Use case
Retargeting video ads: answer the reason they did not buy
Retargeting video ads are shown to people who already visited your site or watched your videos. They know who you are, so open on the reason they did not buy, like price or delivery.
In short
- Retargeting video ads are shown to people who already visited your site, added to a basket or watched your videos.
- They already know your brand, so skip the introduction and open on what stopped them from buying.
- Make one short ad per reason, such as price, delivery, size or what happens if it goes wrong.
- Retargeting audiences are small and see the same ad often, so replace these ads every week or two.
- Cutroom turns one phone video into a 9:16 ad for 110 credits, so five ads cost 550 credits.
- Longest video you can upload
- 3 min
- The shape of every Cutroom ad
- 9:16
- Lite, about 11 thirty-second ads a month
- $19.99
What retargeting video ads are
Retargeting means showing ads to people who have already met your brand. You pick that audience in your ad platform.
- The audience can be site visitors, people who added to a basket, or people who watched most of one of your videos.
- Because these people already know you, the ad can skip the introduction and start with an answer.
- If you show them the ad they already saw, its first seconds tell them things they already know.
What to say in a retargeting video ad
Different people stopped for different reasons. One ad can answer one reason well, so make one ad per reason.
- People who left at the shipping step may have stopped over the delivery cost or time, so answer that.
- People who read the product page twice and left may not be sure it suits them, so answer the size or fit question.
- Say the exact numbers out loud, like the delivery time or the price, and check the captions show them right.
Five common reasons, and how to open on each
| Reason they stopped | Open with |
|---|---|
| Price | Why it costs more than the one they compared it with |
| Delivery | How long delivery takes, and what it costs |
| Fit or size | The size question, answered |
| Compatibility | Whether it works with what they already own |
| Risk | What happens if it goes wrong, like returns or a guarantee |
Reason they stopped: Price
- Open with
- Why it costs more than the one they compared it with
Reason they stopped: Delivery
- Open with
- How long delivery takes, and what it costs
Reason they stopped: Fit or size
- Open with
- The size question, answered
Reason they stopped: Compatibility
- Open with
- Whether it works with what they already own
Reason they stopped: Risk
- Open with
- What happens if it goes wrong, like returns or a guarantee
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to show each ad to the right people
You match each ad to the people most likely to have that doubt. In Meta Ads Manager, you do this with website custom audiences.
- A website custom audience uses the Meta Pixel on your site to find people who visited certain pages.
- Meta's own example is people who visited a product page but did not complete a purchase.
- Leave out people who already bought, so they do not keep seeing the ad.
Which visitors get which ad
Examples. You build each group as a website custom audience.
| Visitors | Ad to show them |
|---|---|
| Reached the checkout page but did not buy | The delivery ad |
| Viewed the same product page two or more times | The fit or size ad |
| Visited your site but did not buy | The risk ad, about returns or a guarantee |
Visitors: Reached the checkout page but did not buy
- Ad to show them
- The delivery ad
Visitors: Viewed the same product page two or more times
- Ad to show them
- The fit or size ad
Visitors: Visited your site but did not buy
- Ad to show them
- The risk ad, about returns or a guarantee
How often to change retargeting ads
A retargeting audience is small, so the same person can see your ad several times in a few days.
- Replace them every week or two, or sooner when your ad platform shows people seeing the same ad many times.
- In Meta Ads Manager, that number is called frequency: the average number of times each person saw the ad.
- Change the opening, the face or the answer. A new 30-second ad costs 110 credits.
- An ad seen too often starts to annoy people instead of reminding them.
How to make a retargeting ad with Cutroom
Film one short, honest video for each common reason, up to 3 minutes each. Then make one ad from each video.
- Cutroom keeps the lines you say, so each ad starts from its own video that opens on the answer.
- To add a clip, you highlight a phrase and the clip plays over exactly those words. Your own product clips stay in your library.
- If Cutroom mishears a price or a delivery time, you type the right word and the captions follow.
- You stay on screen for most of the video. The style you pick before you upload sets the pace, and even on the fastest styles the clips Cutroom adds cover at most 52 percent of it.
- You pick one of 40 caption styles, then its font, colour, size and position.
One video into one ad per reason
Film each reason
One short video per reason, up to 3 minutes each
One ad per reason
110 credits for a 30-second ad
Place your clips
Highlight the words that name the product
Export
A 9:16 MP4 for your ad account
What a finished retargeting ad looks like
You get a 9:16 MP4 with the captions in the picture, ready to upload in your ad account.
A person answering a reason, as one finished frame
A person talking, a headline over the opening and captions on every word.
What it costs
A 30-second ad costs 110 credits: 100 for the edit and 10 for the export, at 20 credits per minute. Five ads, one per reason, cost 550 credits.
Cutroom plans and 30-second ads per month
| Plan | Price | Credits | 30-second ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, no card | Your first video, made within 7 days | 1, with a Cutroom mark |
| Lite | $19.99 a month | 1,250 | About 11, no mark |
| Basic | $39.99 a month | 2,500 | About 22, plus avatars and generated music |
| Premium | $79.99 a month | 5,000 | About 45 |
| Top-up | $39.99 once | 2,500 | About 22 more |
Plan: Free
- Price
- $0, no card
- Credits
- Your first video, made within 7 days
- 30-second ads
- 1, with a Cutroom mark
Plan: Lite
- Price
- $19.99 a month
- Credits
- 1,250
- 30-second ads
- About 11, no mark
Plan: Basic
- Price
- $39.99 a month
- Credits
- 2,500
- 30-second ads
- About 22, plus avatars and generated music
Plan: Premium
- Price
- $79.99 a month
- Credits
- 5,000
- 30-second ads
- About 45
Plan: Top-up
- Price
- $39.99 once
- Credits
- 2,500
- 30-second ads
- About 22 more
What Cutroom does not do
Cutroom makes one vertical video from each video you upload. It works next to your catalogue ads, not instead of them.
- Cutroom does not make catalogue or dynamic product ads from a product feed. Your ad platform makes those.
- Cutroom only exports 9:16. It does not make square or widescreen versions.
- Cutroom does not build audiences or run ads. You do that in your ad platform.
- If nobody will go on camera, the avatar add-on makes a presenter from a photo and a voice-over, for 350 credits a minute on Basic and up.
Questions people ask
- What is a retargeting video ad?
- It is a video ad shown to people who already visited your site, added to a basket or watched your videos. Because they know you, it can skip the introduction and answer why they did not buy.
- How should a retargeting video ad start?
- With the reason that stopped the sale: price, delivery, fit, compatibility or risk. Not with an introduction, because the viewer already knows who you are.
- How many retargeting ads do I need?
- One for each reason people give for not buying. Five ads, for price, delivery, fit, compatibility and risk, cost 550 credits in Cutroom.
- How do I show the right ad to the right visitors?
- With website custom audiences in Meta Ads Manager. For example, people who reached the checkout page but did not buy get the delivery ad. The Meta Pixel on your site builds these audiences.
- How often should I change retargeting ads?
- Every week or two, because the audience is small and sees them again quickly. Change sooner if the frequency in Ads Manager climbs. A new 30-second ad costs 110 credits.
- Can Cutroom make dynamic ads from my product feed?
- No. Cutroom makes one vertical video from one video of a person talking. Use it next to your catalogue ads, for the questions a product feed cannot answer.
- Can I try it for free?
- Yes. Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark, and Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
Film one video that answers why people did not buy, and turn it into five retargeting ads. Your first video is free.