Visual content has become dominant in digital marketing—all successful strategies have visual elements. Of these elements, video is fast becoming king. It is easier to share a message through video ads, and people are more willing to watch a video than spend time on traditional ads. Video is what people want—even back in 2018, more … Continued
Visual content has become dominant in digital marketing—all successful strategies have visual elements. Of these elements, video is fast becoming king. It is easier to share a message through video ads, and people are more willing to watch a video than spend time on traditional ads.
Video is what people want—even back in 2018, more than half of consumers stated in a HubSpot survey that they want more of it. And according to about 74% of marketers, video also offers a better ROI (return on investment) than static images.
To create awesome video ads for your brand, you need great tools. We’ve scoured the internet and rallied up some of the best tools for creating video ads on just about any budget.
This is one of the most popular tools to create video ads, and it’s free to boot. It works well on Windows, Linux, and Mac. Because it’s an open-source program, you get access to all features and tricks at no extra cost.
Blender was designed as a 3D animation suite but serves just as well for easy video editing. You should be able to get everything you need done to enhance your next video project using this tool.
With features such as splicing and video cuts at your fingertips, you’ll be able to edit and create your video quite easily.
Complexity
Using Blender may seem tricky at first, but once you’ve learned the basics, you should be just fine. The many features could be a bit daunting when you first start editing your video, but it also means you can do so much more.
Also, there are many tutorials to check out on YouTube if you need to get something done and have no idea where to get started.
Pros: The tool is free, Great features, Allows the creation of high-quality video ads, Works on multiple platforms.
Cons: Abundance of features can be intimidating.
If you’re looking for the best video ads maker that is great for animated videos, Powtoon is a superb choice. The suite of tools on offer is easy to use, and you get access to many different templates for an easy start.
Although the templates are a great feature, many users tend to rely on them, which can sometimes put them in a “box” when it comes to creativity.
The subscription model is acceptable if you’re only going to use Powtoon for a while. But if you’re looking for a long-term subscription, you might find it to be a bit expensive.
There’s also a free option that lets you use the free objects and music from the tool’s library.
Complexity
Working with Powtoon is pretty simple and uncomplicated. It’s a fantastic tool for beginners looking for video ad-making software that won’t confuse or frustrate them—which is a major plus.
Pros: Modern and clean user interface, Easy to use, Ideal for beginners.
Cons: Might be costly to use long term.
OpenShot is one of the best tools to create video ads, especially for YouTube ads. It’s available for free but still offers a brilliant interface and experience.
It offers several templates to get projects going and 3D animated subtitles to add something special to your video ads. The tool is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac, so you can use it regardless of your preferred operating system.
OpenShot is open source, so you’ll get to play around with many different features at no extra cost.
Features include unlimited layers, compositing, image overlays, audio mixing, and watermarks. This means that making professional-looking video ads will be possible no matter which platform you’re planning on leveraging your new video ad.
The only noticeable drawback with the tool is that there isn’t much “help” on offer from the platform, so for many, there will be a bit of a learning curve.
Complexity
The drag-and-drop feature makes OpenShot particularly easy for beginners who hope to create video ads that stand out.
With that said, there are enough features to keep more experienced video editors busy and happy. These features vary from simple and straightforward to complex.
Pros: Great for both beginners and experts, Works on multiple platforms.
Cons: Help section is somewhat limited.
Shotcut is a multi-platform video editing tool, so it’s available on Windows, Mac, and Linux with no loss in experience or features. However, the interface might be quirky for Mac and Windows users as it was originally made for Linux.
It is one of the most trusted tools for making video ads that is fully open-source and free to use by everyone. What stands out about Shotcut is that it offers 4K HD resolution support, so you can create and edit a brilliant-looking video ad.
Complexity
Shotcut can be as simplistic or complex as you want it to be. There are many menus and commands, but you don’t have to use them all. The panels can be repositioned, and you can even make them floating windows.
You can add as many (or few) audio and video layers as you need.
It might take a little while to get used to how the tool works, but once you do, it will be much easier to use than you’d expect.
Pros: Can be used on multiple operating systems, Comprehensive tutorial videos, Features 4K HD resolution support.
Cons: The interface may take getting used to for Windows and Mac users.
Lightworks is a professional video editing system that is very popular and used by many marketers across the globe.
It is packed with features and utilities that make creating and editing quality video ads easier and more straightforward than many other similar tools. With that said, it can be difficult for beginners to use all the great features.
The tool supports almost any video format you can think of and allows 720p video exports directly to YouTube. You can do some seriously precise video trimming with Lightworks, but this is a feature that will likely need some expertise to get the most out of it.
It is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux with no feature loss or change in user experience.
The free option is more than enough for most editing, so most users don’t need the Pro Version. However, the 4K resolution support is only available if you sign up for the paid subscription.
Complexity
Lightworks offers many features, but they’re not all suitable for beginners. Getting the most out of the tool will require some learning and might take a while, especially for someone who hasn’t done ad video creation and editing before.
Fortunately, it does have many tutorial videos to consult so you can get the hang of things.
Pros: Compatible with all major operating systems, Packed full of great features, Free version should be good enough for most editors.
Cons: 4K resolution support only available in paid version, Not ideal for beginners.
Video marketing can be highly effective as long as you have a fantastic idea and the tools to bring it to life. So before you go and drop a chunk of change on an editing program full of features you may not even need, give one of these a shot and see what you can create.
