From movie trailers to autoplay ads, the impact of a video on audience engagement is undeniable. Nearly everyone with a brand, be it a large corporation or a YouTube star, is capitalizing on this format. Moreover, with iOS 15 the importance of previews will rise higher due to the product page optimization feature. In this blog post, we will focus on how to optimize Apple App Store preview videos for maximum results.
The good news is, we as mobile marketers too can harness the power of video for marketing our app. In fact, it’s a great way to boost app store optimization (ASO) and should always be a part of our mobile user acquisition strategies.
Writing magnetic descriptions and choosing great screenshots is crucial for your ASO efforts, but we will be missing out on opportunities without app previews. When it comes to app user acquisition, Video previews are spectacular tools to increase app downloads.
Apple allows a 30-second video to be displayed alongside our app’s screenshots in the App Store. But it’s not as simple as creating any clip we like and uploading it. We have to think through and spawn a video preview that works for our marketing goals.
In this post, we’ll cover technical specifications and requirements we need to meet for our video previews and best practices for creating an awesome clip.
App Store Preview Videos: Requirements You Need to Know
First things first: the Apple App Store has published the guidelines that we must follow in order to get our preview video published along with our app.
It would be wise to bookmark that page, but here are the must-meet requirements for your Apple App Store preview video:
- We can have up to three app preview videos for each language our app supports.
- Our Video previews can be up to 30 seconds in length.
- We can only include on-screen capture within our app itself – we can’t use over-the-shoulder angles or fingers tapping the screen.
- We can’t violate copyrights, plagiarize, or show any material you do not have the legal right to display, including music, film, or other intellectual property assets unless you have the rights.
Even more specifications, like max frame rate, target bit rate, and so on, can be found in the iTunes Connect Developer Guide.
We should always keep these requirements in mind and use them as checkpoints as we develop our video. There’s nothing more disappointing than creating something we’re excited about and then getting rejected because we don’t meet a small technical specification.
Now that the requirements are out of the way, let’s cover something arguably more important.
How to make a video preview worth watching that ultimately increases app downloads.
Best Practices for Creating an App Store Video Preview
Since we have only up to 30 seconds to capture the attention of our audiences, we should truly utilize every single second of it. What is our app good for? Which features do we offer? Why should people download our app?
We need to answer all these questions in a visually enriched, easy-to-follow video that will last up to 30 seconds. So let’s take a look at some enviable examples, using our tool for app competitor analysis.
Here, we have the app preview of TikTok which is ranking at the number one spot among all categories in the Top Charts.
Their app preview is engaging, right? As you can see, they start strong and want to capture audiences right away. The most important reason for this approach is that we live in a fast-paced digital world. We’ve gotten accustomed to bite-size entertainment short video clips that pack a punch. Therefore as mobile marketers, we should act accordingly.
They are using value propositions in between different purposes to make their video easy-to-follow. Plus, let’s keep in mind that one continuous music is assisting the audience to stay until the end of the video.
And here, we see the app preview of a mobile ad king: Lords of Mobile. They are one of the leading apps when it comes to how to promote an app, and the situation is no different for video previews either.
As you can see they are using real app gameplay that explains the most important features. Also, they are using value propositions in between different purposes to make their video preview easy-to-follow and captivating.
Also, do not forget about App Store Optimization localization. Not everyone speaks English. Translating your app previews into local languages can have a positive impact on your conversion rates and local rankings.
Now, let’s gather up our tips for how to create an engaging video preview.
Top 10 Tips for Creating Radiant Video Previews
- Focus on creating visually striking video previews.
- Start strong to keep the potential audience in the video.
- Use value propositions to make the video easy-to-follow.
- Disclose if you show features only available through in-app purchases.
- Avoid pricing and timelines in video previews.
- Don’t break the continuity of the video. Pick a theme song that will last until the end.
- However, most people have their phones in silent mode. So try to make sense even without the sounds.
- Correct resolutions for your video on different devices.
- Localization matters. Don’t lose fruitful users due to a small handicap like this.
- Cultural sensitivity and avoiding delicate matters in video previews would be a wise choice to increase the odds of global success.
Additionally, don’t forget that everyone’s style will vary. However, taking the time to develop an outline, storyboard, or script will help us focus on the top features and avoid coming across as too instructional or sales-oriented.
If we apply Apple App Store Requirements and predicate on these tips for app preview video, there won’t be any obstacles for our mobile growth.
Lastly, App store preview videos, if done well, can engage potential audiences and create a base that doesn’t just download our app but continues to use it over time. The rich medium of video creates an opportunity to showcase elements of our app that might not get shown in the app store. This way, we can enhance our App Store Optimization strategy in the App Store.
Therefore, we should plan ahead, determine our goals and delicately create our app preview videos. For mobile app growth tips and guides, don’t forget to follow our blog and schedule a demo with our experts to step up your marketing game.
