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22 Google Ads Automated Rules That Will Make Your Life Easier

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22 Google Ads Automated Rules That Will Make Your Life Easier

The world changes fast—and there are few places that show that change as quickly as the Google SERP. Global events, celebrity gossip, and social trending topics can all dominate our search interests and quickly impact the performance of our PPC campaigns.

Even the top searches from 2022 already feel outdated! 

Although the SERP can shift at a minute’s notice, even the most dedicated PPC manager can’t monitor their campaigns 24/7. So how can you keep your ads up to date–even while you sleep?

Luckily, Google Ads allows PPC managers to use automated rules to monitor, change, and optimize their accounts in advance. With some proper planning and foresight, automatic rules can become a powerful tool in your tool belt.

What are Google Ads automated rules?

Automated rules allow advertisers to schedule changes to be made in their Google Ads account. The genius of automated rules is that they’re nearly infinitely flexible in scheduling changes made to your Google Ads account. You can use an automated rule to post one change or thousands–and can schedule them to run just one time or multiple times a day. You can use them to post big changes–such as pausing every campaign in your account, or the smallest changes–such as emailing you the results of your campaign when you return from vacation.

Microsoft Advertising has similar automated rules for their advertisers that can be used in conjunction with Google’s automated rules. Alternatively, advertisers can automate importing changes from their Google Ads accounts directly into Microsoft Advertising to keep their campaigns up in sync with Google and up to date.

How do you create an automated rule in Google Ads?

You can create automated rules directly within Google Ads from the “Tools and settings” menu. Under “Bulk Actions,” select “Rules.”

google ads automated rules - navigation menu in google ads

From here, you can create an automated rule to update any element of your account–campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, asset groups, audiences, demographic targets, or display placements.

Alternatively, when viewing any of these elements of your account, you can create an automated rule by selecting the three dots icon “More” at the far right. From there, select “Create an automated rule.” It will open up the framework to automate the element of your account you are viewing.

google ads automated rules - creating a rule

Every Google Ads automated rule has five main elements in its framework that you can set to automate your campaign to your fitting.

google ads automated rules - setting up an automated rule in google ads screenshot

1. Action: This is what you want Google to change in your account. Big or small–you call the shots. Use automated rules to perform actions such as:

  • Enable
  • Pause
  • Change Budgets
  • Change Bids
  • Change Bid Adjustments
  • Change Final URLs
  • Change Labels
  • Send Email

2. Apply to: Select where you want this action to take place. For instance, do you want it to apply to every campaign (ad, keyword, etc.) in your account? Or do you want to select certain campaigns (ads, keyword, etc.)

3. Conditions: If you like, you can create additional conditions for Google to check before taking this action. These conditions can include any performance metrics (clicks, cost, conversions, CPA, etc) or attribute you can view in Google Ads.

4. Frequency: This is how often you want Google to check this condition and potentially perform this action. You can have these automated rules run:

  • Once, at a set time in the future
  • Hourly
  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly

When setting your frequency, you also choose what time window you want Google to consider when evaluating your condition. For instance, if you want Google to review data from earlier that day, month, or year.

5. Email results: Finally, you can optionally choose to have Google email you, your colleague, or your client. Google can send this email either every time it runs or any time it makes takes an action.

Best practices with Google Ads automated rules

Letting Google automatically post changes in your account is a scary thought to many. Google Ads automated rules can morph from a helpful tool to an active saboteur with the wrong guidance, especially if you’re just getting started.

1. Read your rules out loud first

When creating your automated rule, the setup can feel and sound technical–because it is! Like everything in Google Ads, automated rules were written by programmers, not marketers. To make sure your rules are written correctly, be sure to read back what you’re telling Google to do first.

Use the sentence structure:

At [frequency], check to see if [conditions] are met using data from [date range in set in frequency]. If those conditions are met, then [perform action] in [apply to groups].

See? Technical sounding sentence on its own. Applied to a real rule, this could read:

At 3 p.m. every day, check to see if these campaigns have spent $5,000 so far this month. If that’s the case, then pause these selected campaigns.

2. Always preview results

Before saving your rule, Google allows you to “preview” it in action. This allows Google to check the conditions you’ve set and show you what it would do if that rule ran right now. Google doesn’t post these changes, but it’s a good way to check to see how many changes your new rule could potentially post.

google ads automated rules - rule preview screenshot

3. Be cautious of frequency

One of the most common mistakes that I see advertisers making is having their rules run too frequently or using data from a different time period than their frequency. For instance, an automated rule that runs hourly using data from the day before will complete that action either 0 or 24 times, but never once. Your rule may be set to only raise your budget by $100, but this small mistake could raise it by $2,400 by the end of the day instead!

4. Start off with small changes

Fortune may favor the bold—but don’t automate your boldness! Small changes add up quickly and you don’t want a rogue automated rule to spend your annual budget over the weekend or change your campaigns beyond recognition without your eyes on it! Start off by having Google post smaller changes in the ballpark of 5% to 10% of a value every time it runs first. Once you see that the automated rules are set up, working properly, and contributing to better performance, then you can give them more power to make bigger changes.

22 Google Ads automated rules every advertiser should know

Automated rules have nearly unlimited potential to make managing your Google Ads account easier. With proper planning, you can use them to launch your new campaigns on time, optimize your current ads, keep you informed of your performance, or set up a failsafe to pull in an emergency. Here are some common examples that I use frequently:

Google automated rules for making campaign management easier

Try these automated rules to make managing Google Ads easier.

