What You Need to Know About Online Video Advertising
Online video advertising is a type of digital marketing that displays video ads to users, either stand-alone or within existing video streaming services like YouTube.
With the power of a visual connection, videos are an effective way to communicate brand story and message and demonstrate how your product or service is valuable to the user. This can give them an edge over still advertisements – if you know how to use them.
Let’s dive in:
What is Online Video Advertising?
Benefits of Digital Video Advertising
Different Types of Digital Video Ads
Digital Video Advertising Tips & Tricks
Digital Video Advertising Trends and The Future of Video Ads
Are You Ready to Take Advantage of the Power of Video Advertising?
What is Online Video Advertising?
Video advertising refers to any video used to promote a product or service.
Perhaps the most attractive aspect of online video ads for brands is their ability to connect with relevant audiences. For example, Facebook ads can target users with specific interests or within selected demographics. This process means that your ads are served to people who are more likely to be interested in your brand and become paying customers.
Video Advertising Statistics
Of the many advertisement streams, videos are the most effective way to get your product or service in front of potential users.
Video is quickly becoming the most dominant form of advertising because of its ability to reach the broadest amount of global consumers and deliver an ROI.
Benefits of Digital Video Advertising
If you’re not already leveraging the power of video ads, then you’re being left behind by your competitors – period. These are the benefits you’re missing out on:
#1. Reach
Five billion YouTube videos are watched every day. Additionally, video is one of the most shared kinds of content online. A good piece of content can reach a massive audience via social media, exposing your brand to countless potential customers.
Because of the ubiquity of video, people are becoming more accustomed to absorbing information via them. Video ads are an excellent way to build awareness of your brand because they are tailor-made for social media and communication channels, which people use every single day.
#2. Easy to Understand
There is a reason why video has become the preferred online format, and that's because it's easy to grasp. Humans are visual creatures, and we can comprehend visual information quicker and more efficiently.
Video ads are a great way to educate your audience on your product and present key information in an easily digestible format.
#3. Videos Ads Facilitate Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the most effective ways of communicating information. Humans are hardwired to understand information delivered via a story, which is why so many brands use it to explain their products and services.
Video is the perfect medium for getting your message across quickly and efficiently and should form a cornerstone of your content marketing strategy.
A great story connects with its audience emotionally. To do this you need more than great imagery. You need music. You need expression. With video, you gain access to more storytelling tools than any other ad medium.
#4. Videos Help Conversions
Are video ads more effective than traditional forms of advertising? Yes: they have a click-through rate (CTR) that is X7.5 higher than display ads. Additionally, research suggests they are about 30% more effective than image ads on Facebook.
Finally, 95% of B2B customers said that video was critical in their purchasing decisions.
#5. Videos are Flexible
Videos are flexible enough that you can use them for several different purposes. You can use them to drive brand awareness by crafting short, intriguing videos. Similarly, you can use videos to present your products more deeply with explainer videos, webinars, product demos, and more.
Different Types of Digital Video Ads
Video is a very flexible format. It can live on many different channels depending on who your potential audience is and what you want your videos to do. Understanding each format is crucial so you can get the most from your digital video advertising.
In-stream Ads
If you’ve spent any time watching YouTube videos, you’ll be very familiar with in-stream ads. These types of ads play before, during, or after YouTube videos. Sometimes they are skippable; other times, they are not.
These types of ads are best for:
- building brand awareness
- generating leads
- driving organic traffic to your website or landing page
Of course, while YouTube ads are some of the most common channels to find them, they can be placed across any video streaming service.
Out-stream Ads
Out-stream ads appear in apps and other website content as a video that is either embedded or overlaid on the website. These ads are popular because they don’t interrupt the user experience. Additionally, they have high viewability.
These videos can appear as users scroll through a page, or they can be placed off to the side. Often, audio is turned off, and users must actively switch it on. This process helps to reduce the intrusiveness of the ads.
Banner Videos
Banner videos are similar to banner ads. They are typically featured on the top or side of a web page and can be triggered by a user click or be auto-played. Typically these ads are very brief, GIF-like videos that are best used for helping with brand awareness or displaying quick marketing messages.
The upside of banner videos is that they are cost-effective when compared with other types of video advertisement.
Native Videos
Native video ads are a type of video that fits in with the content of the rest of the site. You can display these ads on platforms like Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn, Facebook, or website publications. Native ads have the look and feel of the other content displayed on a website; however, they are required to display the fact that they are an ad.
