email address to a Google Account.

To open Video Builder, go to http://director.youtube.com/videobuilder. If you don’t have access yet, you will see an error message.

Video Editing Tools & Templates Galore  

YouTube’s latest video offering is one in a long line of streamlined, and/or templated, video production tools in the marketplace.

Until now, the majority have been standalone design businesses, such as Biteable, but increasingly platforms are starting to take note.

Facebook launched its Video Creation Kit in 2018 and more recently, in February, video platform Vimeo launched its new Vimeo Create platform.

Vimeo’s offering is perhaps more comprehensive than YouTube’s at present, at launch Vimeo claimed:

“Small business owners want to be creating video, but only 22% felt they created enough in 2019. Hurdles like time, cost and complexity were real, imposing barriers for too many businesses to make video.

In fact, nearly all (96%) small businesses said they would create more video if these

Given the volume and level of video which organisations need to produce nowadays there is probably a place for all: YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Biteable, Shootsta and anything else which reduces creative barriers to entry.