Mel Gibbons
20 November, 2019
While written and static content can describe a product or service, videos have the capacity to demonstrate it, tell the brand story and show how others respond to and engage with it.
A natural storytelling medium, video has long held a place in advertising but was traditionally reserved for substantial budgets. Enter a digital world filled with smartphones and social platforms, and video can easily become part of almost any organic and pay-per-click (PPC) campaign.
Creative marketers and experts in video marketing in Adelaide can easily create persuasive and engaging video ads that connect on a deeper level by inviting the audience in, educating them and leading them on a buying journey, all the while building a relationship.
Digital spaces can be crowded with content and ads, and people are scrolling large amounts of copy each day. But the opportunity lies in the amount of screen time that the average person engages in on a daily basis—more than three hours on mobile devices alone.
So, it’s not hard to see why video advertising is a growing force for savvy marketers who want to reach target audiences and tell their story in short, sharp, shiny and captivating ways.
On all different types of websites—from social platforms to mainstream news publications, to business sites—digital marketers are leveraging the benefits of reach and engagement through vast amounts of video content. As for video advertising, YouTube, through Google Ads, offers a range of options while social platforms offer some similar types of ads for placement in newsfeeds and stories. Let’s take a look at YouTube Ads.
Skippable instream ads play before, during or after other video content. The viewer will have the option to skip the ad after 5 seconds and the ads can appear on YouTube watch pages, partner sites and apps in the Display Network.
The non-skippable ad format is designed to help you reach customers with your entire message. Generally, 15 seconds or shorter, non-skippable in-stream ads play before, during or after another video and viewers are not able to skip the ad. They can be served on YouTube, partner sites and apps on the Google Display Network.
CPM you are charged based on impressions. Non-skippable in-stream ads use cost-per-thousand impressions bidding, so you pay each time your ad is shown 1,000 times.
Discovery ads are strategically placed where they will be found, for example next to related YouTube videos, as part of search results and on the YouTube mobile homepage. The ad is a thumbnail image from the video with some text inviting a user to click and watch the video. The video then plays on the YouTube Watch page.
CPC you will only be charged when viewers choose to watch your ad by clicking the thumbnail.
Outstream ads are designed to increase your reach at an efficient cost. They are only served on phones and tablet devices, playing on partner websites and within apps, and are an effective way of expanding the reach of your video ads on mobile. They start playing with the sound muted and viewers must tap to unmute. One video template can be served through a variety of different mobile placements. For mobile web placements, out-stream ads appear in banners, while for mobile app placements, they will also appear in banners, interstitials, in-feed, native, as well as in both portrait and fullscreen modes.
CPM you are only charged based on viewable cost-per-thousand-impressions, that is when someone sees your video play for two seconds or more (and if more than half the ad screen space is shown).
Usually six seconds or shorter and non-skippable, bumper ads play before, during or after another video and are designed to help you reach more customers and increase brand awareness with short, memorable messages. Bumper ads can appear on YouTube, partner sites and apps on the Google Display Network. These types of ads are also often found on social platforms in the form of stories.
CPM you are charged based on impressions. Bumper ads use cost-per-thousand impressions bidding, so you pay each time your ad is shown 1,000 times.
Masthead ads are native video ad formats that appear at the top of a YouTube feed on Desktop, mobile and TV screens. They are only available by reservation directly through Google (not through the Google Ads platform). Masthead ads are useful in building brand awareness for a new product, service or launch, and reaching substantial audiences in a short period of time. They work a little differently on each device.
CPD or CPM Masthead ads are charged at cost-per-day or cost-per-thousand-impressions, however, TV screens can only be booked on a CPM basis.
It’s no secret that digital platforms, communities, capabilities and technology are constantly evolving. So where is the future of video advertising heading?
With an abundance of content served to audiences with shorter attention spans, you’ll want to make sure your ad cuts through—and quickly. Short or micro videos should grab a viewer’s attention and leave a big impression. They don’t have to tell everything about a product or service as it’s not always a single interaction that leads to purchase, but rather a curated journey of carefully crafted messages and techniques.
It can be worth testing shorter ads that beat the skip button and serve short attention spans. This can present creative challenges, particularly when you’re creating compelling pre-roll length ads.
Sometimes referred to as native video, out-stream video is characterised by an advertising unit that is integrated within a page and auto-plays when the user scrolls near it. Similarly, it will auto-pause before it is finished if the user scrolls away from it.
Outstream video essentially lets an advertiser host their video ad content on another site meaning they can expand their reach and effectively tailor videos for text-heavy publications.
Outstream video ads are effective at building brand awareness, driving online conversions and targeting people ready to purchase.
Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat users have become accustomed to being fed autoplay video content in their newsfeeds and scrolling through live video stories—and advertisers are becoming smarter at creating video ads that fit seamlessly between these and resemble organic content.
When a user expects content from a brand they follow, it increases the chances they will quickly engage and watch the entire ad.
Facebook’s targeting capabilities will also allow you to personalise your content and drive consistent conversions.
Though user-generated content has been around for some time, marketers are becoming savvier at creating ad content that doesn’t resemble a traditional ad which increases the effectiveness and occurrence of user-generated content. User-generated content is something that a business can’t create—a real buyer’s experience and perspective that allows you to meld the marketing voice of your brand.
While video ads can be run on all sorts of platforms, including smart TVs, the most common are YouTube and social networking sites Facebook and Instagram. They’re easily accessible by audiences and generally affordable for advertisers—and with their targeting capabilities, can help you reach diverse and relevant audiences.
Second only to Google itself, YouTube is one of the largest search engines, processing more than 3 billion searches each month, and provides various options for video advertising and valuable reporting analytics.
Both platforms offer several video ad placements that can be created and managed from one system.
Facebook also offers advertisers the opportunity to place ads as short video commercials in between another publisher’s video content and to appear in the ‘suggested videos’ section. Using Facebook’s audience network placements, advertisers can also show video ads on participating sites and mobile apps, served to uses that match targeting criteria.
Snapchat continues to be one of the fastest-growing social platforms largely due to its video stories—the influence behind Facebook and Instagram stories. Use six-second, non-skippable video ads to build brand awareness and drive Snapchatters to your website, app or full video.
While creativity, originality and a clear understanding of your target audience will help you deliver relevant ads to the right people, there are other things that you need to consider to ensure your video ads cut through.
Though video content is cost-effective to develop and implement, and readily accessible to most businesses, it doesn’t mean it should be rolled out haphazardly. A powerful way to reach audiences, tell stories and connect on a deeper level than ever before, video campaigns should be carefully curated in messaging, type, placement and platform. There’s no escaping video content, so you may as well embrace it and leverage the benefits.
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