Native ads are designed to overcome “ad blindness,” which is a phenomenon that occurs when users automatically ignore the areas where ads appear on the website. By placing these ads in between other items on the news feed, users tend to notice these ads much more.
Here is an ad we made for a native advertising business that explains the concept.
Interstitial Video Ads
These ads will be familiar to anyone who has used free apps. Effectively, the ad takes over the whole screen and needs to be either watched through or closed. These ads are pretty invasive, so usually they play in-between content.
Interstitial video ads are an option if your target audience is mobile users.
Digital Video Advertising Tips & Tricks
Let’s talk best practices. We’ve put together a few tips and tricks that will help you bring your video ads to the next level.
#1. Grab Your User's Attention Quickly
The first few seconds of your video are incredibly important — even for unskippable ads. You need to get straight to the point and grab users' attention. So put your key message — and your company logo — at the forefront to ensure that you communicate your message immediately.
#2. Pick The Right Length
Online consumers want short videos. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube shorts, etc., have proven that punchy 10 to 15-second videos are highly watchable. So make sure that your advertising meets the format your audience wants.
Watch this Instagram story we did for Caraway. It’s only 9 seconds, but it perfectly captures the product's spirit.
In some cases, you’ll need longer to get your message across. But keep it to a maximum of 30 to 45 seconds for ads and always try to place the good stuff up front.
#3. Underline Your Value
Your ads should be about broadcasting the value of your product or service. Address the users' problems and show them how your brand can solve their pain points. Figure out your competitive advantage or unique benefits and strengths and make them the centerpiece of your ad.
#4. Deal With Objections
If you’ve done your market research, you’ll understand your target audience's typical objections to your product. Address the main ones with compelling counterarguments.
#5. Include a CTA
All videos should have a goal, such as brand awareness or increasing web traffic. If you have a desired action, ensure you include it as a call to action at the end of the video. For example a call to viewers to subscribe to your channel.
Digital Video Advertising Trends and The Future of Video Ads
Digital video advertising is one of the best present-day formats. But what is the future of video advertising? Let’s take a look at some of the biggest video ad trends.
#1. Contextual Video Ads
The third-party cookie is dying, which means that marketing and advertising teams need to adjust. With data privacy a growing concern, many businesses need to find a way to reach customers without crossing the line. One such method is contextual advertising.
Instead of relying on customer data, advertisers can use intent to link consumers with products. For example, if a customer goes online and starts shopping for tents, you could serve them video ads related to camping or the outdoors.
This process will require the production of more ads that can be split into broader related interests.
#2. SEO Videos
Video is 53 times more likely to get a first-page ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). Google is prioritizing SEO videos for user search terms, which is great news for organic video advertisements.
Optimizing videos, creating regular content, and using your creatives to answer questions and help users are all ways to ensure a higher ranking and, by extension, more views.
#3. Smartphone Videos
Short, punchy videos shot on smartphones and hosted on sites like TikTok have proved that consumers are happy to view content that’s not necessarily slick, as long as it’s put together creatively. Expect more brands to embrace this indie type of video production to connect with modern users.
#4. Captioned Videos
While many advertisers agonize over finding the perfect song, sound effects, voice-overs, and more, the audio element of their ads is less important than they think. Around 80% of users watch videos with the sound off! Captioned ads are a far better fit for the market.
Users are watching a lot more videos on smartphones. That means they are consuming content in a wide variety of public places, including meeting rooms and classrooms. Adding closed captions to your ads is becoming an essential video ad trend.
Watch how much this captioned ad can achieve without the use of voice-over.
#5. AR/VR
It seems like augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) are forever on the cusp of going mainstream. The pandemic increased the use of these technologies, with many people using them to replace the in-person shopping experience. Should the metaverse deliver on its promise, AR/VR ads will become a valuable tool for retailers keen to demonstrate their products.
Are You Ready to Take Advantage of the Power of Video Advertising?
You know that video ads are among the most powerful ways to connect with a large audience. But as online consumers move towards consuming shorter content, advertisers should follow. Crafting videos with concise messaging is essential to fit into this evolving video landscape.
It’s not easy to know how to create a compelling video ad that will resonate amongst stiff competition. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone. At Superside, we’ve made video a core part of our own strategy, and now want to help you do the same. Ready to get started?
Sofie is an SEO and content specialist. From being a journalist at your daily news television broadcast, to producing films and writing travel blogs; she has ended up at the more technical side of content and has a nose for sniffing out the creative pieces that will make your competitors look like digital noobs.
When not busy operationalising Content, she is happily cooking up a storm, hiking through the mountains or searching for the best flight tickets to her next travel destination.
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