1. Pausing your campaigns before a holiday

If you know that your business is going to be closed for a few days in advance, you can use this rule to pause your campaigns on time. It’s one less thing to worry about right before your time off.

  • Rule type: Campaign
  • Action: Pause campaigns
  • Apply to: All campaigns
  • Conditions: Campaign status: All enabled
  • Frequency: Once, at end of the business day the day before you close.

google ads automated rules - pause campaigns

2. Enabling your campaigns after a holiday

    Many of these rules have a “sister rule” that reverses them. Set this rule up alongside the rule to pause your campaigns and to make sure that they resume once your team is back to work.

    • Rule type: Campaign
    • Action: Enable campaigns
    • Apply to: Selected campaigns (all that you are currently running)
    • Conditions: None
    • Frequency: Once, at the beginning of the day your return from the holiday.

    If you’re changing your business’s operating hours during a holiday, be sure to update your local listings as well. The LocaliQ Listings Grader can help!

    3. Enabling new ads for a sale or promotion

    Want to make sure your new ads go live right in time for a sale or big event? This rule can save you from having to remember to update your ads on the big day. Consider adding labels to your ads for different sales or promotions to make automation easier. You may also want to schedule a similar rule to enable your usual ads again after a sale.

    • Rule type: Ads
    • Action: Enable ads
    • Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
    • Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ special offer]
    • Frequency: Once, at the time your promotion starts.

    4. Pausing your ads after a sale

    A sister to the previous rule, use this automated rule to pause your usual ads during the event and then pause your sale ads afterward.

    • Rule type: Ads
    • Action: Pause ads
    • Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
    • Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ special offer]
    • Frequency: Once, at the time conclusion of your promotion.

    5. Run different ads at night

    Offers like “24/7 availability” or “Open late” matter to people differently at night. Similarly, if your team doesn’t respond to requests after hours, a more modest call to action may help you guide searches to fill out a form during your off-hours.

    • Rule type: Ads
    • Action: Enable ads
    • Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
    • Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ late-night messaging]
    • Frequency: Daily, at 5 p.m.

    Like most other rules, couple this rule with three sister rules to pause your “daytime” ads daily at 5 p.m., resume your “daytime” ads at 9 a.m., and pause your “nighttime” ads at 9 a.m.

    google ads automated rules - ad on serp with timeframe screenshot

    An example of a search ad that could benefit from this rule, since the business closes at 5 p.m.

    6. Run different ads on the weekend

    Similarly, if you have special rates on weekends or are available when your competitors are closed, those messages may resonate with your weekend searchers. Be sure to pair this rule with sister rules to pause these ads on Monday, resume your weekday ads on Monday, and pause your weekday ads on Friday.

    • Rule type: Ads
    • Action: Enable ads
    • Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
    • Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ weekend messaging]
    • Frequency: Weekly, Saturday at 12am.

    7. Update your final URL

    If you’ve got a new landing page for your ads, this rule can spare you from having a late-night session updating your keyword’s final URL.

    • Rule type: Ads
    • Action: Change keyword final URLs
    • Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
    • Conditions: None
    • Frequency: Once, at a set time

    It’s been proven that having more landing pages generates more leads. So, this Google Ads automated rule can come in handy as you create landing pages optimized for specific PPC keywords.

    landing pages vs leads generated chart

    Rules for making budget management easier

    Try these Google Ads automated rules to simplify budget management.

    8. Prevent your campaigns from overspending their daily budget

    Google infamously can spend up to twice your campaign’s daily budget on any given day. This is a trick to take back control of your campaigns and limit Google’s ability to spend more than a set amount each day.

    • Rule type: Campaigns
    • Action: Pause campaign
    • Apply to: Select campaigns
    • Conditions: Spend > $[your daily budget]
    • Frequency: Hourly, using data from the same day.

    google ads automated rules - campaign spend example

    9. Enabling your campaigns after spending their budget the previous day

    The sister rule to the previous, this will enable the campaigns you paused the previous day.

    • Rule type: Campaigns
    • Action: Enable campaign
    • Apply to: Select campaigns
    • Conditions: Spend > $[your daily budget]
    • Frequency: Daily at 12am, using data from the previous day.

    10. Keeping your monthly budget constant every month

      It’s a silly thing, but marketers know that their set monthly budget doesn’t divide evenly into a daily budget when the months have 28, 30, or 31 days. Manually recalculating budgets every month is a pain and many of us have other priorities on the first day of the month. 10 rules here can save you a year of math.

      • Rule type: Campaigns
      • Action: Change budgets

      Create a different rule for each date, to run once at 12 a.m. on that date and adjust the budget in kind:

      • Feb 1 – Increase daily budgets by 10.7%
      • Mar 1 – Decrease daily budgets by 9.7%
      • Apr 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
      • May 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
      • June 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
      • July 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
      • Sept 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
      • Oct 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
      • Nov 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
      • Dec 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%

      11. Set a weekly budget for your campaigns

        Have a special budget for the holiday week? Or just prefer to manage your campaigns with a weekly budget? This rule has you covered.

        • Rule type: Campaigns
        • Action: Pause campaign
        • Apply to: Select campaigns
        • Conditions: Spend > $[your weekly budget]
        • Frequency: Hourly, using data from this week.

