Online video is growing more popular by the day. According to research by Cisco, they predict that over 82% of internet traffic will comprise video by 2022! But should that be surprising? The most popular video-sharing platform in the world, YouTube, has over two billion active users. That is why marketers worldwide began adjusting to these changes in online trends by adapting accordingly. Many began experimenting with digital video advertising and found success.
But what is digital video advertising? And why did it prove so effective? These are just some of the things we’re going to cover in this article. But let’s start with the basics…
What Is Digital Video Advertising and Why Does It Work?
Digital video advertising entails delivering promotional video content to a target audience using various online channels. In other words, it means distributing your video ads over various web content.
But the real question here is — why does it work? The best way to answer that is to take a look at the alternatives. The most commonly used digital ad types out there are traditional display ads, like banner ads. This advertising method has proven relatively ineffective over the years as display ads have low clickthrough rates. That is particularly the case nowadays when an average person’s attention span is lower than ever. That is why marketers needed to find new ways of engaging and attracting their audiences.
And that is where video ads come into play.
Why You Should Include Digital Video Advertising in Your Marketing Strategy
Luckily for marketers, there are many more benefits to video ads than just advertising effectiveness. Here are some other benefits of using video advertising in your marketing campaign:
- Videos help you engage your audience — Due to their dynamic nature, videos are much more engaging to viewers than traditional display ads. And if you ever have second thoughts about trying video marketing, know that 54% of consumers expressed the desire to see more videos from brands. That just proves how much viewers like video.
- Videos are incredibly flexible — One of the best traits of videos is that they are flexible! That means there are many different types of videos suitable for different purposes. Are you looking to build awareness and brand trust? Make an explainer video! Are you looking to create a hard-hitting ad? Shoot a promotional video! The possibilities are almost endless.
- Videos are sharable — One of the most significant benefits of videos is that users love to share them. Not only is that a direct advantage over display advertising, but having a strong social presence is essential for any business in today’s digital world.
As you can see, videos are an incredible addition to any marketing strategy for more reasons than one. But if the above wasn’t enough to convince you of their power, let’s look at some of the concrete areas videos excel at.
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What Do Videos Excel At?
When it comes to concrete benefits for your business, digital video advertising can help in many ways. Depending on the types of videos you make and where you promote them, you’ll quickly realize that videos are excellent at:
- Generating Leads — Videos are an excellent addition to your lead generation strategy. Because of their accessibility and favor among users, videos help generate leads and drive more conversions.
- Increasing Your Website Traffic — Regardless of where you market your videos, Google highly favors videos in its SERPs. That means using videos can help you get a substantial boost to your website traffic.
- Raising Brand Awareness — Because users love videos so much and it’s is one of the most engaging content types on the web, they are a potent tool for raising brand awareness. Creating short, awareness-focused pre-roll ads or marketing your brand on TikTok is the best way to reach thousands of relevant consumers without spending a small fortune.
- Driving Conversions — Did you know that as many as 64% of consumers stated that a Facebook video influenced their purchasing decision? That’s right — sales videos and product videos have huge potential if used correctly. Ensuring you have videos tailored to customers in all parts of their buyers’ journey is the best way to automate the majority of your sales process.
- Brand Storytelling — Storytelling is all the rage in the marketing world nowadays since it’s one of the best ways for brands to stand out from the crowd. Video storytelling is particularly potent due to its visual nature, making it the prime advertising choice for brands pursuing this strategy.
As you can see, the benefits of using videos for your advertising purposes are vast. The points above have hopefully proven the value video ads can bring to your brand. Now all that is left to do is create a video marketing strategy and start advertising.
But before you do that, you will first have to decide which type of video ads you’re going to use. Let’s take a quick look at your options.
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Types of Digital Video Ads
When faced with the dilemma of choosing the best type of video ad for your business, you first have to ask yourself what you need as a business. Do you want to place your ads on other people’s videos or promote them on a website? Do you wish to reach users on desktop or mobile devices? These are just some of the questions that might influence your decision since different ad variants are better suitable for different devices. Depending on your answer, you will have many options, but here are the most commonly used video ad types:
- Instream Ads
- Outstream Ads
- In-Banner Video Ads
- Native Video Ads
- Interstitial Video Ads
Now let’s look at each of these options in more detail.
Instream Ads
Instream video ads entail placing video ads inside existing video content. But how does that work? It’s pretty simple — an ad interrupts video playback at a particular point and plays. Depending on when these ads play within a video, there are three primary types:
- Pre-rolls — These ads play before a video starts.
- Mid-rolls — These ads play at some point during video playback. That point is called a cue point.
- Post-rolls — These ads play after the video ends.
Your choice between these three will depend on your goals and needs. Pre-roll ads are best for maximizing impressions, while post-rolls excel at generating quality leads. Although mid-rolls are in-between the two, they are the most intrusive instream ad type, so we don’t recommend you use them.
