Online video has become an integral part of our digital world. With users sharing videos on Facebook and websites such as YouTube, there’s a constant flow of new information to be consumed. Also, an increasing amount of people are consuming video from their smartphone, tablet, computer and connected TV devices. Currently, users are devoting a third of their time online watching videos, which is an important statistic for businesses who are looking to take advantage of video advertising. Videos are an important component to have as part of a digital advertising campaign as 90% of customers say that watching a video actually helps them make their buying decisions. With that kind of influence, what business wouldn’t want to take advantage of video?
Why Does Video Work?
In order to create an effective video advertisement, we must first understand what makes the medium so convincing. As more consumers are making their purchases online, learning about the products in detail is important. However, trying to read an explanation or a how-to can become overwhelming quickly. According to a 2016 study, “69% of users would prefer to watch a video to learn about a product or service.” In terms of the psychology of the advertisements, there are different paths to influencing consumers. The most important are the central route and the peripheral route. The central route assumes the consumer is already aware of their own wants or needs. They are also in tune to how a product will satisfy them. In this way, they are making a thoughtful decision based on fact and logic. The peripheral route relies on superficial stimuli, otherwise known as “cues,” that would influence the viewer’s purchase decision based more on their emotional reaction. Feeling and emotion are influencing the purchase decision, not fact or logic.
An example of a video advertisement that influences using the peripheral route is Google’s “Friends Furever” for Android. The unlikely animal duos and catchy song were able to capture the audience’s attention. While it had nothing to do with phones or operating systems, the message left viewers with a happy, positive feeling that was then associated with the brand. In another example, Intel utilized an advertising series titled “Meet the Makers.” In this series, Intel products were featured, but only in relation to inspirational stories about how they were a part of changing or saving the lives of others. These videos portray the usefulness and vast abilities of their product, as well as provide the viewer with a sense of hope, determination, and inspiration. This method may not work for everyone, but is something to think about when creating a video to catch the audience’s attention.
Why Should You Use Video?
For many advertisers, video is associated to television commercials. While the approach of advertising via commercial worked well in the past, it doesn’t work as well in today’s vast digital landscape. Video is not an advertising gimmick; it produces real results. According to SocialMediaToday, 64% of consumers will purchase a product online after watching a video about it. Videos on landing pages can increase conversions by 80%. Even mentioning the word “video” in an email subject line can increase the open rate by 19%. Not only can it drive results, but your message can be more accurately portrayed. It is estimated that one minute of video is equivalent to 1.8 million words. Try fitting that on a digital ad!
How Can Video be Implemented?
If your company has created a television commercial, that may be your initial go-to when uploading a digital video. However, because online videos can be targeted to a specific audience more easily than television commercials, thinking outside the box is essential. Customers are viewing content across various web-connected devices and platforms so much so that by 2019, it is estimated that 80% of all internet traffic will come from video. How do you catch their attention? A recent example of this idea in action is by 20th Century Fox during advertising for the film “The Greatest Showman.” In order to keep viewers engaged, they knew that one preview for the film was not going to be enough. Instead, they started their campaign with three different versions of the preview to figure out which performed best, based on how long users watched before skipping and how many actually watched the ad in full. Once they determined which video outperformed the others, they deemed it their “anchor ad” for the next phase of the campaign.
In the second phase, Fox ran a more data-driven ad campaign based on interactions with the anchor ad. If viewers chose to skip this initial ad, they were later served a 20-second ad more focused on a simple call-to-action. However, those who chose to view the entire video were later targeted with a longer video that included behind-the-scenes footage, which was then followed by a 10-second ad reminding them to see the film in theatres.
This unique approach to targeting provided 20th Century Fox with 149% uplift in consideration, 33% increase in view-through rate, and 157% growth in organic title searches for the film. While this may be an extreme example, it does prove the power of video and how targeting your messages can provide more success with your campaign.
How Do You Get Started?
If you are already running video in your campaign and want to look at better optimization, or you need to add video in, contact us today! Video marketing is a valuable resource to utilize that will only help your business grow if done correctly. Our team is ready to help you get the most out of your digital advertising campaign. Digital video is showing no signs of slowing, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to get your business in front of this growing audience.