        12. Set a monthly budget for your campaigns

        You can set a max spending limit for your entire account within Google Ads, but if you want to control a set monthly budget for some of your campaigns, you can manage that as well with this rule.

        • Rule type: Campaigns
        • Action: Pause campaign
        • Apply to: Select campaigns
        • Conditions: Spend > $[your monthly budget]
        • Frequency: Hourly, using data from this month.

        google ads automated rules - monthly spend limit screenshot

        An example of setting a monthly spend limit for your entire account. However, Google Ads automated rules can make this setting possible at the campaign level. 

        13. Adjust your budget for the weekend

        Depending on your audience, search traffic might peak or drag on the weekend. You can use dayparting to adjust your bids or ad schedule for the weekends, but you can also adjust your budgets throughout the week to make sure that you can afford more traffic when your best customers are searching for you.

        • Rule type: Campaigns
        • Action: Change budgets
        • Apply to: Select campaigns
        • Conditions: None
        • Frequency: Weekly, on Saturdays at 12am.

        Similarly, create a sister rule to this to reverse this change on Mondays at 12 a.m.

        Google Ads automated rules for managing campaign performance

        Performance in Google Ads can vary from advertiser to advertiser–what’s “good” for a lawyer, might be awful for an ecommerce business. With that in mind, consider your own account performance when creating specific conditions for these rules.

        14. Increase bids if your keywords aren’t showing

        Keywords that don’t show are hard to optimize for. This rule will catch any keywords that aren’t showing because their bid is too low.

        • Rule type: Keywords
        • Action: Raise bids to first page CPC
        • Apply to: All keywords
        • Conditions: Keyword status reason contains any below first-page bid.
        • Frequency: Daily

        15. Increase budget if performance is good

        Search traffic might spike unexpectedly–and this rule can help give your campaigns more marketing budget fuel if they’re performing well. This can be particularly great to implement on big sales events or holidays.

        • Rule type: Campaigns
        • Action: Increase budget by 5%
        • Apply to: Select campaigns
        • Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is hitting your goals
        • Frequency: Daily at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m.; using data from that day

        google ads automated rules - budget increase

        16. Increase bids when performance is good

        Smart bidding can automatically adjust your keyword bids in your account to optimize towards a specific goal, but if you prefer a little bit more control with manual CPC bidding, you can still use automated rules.

        • Rule type: Keywords
        • Action: Increase bids by 5%
        • Apply to: All keywords
        • Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is hitting your goals
        • Frequency: Weekly, using data from the previous week.

        17. Pause campaigns or decrease budgets if performance is poor

        Not all press is good press for your PPC campaigns. You never know when you’re about to be on the receiving end of a lot of poor-quality searches. Treat this rule as your guardrail to prevent a bad day from getting worse.

        • Rule type: Campaign
        • Action: Pause campaign or decrease budget
        • Apply to: Select campaigns
        • Conditions: Spend > [70% of your budget] and CPA (or ROAS) is very bad
        • Frequency: Daily at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m., using data from that day.

        Bear in mind that it may take a few hours for Google to attribute conversions to your campaigns—so set your benchmarks for “very bad” results low here. You’ll also very likely want to have Google email you anytime this rule runs so that you can bring your attention to what caused such a poor-performing day.

        18. Decrease bids if performance is poor

        Light bid adjustments can keep your keywords optimized and reduce wasted spend without you even signing into Google Ads.

        • Rule type: Keywords
        • Action: Decrease bids by 5%
        • Apply to: All keywords
        • Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is 20% or more away from your goal.
        • Frequency: Weekly, using data from the previous week.

        While these Google Ads automated rules are here if you need them, you can stay ahead of these rules by picking the best possible keywords for your account. Use our Free Keyword Tool to get the top keywords for your specific account needs.

        19. Pause low-performing keywords

        Even well-researched keywords may not lead to the results you hoped for. If you find that a keyword is getting a lot of traffic but no conversions, plan to pause it.

        • Rule type: Keywords
        • Action: Pause keyword
        • Apply to: All keywords
        • Conditions: Clicks > 100, Spend is high, and CPA is very poor
        • Frequency: Monthly, using data from the previous month.

        20. Pause low-performing ads

        Ad testing is a vital part of managing your Google Ads campaigns. This rule can help determine the loser of your ad tests and pause poor performing ad in an ad group

        • Rule type: Ads
        • Action: Pause ad
        • Apply to: Ads in selected campaigns (consider only search campaigns, for instance)
        • Conditions: Ad Impressions > 1000, Ad CTR < .5%, and Ad Group CTR > 1%
        • Frequency: Monthly, using data from the previous month.

        Rules for monitoring your campaign activity

        These Google Ads automated rules allow Google to help you keep an eye on campaign activity.

        21. Receive an email if your campaigns aren’t spending their budget.

        If your campaigns aren’t on track to spend their monthly budget, this rule can alert you and let you fix anything before the end of the month.

        • Rule type: Campaign
        • Action: Send email
        • Apply to: All campaigns
        • Conditions: Spend < [33% of monthly budget]
        • Frequency: Monthly on the 15th, using data from the current month

        google ads rules - automation email example

        22. Receive an email if your team isn’t active in your account.

        If you trust a teammate or agency to manage your accounts, it can be frustrating to discover that they aren’t actively touching anything. Without having to check their work, this little rule will alert you if a week goes by without any activity. Some accounts may not require daily or even weekly changes to stay healthy–but this rule can help you keep your trust in your trusted partners.