Outstream Ads
Outstream video ads usually appear within website content or on the side while users are scrolling down. The biggest advantage of these ads is that they provide an excellent user experience because they don’t interrupt the content users are consuming. They also have higher viewability than most other video ad types since they don’t obstruct and distract users from other content.
There are three primary types of outstream video ads:
- In-Content Outstream Ads — These ads appear as a video player within editorial content once users scroll down to it.
- In-Slide Outstream Ads — These ads appear in one of the corners of users’ screens and follow them as they scroll down the web page.
- Hybrid Outstream Ads — Hybrid outstream ads start as in-content outstream units but transform into an in-slide unit and follow the user once they scroll past the in-content video ad.
The best part about outstream ads is that they can appear even on websites without much video content, unlike their instream counterparts.
In-Banner Video Ads
In-banner video ads are usually rich media ads like GIFs or short videos in banner ad slots on a particular web page. These don’t always have to be videos, but the video ones are much more effective. These videos are usually quite short and feature a compelling thumbnail. Most often, there are three ways these ads can start playback:
- By users having to click the play button.
- Automatically playing as soon as they come into sight.
- By users having to hover their cursor over them.
Getting started with these ads doesn’t require a huge budget, so these are an excellent choice for businesses looking to pinch pennies. Although they aren’t as effective as outstream and instream ads, they are cost-effective and best for building brand awareness. Overall, in-banner video ads are a suitable video advertising method for most newcomers to the industry.
Native Video Ads
Native video ads match the aesthetics of the site or platform they appear on and are particularly effective at encouraging engagement and boosting brand awareness. These ads are also known as branded ads because they are (typically) hosted on the target website.
The place where native video advertising is most effective, though, are various social media platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn. There, native video ads appear once you scroll through your feed (similarly to in-article video ads) and automatically play muted.
Interstitial Video Ads
Interstitial ads are interactive ads that typically cover the entire screen of a website or application they appear on. These are extremely common ads on mobile devices, especially inside of various mobile apps like video games. They often appear between content so that they don’t disrupt the user experience. If you’re planning to target mobile users, these ads are likely the perfect starter choice.
Now that we’ve covered all the different digital video ad types you can use, there’s only one thing left to do; let’s look at some of the hot video marketing trends you should keep in mind to maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns.
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Digital Video Advertising Trends to Keep in Mind
If you’re looking to try your hand at digital video advertising, there are a few tips that could make or break your endeavors. Here are three video advertising trends you should keep in mind when planning your strategy:
Users Like Shorter Ads
Your customers don’t have all day to dedicate to your video, especially if it interrupts their content. That is why it’s essential to be brief. That’s right — short video ads perform significantly better than long ones. Take a look at the chart below as an example:
With that in mind, you should focus on short-form video advertising rather than dragging your videos on. And don’t forget to include a compelling hook at the beginning of your ad! If you manage to pique your viewers’ curiosity, you’re more likely to keep them engaged long enough to reach your CTA.
The Mobile Market Is the Place to Be
Did you know that over 50% of users watch videos on mobile devices? Also, the mobile market is currently incredibly lucrative for advertisers. According to Mobile Marketer, mobile ad spend has jumped significantly as businesses worldwide are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. You’d be wise to use this momentum to your advantage.
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Video Ad Spend Is on the Rise
According to the latest survey by IAB, video ad spend is on the rise. Since 2018, the total digital video ad spend has increased by $3 million. It’s worth noting that there has been a slight drop in video ad spend throughout 2020 due to the global pandemic, but that has since normalized and is now growing again.
Contextual Video Advertising Is All the Rage
With the upcoming death of the third-party cookie, advertisers will be losing one of their most effective ad targeting methods. That is why more and more advertisers have been flocking toward contextual video advertising solutions. Contextual targeting doesn’t rely on third-party data to serve relevant ads, which is why it has proven to be the ideal replacement for behavioral targeting.
If you decide to try your hand ad digital video advertising, keep this trend in mind when looking for advertising and publishing partners.
Are You Ready to Try Your Hand at Digital Video Advertising?
If you think your business can take advantage of video advertising, why not give it a shot? Putting video ads on your website has never been more lucrative, and the best time to do it is now.
If you’re a brand or marketer looking to grow, investing in video ads is a surefire investment. These ads are much more engaging than other online advertising techniques, they generate more quality leads, and they have a higher reach.
And if you’re a publisher with a rich video library looking to scale your ad-powered online business, investing in a premium video platform and monetization solution is your best bet. Online video platforms like Brid.TV offer publishers state-of-the-art video monetization options like video header bidding, tag waterfalling, ad pods, and more. These techniques can help publishers leverage the popularity of video advertising to generate more revenue and propel their businesses to stardom.
If you need a reliable HTML5 video player and video monetization solution, why not try Brid.TV for free?
