What’s Trending
It’s no secret that digital platforms, communities, capabilities and technology are constantly evolving. So where is the future of video advertising heading?
Shorter Video Ads
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.
Outstream Video
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.
Social Media & Video Ads
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.
User-Generated Content
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.
Platforms
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.
YouTube
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.
Facebook and Instagram
Both platforms offer several video ad placements that can be created and managed from one system.
- Feed ads will be served in a user’s news feed.
- Stories ads are 15 seconds or less and are a full-screen mobile experience.
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
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.
Top Tips for Video Advertising
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.
- Short is sweet. With dwindling attention spans it’s important to keep it short. While some campaigns can perform well at one minute, explainers tend to do well at 30–60 seconds, but as a rule, most should be kept under 30 seconds.
- Optimise for mobile. With ever-increasing amounts of traffic generated from mobile devices, optimising for mobile is essential. Videos should be short with vertical content.
- Cut to the chase. You’ve got three seconds or less to grab the attention of your viewer so don’t pussyfoot around and get straight to the point. If you’re being charged per view you’ll also want to ensure your message is clear early so people keep watching.
- Call to action. Every video campaign should drive a specific action. End your video with a clear and concise CTA and ensure it fits with the context of the video.
- Closed captions. With the vast majority of videos on Facebook watched without sound, you can’t rely on your viewer to hear the audio. Closed captions will ensure they can watch your video without missing the message and that it is accessible to people who are hearing impaired.
- Storytelling is a must. Appeal to your audience’s emotions and get them invested in your product, service or brand. Be mindful that your ad has interrupted their online experience so you’ll want to make sure they remember you—for the right reasons—long after they go back to what they were doing.
Conclusion
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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