        • Rule type: Campaign
        • Action: Send email
        • Apply to: All campaigns
        • Conditions: Change history changes = 0
        • Frequency: Weekly, using data from the past week

        Want more ways to optimize your Google Ads account? Try our Free Google Ads Grader to get key insights on Quality Score, Impression Share, and more!

        A good Google Ads automated rule could be your account management hero

        Google Ads automated rules can help make your life managing your PPC campaigns much easier. With a little bit of planning, you can automate several manual tasks to take place—letting you focus on other priorities during your busiest periods or even letting you relax during your break. But remember, Google Ads automated rules are as powerful as you make them—be cautious about how many and how frequently your rules will post changes and check on them frequently until you have them fine-tuned in your account.

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The Easy Guide to Facebook Video Ads for Any Business

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The Easy Guide to Facebook Video Ads for Any Business

Social media platforms are focusing more and more on video content. Facebook used to be a place for folks to upload their photos into albums to keep them organized and share what they’d been up to, but with the increase in popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels, users are now so much more accustomed to scrolling through endless videos designed to make them laugh, cry, or stay informed. With this change in user behavior, it’s now more important than ever to be sure you’re creating engaging content that cuts through the noise and stands out.

facebook video ad example

An example of a Facebook video ad. 

Video ads on the Meta Business platform (which reaches Facebook and Instagram) is a great way to do this. Although the ability to churn out video ads regularly was reserved for brands with big budgets in years past, new tools and AI have helped democratize this and now any brand can advertise using high-quality videos without spending much at all.

In this post, I want to talk through some best practices for Facebook video ads and show you some tools you can use to execute those strategies.

Table of contents

Facebook video ads best practices

Follow these Facebook video ad tips to squeeze the most out of your Facebook ad costs.

1. Create videos in all aspect ratios

If you’ve used Meta Ads recently, you probably know there are tons of different placements your ads can show up on the network. The good news is that to cover this vast list of placements, you only need to come up with three distinct aspect ratios for your video ads:

facebook video ads ratio chartfacebook video ads ratio chart

Having videos in each of these aspect ratios ensures you’re eligible to show in all the placements you’d like to.

We’ll talk later about how you can make these aspect ratios if you don’t have a dedicated creative team, but in the ad creation process, you’re able to select different video files to fit into each aspect ratio. Facebook will then automatically serve the creative with the right sizing for each spot to ensure you have the best-looking ads.

facebook video ad sizing and resizing screenshotfacebook video ad sizing and resizing screenshot

Now, while it might not seem like a huge deal to have all three ratios, I think it’s actually one of the easiest things you can do to help make sure your ads look good and stand out. In the image above, you can easily see how different an ad will look in the vertical and horizontal placements if you only have a square image. They’re not bad, necessarily, but they certainly don’t have the high-quality, professional look that most users have become accustomed to in recent years.

🛑 Want to know how your Facebook ads are really performing? Find out with our free Facebook Ads Performance Grader!

2. Be prepared for all sound options 

If you’re a Facebook or Instagram user, you’ve likely visited the platforms in all sorts of scenarios. With full sound while sitting on your couch or in your bed. Maybe you have your headphones in while out in public, or maybe you’re even one of those crazy people with their sound up on the subway. But odds are, there have been at least a few instances where you were on those platforms and didn’t have the sound on at all. 

For each of these instances, you were bound to see ads and the level of volume you were using likely had an impact on how sticky those ads were for you. Designing your ads to be digestible regardless of a user’s sound level is highly important.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself while crafting Facebook video ads sounds:

  • Do you have an engaging/entertaining voiceover?
  • Is there music you can choose to fit the mood of the ad?
  • Do you have subtitles for the voiceover in case someone’s sound is off?
  • Is the voiceover clear and easily understandable even in a loud environment?

3. Get your main message across in the first 3 seconds

No matter what the original purpose was for someone to visit social media, the main point is that they’re not there to view your ads. I feel very confident in saying that for the majority of people visiting Facebook or Instagram, they’re not there to see what product or service you’re selling.

Similar to ads on YouTube, users are pretty easily able to skip and scroll past the ads on Facebook and Instagram. That is, unless you run non-skippable ads, but those are pretty rare. So, you need to make sure you’re making a big impact in the first few seconds of your ads…before the remainder of it is skipped. If you do a good job of creating a compelling hook in that short time, you can certainly draw their attention for longer, maybe up to 15-30 seconds, some even longer. But odds are, your views will be short so you need to be front-heavy.

In this time, it’s important to get your business name and core brand messaging across so that even if a user does scroll past you, you’ve at least made that much of an impact. They’ll have a higher chance at brand recall later if they’ve heard your name in that brief intro. This can include text, voiceover, business logos, and more, so be creative, engaging, and entertaining.

4. Blend into the platform aesthetic

In my experience, the best ads on Facebook or Instagram (I’m typically an Instagram user) are ones that blend into the platform aesthetic. The ads that typically entice me the most are the ones I don’t really know are ads until I look down to see the Sponsored messaging down at the bottom.

The best way to discover this is to become a user of the platform itself. For Instagram, go to the Explore tab and type in some of your key terms, maybe the same ones you use for search or maybe some terms that mirror the interest or behavior targeting you’re using for your campaigns.

