If you scroll social media frequently, you’ve likely seen Yapper ads: direct-to-camera videos featuring one person speaking conversationally, often in a podcast-like setting with minimal editing or b-roll.
This format has become common in consumer brands’ paid social campaigns because the videos feel more like native social content than a traditional direct response ad. Increasingly, Yapper ads have applications for B2B tech companies, too.
Here’s how these videos work and why tech marketers should experiment with them.
Note: View behind-the-scenes photos from our recent production to film Yapper ads.
The 4 Key Elements Of Yapper Ads
There are four key ingredients to Yapper videos.
- Hook: The goal in the opening seconds of the video is to stop the audience from scrolling by introducing a contrarian viewpoint, a point of friction, a bold take on the status quo, or some other provocative, declarative statement that is meant to resonate with your target audience, spark their curiosity, create tension, or trigger recognition.
- Problem Statement: Immediately following the hook, get emotional buy-in from your ICP by mentioning a specific problem, concern, or grievance that they already feel. Be specific. Name the feeling. The more recognizable the problem, the better.
- Product Introduction: Introduce your product after the problem statement. Your product should feel like a natural progression of your story rather than interruptive. The viewer should feel like the product is a recommendation that they discovered with you, rather than something you’re pitching them.
- Call-To-Action (CTA): The sequence of elements in Yapper videos helps this format earn trust. They don’t demand action. When you wrap the videos, avoid typical CTAs like “Sign up today” or “Join now.”
Other Production Guidelines For Yapper Videos
Here are some other key considerations for effective Yapper videos.
- Single take: Yapper ads typically feature a single, continuous take, so heavy editing can damage the conversational feel. The idea is to convey a message that feels unscripted and authentic. That’s what generates trust.
- Microphone: It’s not mandatory to use a large podcast-style microphone, but there’s something about a podcast setting that makes this format feel more convincing.
- Location: Film in a neutral location or use a location that makes sense contextually with the topic.
- Polish: High production value detracts from Yapper videos only when you add effects that distract from or confuse the message. Avoid excessive b-roll, unnecessary edits, distracting animations or motion graphics, and loud background music.
- Talent: Company founders or CEOs often make great talent for Yapper ads because they know the subject well and they can speak naturally given their passion for solving the problem. You can use other speakers but make sure they are credible and can riff on the topic.
- Camera angles: Yapper videos perform well because of what the talent says and how they say it. The message should feel like a conversation, not a keynote. Therefore, it’s important for the talent to maintain direct eye contact with the camera. Only use a second camera to punch in. Then in post, you can cut to the close-up to add emphasis.
4 Reasons Why Tech Companies Should Test Yapper Videos
Here are four reasons we recommend tech companies experiment with Yapper videos.
- Awareness: The video mix for most tech companies consists of customer testimonials, product demos, and animated explainers. These tend to be mid- and low-funnel assets, meaning they’re intended to reach warmer audiences that are already problem aware and/or product aware. Yapper videos are mainly intended to introduce your brand, product, or service to cold audiences to generate awareness, establish credibility, and hold attention.
- Differentiation: Yapper ads have caught on with e-commerce brands, but tech companies have been late adopters to this format. That may not last long, though. The tech companies who test this video style before their competitors may see outsized returns.
- Pain point: Successful tech products solve problems specific to their ICP. That maps naturally to an ad format that introduces an audience’s pain point before introducing the solution.
- Human touch: LinkedIn Creative Labs analyzed more than 13,000 B2B video ads and found that authentic emotion increased engagement in brand-awareness videos by 78%. Also, dwell time at the top of the funnel increased when videos featured an expert speaker (+31%), were conversational (+13%), and human-centered (+18%). Yet only 7% of the ads analyzed featured any human emotion.
Want to produce Yapper videos for your tech company? Schedule a free consultation.