See what the grid looks like. What shows up? What brands are there? How are they marketing to people? While you may not want to become just part of the noise, blending in allows you to make a greater impact and feel more natural to the audience. 

facebook video ads - example of instagram explore gridfacebook video ads - example of instagram explore gridfacebook video ads - instagram grid examplefacebook video ads - instagram grid example

For example, I have a renewed interest in landscape photography and am in the market for a new camera. If I were a camera brand (or someone selling camera-adjacent things), either of the two grids above could help give an idea of what my ads can/should look like to blend into the platform. Then, make sure you follow the other best practices above to get your message across.

💡 Ready to improve your Facebook ads? Get 16 effective strategies for Facebook ads to try now!

5. Retarget users who engage with your videos

I might be biased, but one of the biggest mistakes I think advertisers make is not retargeting people who watch their Facebook videos. Sure, they might find their way to seeing you again through prospecting or they may remember you enough to come back to your site, but why would you target people (who you seemingly thought were valuable) once, then not work to target them again? Especially after they are already aware of you?

On the Facebook ads platform, you can make audiences of users who have engaged with your videos in many different ways. Just head to the Facebook ads audience manager and choose Video as your source for an audience.

facebook video ads - video audience source screenshot facebook video ads - video audience source screenshot

From there, you can choose how they have interacted with those videos. Did they watch the whole thing? A certain percentage of it? Think about where your value propositions and messaging hits in those videos and be sure to include that in your audience filters.

facebook video ads - video engagement audiencefacebook video ads - video engagement audience

Next, you can choose the videos you want to retarget people from. Yes, you can select only certain videos if you think they’re more impactful, part of a separate campaign, etc.

facebook video ads - audience engagement optionsfacebook video ads - audience engagement options

Lastly, you can choose how long you want to reengage with someone who watched those videos for that amount of time. One error I see is always setting the time frame to the longest possible setting. Now be honest…if you saw a video ad once 180 days ago, do you think you’re still a hot prospect for that brand? Probably not. Make sure you keep that in mind when making these audiences. Higher engagers can likely stick around longer, but lower engagers probably should be let free from your retargeting grasp a bit sooner. 

facebook video ads - audience retention lengthfacebook video ads - audience retention length

Helpful Facebook video ad tools

Now that we have some best practices out of the way, I want to talk about how to make the Facebook video ad creatives. Not every Facebook video ad has to be done by a hugely expensive creative shop. Some can be done just as well with your own means, and sometimes for free! Here are some of the top Facebook video ad creative resources your business can take advantage of:

Yes, phone cameras are acceptable

A big expensive camera only makes world-changing videos when there’s an amazing photographer or videographer behind the lens. For most people, a camera phone will do just fine. In many cases, they’ll do better than if you tried to use an expensive camera due to all the ways the tech companies are making them easier to use.

facebook video ads - apple ios facebook video compatibility facebook video ads - apple ios facebook video compatibility

Next time you need to put together a video, take a shot with your phone first. Many times, those videos will turn out great, and will help fit you into the platform aesthetic naturally as much of the content on Facebook and Instagram is also shot on a phone. 

Facebook’s cropping tool

Once you have a video, there are options in Facebook ads to adjust your creatives for different sizes.

facebook video ad - cropping in facebook video ads using facebook's cropping toolfacebook video ad - cropping in facebook video ads using facebook's cropping tool

In the image above, you can see we have a square video that needs cropped to vertical. Granted, this would be a terrible user experience, but if your video does lend itself to this easy cropping, there is an option directly within Facebook to do that for you.

Facebook video builder

If you don’t already have any creatives and you need to build something almost from scratch, Facebook also has a video creation tool you can use to put together videos.

facebook video ads - facebook video ad builderfacebook video ads - facebook video ad builder

You can use existing images combined with Facebook’s video ad templates to make a video for your account. There are tons of templates that allow you to control for colors, text, timing, and more. Just lead on the user-friendly builder and you’ll end up with a platform-ready Facebook video ad in no time!

Canva

While there are some paid in-platform upgrades, Canva is a great tool to get just about any type of creative made (video or otherwise).

facebook video ads - canva video ad templatesfacebook video ads - canva video ad templates

There are countless free templates you can customize to help promote your brand. Canva also includes easy options to convert one theme into a new aspect ratio, helping you to cover all the video sizes as I mentioned above. In short, if you’re a novice to video marketing but need to get something done, you should check Canva out.

Create great Facebook video ads today

Facebook and Instagram video ads are a great way to interact with your customer base and are only getting more necessary as other platforms lean into video. It doesn’t take any particular expertise or deep pockets to get your Facebook video ads up and running. Just a bit of patience and some guidelines and you’re on your way!

When you want to improve your results, follow these Facebook video ad best practices:

  1. Create videos in all aspect ratios
  2. Be prepared for all sound options
  3. Get your main message across in the first 3 seconds
  4. Blend into the platform aesthetic
  5. Retarget users who engage with your videos

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How to Make a Click-Worthy YouTube Thumbnail (+Free Tools!)

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How to Make a Click-Worthy YouTube Thumbnail (+Free Tools!)

With millions of videos vying for attention, your YouTube thumbnails serve as the first point of engagement for potential viewers. These seemingly small images carry significant weight in attracting clicks and views.

YouTube thumbnails provide a snapshot of your video content, setting expectations for what viewers can expect. A well-crafted thumbnail not only piques interest but also conveys the essence of the video.

In this article, I’ll share everything you need to know about YouTube thumbnails, including tools to create them, tips to keep in mind, and other lessons I’ve learned from running my own YouTube channel.

Table of contents

What is a YouTube thumbnail?

A YouTube thumbnail serves as a visual snapshot of what a video contains. It appears as a small image next to the title of the video on YouTube’s search results page, related videos section, or the recommended videos section.

youtube thumbnail examples on youtube results page

This image plays a crucial role in attracting potential viewers and encouraging them to click on the video. The design and content of this thumbnail often influence the decision of a viewer to watch the video or not. Therefore, it holds significant importance in the world of YouTube content creation.

YouTube thumbnail size

The best YouTube thumbnail size is 1280×720 pixels. This is an aspect ratio of 16:9. The minimum width you should shoot for is 640 pixels.

You should also shoot for a relatively small file size—under 2MB. YouTube thumbnails can be saved as JPGs, GIFs, or PNGs.

YouTube thumbnail tips

Your YouTube journey begins with a single image—the thumbnail. This seemingly small, but critically important element is the initial gateway for your viewers.

“If people don’t click, they don’t watch. So, you want to give them something to click,” said YouTube star MrBeast.

Here are some tips to create effective YouTube thumbnails.

Make them engaging

Think of your thumbnails as digital hooks to capture your audience’s attention. Make them visually striking, vibrant, and engaging.

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Be consistent

Building a recognizable brand on YouTube starts with consistency in your thumbnail design. A uniform style helps viewers easily identify your content. In addition to consistency in your thumbnail design, keeping a close eye on others in your field who share your audience is a smart strategy.

Checking out what your competitors are up to can give you helpful clues about how many people click on their stuff. This helps you see how your channel’s look, content, titles, and colors stack up, so you can ensure you’re putting your best foot forward.

As you can see below, MrBeast’s thumbnails are visually striking and attention-grabbing, featuring bold colors, expressive facial expressions, and compelling imagery. He maintains a consistent style in his thumbnails, making them instantly recognizable to his viewers and helping build a strong brand presence on YouTube.

youtube thumbnail examples from mrbeast youtube channel youtube thumbnail examples from mrbeast youtube channel

Represent your video accurately

Your thumbnail should provide an honest representation of your video. Misleading thumbnails can lead to viewer frustration and backlash.

Create an emotional impact

It’s well known that emotions are contagious. This means that watching someone else have an emotional reaction to something can cause you to have the same reaction.

Humans react to other human faces, and it’s an easy trick to get more people to click on your YouTube videos. Humans will naturally assess the emotional state of the face. When their mouth is open, it’s usually to show that they are surprised. When someone sees this surprised reaction, they are enticed to see what is so surprising.

🚨 Speaking of emotion…get our free guide >> 135 of the Best Words & Phrases for Marketing with Emotion

Learn and adapt

Continuously analyze your analytics to adapt your content and strategy based on audience feedback and changing trends.

The thumbnail below was my first to go well (in relation to my other videos). The simple title in the thumbnail, the upward arrow, society’s current fascination with ChatGPT, the length of the video, me in it—smiling and wearing something that matched the color scheme of the thumbnail. These are things I took note of as potential drivers of success for future videos and thumbnails.

youtube thumbnail ab test example winneryoutube thumbnail ab test example winner

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Free YouTube thumbnail makers

Here are a few YouTube thumbnail creation tools to try, including the one I use for all my thumbnails.

1. Fotor

I use an app called Fotor to create my thumbnails. Fotor is a fantastic all-in-one platform that makes thumbnail creation a breeze. It’s an easy-to-use photo editing and graphic design tool, available in web, desktop, and mobile versions. It provides a full suite of tools that cover most image editing needs, including face retouching and image-generative AI.

fotor youtube thumbnail makerfotor youtube thumbnail maker

Fotor also includes advanced AI-powered tools such as background remover, image enlarger, and object remover, which make complex edits simple.

I created a super simple video walkthrough where I use it to create a YouTube thumbnail. Check it out here.

2. Canva

Canva is a design tool (with a free option) that can help you create impactful YouTube thumbnails. Simply navigate to the site, choose YouTube thumbnail as your design option, and find an already-created template to customize or create your own design.

youtube thumbnail maker from canvayoutube thumbnail maker from canva

Within Canva, you can adjust colors, add your own images, and brand your YouTube thumbnail with your business logo.

3. Visme

Visme is another online design tool that makes it easy to create YouTube thumbnails. Like Canva, Visme has already created templates that you can choose and customize according to your branding.

youtube thumbnail maker vismeyoutube thumbnail maker visme

Simply choose your template, customize it, download it, and you’re all set!

Start making effective YouTube thumbnails with ease

Creating a great YouTube thumbnail is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to effective video marketing on the site. But the right YouTube thumbnail strategy can help you build consistency, attract people to click on your videos, and increase engagement with your content.

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12 Holiday Emails for Customers (Templates & Examples!)

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12 Holiday Emails for Customers (Templates & Examples!)

How to put your customers into a holiday slumber 😴 :

To our valued customers,

As the end of the year draws near, we’d like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you for your support. Thank you for choosing us and we wish you a wonderful holiday season and happy new year!

sleepy bored face

Want to send an authentic holiday email this year that your customers will actually want to read? This is your cheat sheet!

Table of contents

How to use these holiday email templates

This post contains both the copy and creative you can use for your holiday customer appreciation emails. These emails are longer and more personalized—great for your most loyal customers or for businesses with a small client base. If you want shorter, more general copy, head on over to my holiday greetings and messages.

The copy is also pasted into some templates I made in Canva, which you can access with a free Canva account!

Here’s the link to the templates in Canva.

free holiday email templates in canvafree holiday email templates in canva

Holiday customer email tips

In such a short piece of content as this, small details have big effects. Here’s how to get it right.

  • Express gratitude! Customer appreciation is the goal here.
  • Keep it short and use a conversational tone. This is an e-toast, not a live journal.
  • Be inclusive of all holidays, and be warm and positive, but not overly hyped—the holidays can be difficult for many people.
  • Make it visual with creative graphics or a team photo.
  • Share your growth and achievements to give customers a reason to stay confident in your business. BUT make it about them—the growth you achieved with their support. What you achieved together.
  • Connect it back to your mission (NOT your value prop).
  • Focus on the future. Speak to an ongoing relationship, but not through a CTA or sales promotion. Save that for your year-in-review email.

Words & phrases to make your holiday email message authentic

Take a gander through these words and phrases you can use that the other gajillion businesses out there aren’t using:

Instead of ‘valued customer’

Don’t call them valued, make them FEEL valued through your messaging.

  • Dear customers
  • To our awesome customers
  • To our customers near and far, old and new
  • To all of you
  • To each and every one of you
  • To the Baker & Co. family
  • To the SparkLife community
  • To you and your families
  • Dear customers, partners, and your families
  • Friends
  • First name (if you have a small list and can MANUALLY do it).

Instead of ‘exciting year’

It’s been a…

  • Lively
  • Rewarding
  • Exhilarating
  • Electrifying
  • Wild
  • Awesome
  • Zestful
  • Refreshing
  • Bustling
  • Bright
  • Spirited
  • Rousing
  • Rigorous

….year!

Instead of ‘as we approach’

Any “as we.” As we approach, enter, wind down, you know them all. How about:

  • Every year, I/we
  • If you’re like us, you are…
  • As the saying goes…
  • One of my favorite quotes is
  • Ask a question
  • Whether this email finds you ___ing, ____ing, or ___ing, we hope it finds you well!
  • As I sit here listening to [unique/meaningful/inclusive song name]
  • Exactly 11 months ago, we were…..
  • When we started out this year we _____. Little did we know…
  • Here at ___ we believe in ____, so…
  • One of our core values here at ____ is ____.
  • As I write this email, I’m watching the snow falling outside my window for the first time this year.
  • As it turns out…

Instead of ‘take this opportunity to’

Take THIS opportunity to remove yourselves from the mileu by using phrases like:

  • Words can’t describe our…
  • We’re reaching out to say…
  • We want you to know that…
  • We extend our deepest…
  • It is with pride and joy that we…

Instead of ‘thank you for your support’

Nothing wrong with this statement, but make it better with specifics.

Thank you for…

  • Trusting us with your ____
  • Using ____ for your ____ needs.
  • Confidence and loyalty to _____
  • How much you’ve [taught us, inspired us, encouraged us, etc..]
  • Choosing us as your ____ provider
  • Giving us a reason to come into work each day
  • Showing up to our events
  • Your reviews, social shares, votes
  • Positive vibes, enthusiasm

5 holiday email templates any business can use

To make your life easier, I’ve compiled some templates that incorporate the tips and words and phrases above. Check’em out.

If you want to You can also customize them in Canva

Template #1—Achievement-focused

To our customers:

Without your enthusiasm and energy, we wouldn’t be where we are now.

Thanks to your feedback, we added eight new features to ProductName this year and earned our highest rating on ReviewPlatform yet. And because of your referrals, we helped twice as many small businesses get online this year than last. And because of you, we love our jobs!

Not only are we excited for 2022 with you, but we also have some big goals and big ideas that we can’t wait to share. So stay tuned! But for now, enjoy the holiday season!

With many thanks,

The ProductName Team

holiday email templates to customers - snowflake themeholiday email templates to customers - snowflake theme

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

Template #2—Fun & grateful

To the BusinessName community,

As the saying goes, “Gratitude is like gravy—put it on everything!” So we pour out our thanks to you for choosing BusinessName as your PainPointSolver.

Your patronage, your presence, your reviews and shares—all of this keeps our business alive and makes our line of work a pleasure each day.

We wish you all the best this holiday season and look forward to another great year with you!

With thanks,

All of us here at BusinessName

holiday email template - happy holidays navy themeholiday email template - happy holidays navy theme

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

 

Looking for more creative ideas? How about these 41 Pre-made Holiday Social Media Posts & Canva Templates.

Template #3—From the owner

To each and every one of you,

As I sit here listening to InclusiveMeaningfulSong, I am reminded of how grateful I am to have you in my circle.

StudioName is rooted in relationships, health, and growth and you are the ones who bring it to life. Every day I am blessed with the new energy, new perspectives, and new friends you bring to our studio each day.

I wish all the blessings returned to you during this holiday season and the year to come. Can’t wait to grow with you in 2022!

See you soon,

YourName

holiday email templates to customers - wrapping paper themedholiday email templates to customers - wrapping paper themed

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

Template #4—Mission-centered

To our work out warriors,

Whether the holidays make you happy or sad, giddy or stressed, one thing we can all feel is gratitude.

And that is why we extend our personal thanks to you—for showing up, for trusting us with your health, for your smiling faces, and your feedback.

We are on a mission to make fitness fun and accessible to all and it is dedicated members like you who help us make this possible.

However you’re feeling this holiday season, know that we appreciate you and we can’t wait to see you next year.

Stay well,

The GymName Team

holiday email template - mission-focused themeholiday email template - mission-focused theme

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

Template #5—Wrap-up with thank you

So…how do you wrap up a fantastic year in X words? We figured it out:

  • 32,695 orders
  • 200 blog posts
  • 84 five-star reviews
  • 5 new employees
  • 2 awards nominations
  • 1 HUGE thanks…

To YOU!

None of this would be possible without all of your shares, likes, comments, and confidence in our resources. This is what keeps us eager to find new things to teach you each day. You are the lifeblood of BusinessName and together, we’re helping more and more people find jobs they love.

Thank you for playing such a pivotal role in our growth. We wish you the best this holiday season and the year to come.

Let’s do it all again next year!

 

The BusinessName Team

holiday email templates to customers - seasons greetings red themeholiday email templates to customers - seasons greetings red theme

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

7 real holiday email examples & what makes them great

Here are a few real holiday customer appreciation email examples with non-generic intro sentences and attractive design. And you may also want to check out these additional customer appreciation ideas!

Patchwork: A poem!

You can have a lot of fun with this one!

  • Big thanks
  • Lots of text but once you start, you can’t stop.
  • Visually appealing—although a face would be nice.

 

thank you holiday email example - poemthank you holiday email example - poem

Rock Content: Tasteful reminder

This short and sweet holiday email from Rock Content is perfect with:

  • Friendly and warm messaging acknowledging my hard work this year.
  • A cute GIF of champaign glasses clanking.
  • A tasteful reminder of the value it offers at the end.

 

holiday email example from rock contentholiday email example from rock content

Hello, Kristen!

✨We are passing by to wish you Happy Holidays!

2022 has been a year full of challenges and achievements. We know you’ve worked a lot this year. Now, it’s time to relax a bit and enjoy the holidays!

We hope you have a great time with friends and family. Enjoy the next few days to recharge your batteries with good times, getting ready to make beautiful things happen in 2023!

Remember that we will always be here to help you deliver high-quality content strategies and enable growth opportunities!

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

🎄🎅🎁☃️❄️

Rock Content Team.

BuildOn: Super-specific

Consider something like this if you’re a nonprofit.

  • Just the right amount of gratitude and inspiration
  • Visual with smiling face
  • Shares specific achievements made possible by YOU

 

holiday customer thank you email and message examplesholiday customer thank you email and message examples

Image source

This season, we’re thankful for your support!

With your help, buildOn has empowered thousands of students and strengthened hundreds of communities across the globe.

In the U.S., tens of thousands of urban students have invested nearly 1.4 million hours of service into transforming their communities and empowering themselves. Today, 674 schools are bringing quality education and a chance out of poverty to 90,000 children and adults in the developing world.

None of this would be possible without you. THANK YOU!

WE: Verrry versatile

WE has some inspo in store for you.

  • Positive without overdoing it
  • Conversational and inclusive messaging
  • Attractive visual, although a face would be nice
  • Sincere appreciation, could use some specifics

 

end of year customer appreciation email example - nonprofitend of year customer appreciation email example - nonprofit

Image source

“With the new year comes a sense of renewal: an opportunity to bring out the best in ourselves, moving forward with positivity and purpose. Thank you for being part of the WE Movement this year—whether you’ve been with us every step of the way or have just joined, we truly appreciate having you in our community.

Together, we change the world.”

Office Luv: Faces!

Office Luv nails it.

  • Actual employee faces!
  • Short and sweet
  • No “we’d like to take this opportunity to..”

 

end of year thank you email to customers - office luv exampleend of year thank you email to customers - office luv example

Later: Future-focused

The thank you section of Later’s 2020 December newsletter is one to model after.

  • Conversational tone, with emojis
  • Specific thank yous
  • Future-focused
  • Has a CTA, but just to Instagram profile

 

Later's holiday customer appreciation email exampleLater's holiday customer appreciation email example
2020 has been full of challenges in the social media world and beyond, and we wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you. <3

Thanks for turning up, reading our emails, joining the conversation, sharing the love on social – you’ve made all of our days a little brighter this year.

We promise 2021 is going to be bigger and better than ever – so stay tuned for more new blogs, training, and of course, exciting new Later features!

[Stay tuned]

Chiropractor: Super-personalized

Try out something like this if you’re a solopreneur.

  • First name personalization
  • Inclusive graphic and smiling face
  • Fun poem
  • Sense of community
  • Sincere thanks

 

holiday customer appreciation email exampleholiday customer appreciation email example
Happy Holidays Kristen!

I know by this point everyone is nestled in and hopefully enjoying friends, families, and holiday cheer! Yet I didn’t want this season to go by without an official Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

We count you among our friends and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication to your health and in creating your healthy home and life. It means more to us than you know, so thank you!

Wishing you joy and peace,

Dr. Lizie

Send a holiday email this year that your customers will appreciate

You now have all the words, phrases, tips, and templates you need to send an authentic holiday email message to your customers. You have no excuses!

Want more holiday messaging templates?

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