It’s no secret that the digital marketing spotlight has shifted from written to video content recently. Considering the fact that 78% of people view online videos weekly, while 55% do it every day, this change comes as no surprise. It’s only natural that the advertising industry had to adapt as well. Nowadays, there are plenty of options for online marketers to advertise their businesses through videos. But the most lucrative of these advertising methods are probably outstream video ads.
If this term sounds unfamiliar to you, don’t fret — you’re not alone. Many professionals have become aware of these types of video ads just recently; however, they were quick to pick up on their outstanding potential. And if you ask us, you should too! And it’s not just us trying to preach — according to eMarketer, a whopping 77% of agencies worldwide emphasized that outstream ads would be vital to their clients’ future advertising endeavors.
But why are outstream video ads so effective? Why not stick to the already widely used instream video ads? How can you get started with outstream video advertising? These are just some of the questions we’ll be addressing today, so let’s get right to it!
Contents:
- What Are Outstream Video Ads?
- When Should You Use Outstream Ads?
- Why Choose Outstream Ads?
- Pros and Cons of Outstream Video Ads
- Getting Started With Outstream Advertising
What Are Outstream Video Ads?
Before we get to the gist of things, a brief introduction is in order for the uninformed. Even if you think you don’t know what outstream video ads are, you’ve likely already come across dozens of them but just weren’t aware of it.
Outstream video ads are high-quality videos that are either located in-between the text on a web page (in-content outstream ads) or that pop up on the side of your browser (in-slide outstream ads). What both of these types have in common is that they only appear once you navigate to a specific part of the text. Typically, these ads play muted, are fully responsive, and automatically pause if over half of them go out of view. And if users scroll down enough to lose sight of the video entirely, it folds back into the page layout. Does it ring any bells?
Now, the reason they’re called outstream is that the advertisement is not tied to other video content, such as with instream video ads. On top of that, the publisher doesn’t even need any videos on their page at all. Even then, they will still be able to set these ads up with ease.
When Should You Use Outstream Ads?
Since you’re reading this article, you’re probably looking to see if this type of advertising is right for your business. So let’s make this easier for you — here are a few cases when you should consider using outstream ads:
- If you or the publishers you work with don’t have a video player — because you don’t need to have video content on your or your clients’ website to utilize outstream video ads, they are particularly useful for marketers who are looking for new advertising strategies that require minimal effort to set up.
- If you want your ad to have a native-like look — if you’re looking for ads that can blend in with your website’s esthetics, outstream ads are perfect for you! After all, they are some of the most customizable advertising options out there.
- If you’re looking to expand the reach of your existing instream campaign — who says instream and outstream ads can’t coexist? Quite the opposite is true — there is no reason not to utilize both in your marketing campaign!
- If you are testing out new marketing formats — this one is for all of you who like to experiment! Whether you are unsure what kind of advertising campaign would best suit your business or you just like to try out new things, giving outstream advertising a go would be an excellent idea.
As you can see, outstream video ads have many different applications. That makes them a sound choice for most businesses out there. Now, to further back up our points, let’s take a look at why you should consider taking up outstream video advertising.
Why Choose Outstream Ads?
We have to look at all of our other choices regarding video advertising to be able to answer this question. So what are your options? Well, there are instream and outstream ads to choose from. So the answer to this question lies in how the two compare.
Outstream Ads vs. Instream Ads
There are many crucial differences between these two types of ads and their possible applications. That’s why we’ll try to list as many as we can and then come to a verdict.
- Type of content (Video vs. Editorial) — When using instream ads, you must have video content of your own on your site to run them. That can prove a substantial problem if videos don’t fit your page style. On the other hand, outstream video ads aren’t dependent on on-page videos, so you can still use them even if your website is text-based.
- User experience — According to CNBC, 65% of users skip mid-roll and pre-roll ads as soon as possible. And does that really come as a surprise? Nobody likes their broadcast interrupted, and we’re sure you’d agree too. Well, that is precisely why instream ads prove inferior to their outstream counterparts — outstream video ad format offers users a non-disruptive experience. On the other hand, they do not obstruct the users’ view of the web page. Also, since they appear muted, they don’t distract the visitors from the site’s content. By doing all of that, they don’t force the users to interact with them. The emphasis here is on the words user freedom, and that is why outstream ads generally perform better than their instream counterparts.
- Mobile optimization and customization — Outstream ads trump instream ones once again in this department. They are overall more mobile-friendly and customizable due to their responsiveness and flexibility.
Overall, outstream ads provide higher click-through rates (CTR) than their instream counterparts by 2.5% on average, according to MarketingLand. Not only that, but people spend 25% more time viewing them on average. If these statistics aren’t proof enough of their superiority, we don’t know what is!
Pros and Cons of Outstream Video Ads
Taking into account everything that we’ve said, here’s a complete overview of the benefits and disadvantages of outstream video ads.
Pros
- Publishers can easily utilize outstream video ads due to their accessibility and lack of need for an on-site video player. That way, all businesses can easily monetize them.
- These ads offer more extensive reach since advertisers won’t be restricted to video content anymore but will also have editorial content at their disposal.
- Data shows that users watch these ads longer, they are better at increasing brand awareness than their instream counterparts and provide better CTR.
- These ads offer more room for customization and are better optimized for mobile than instream video ads.
- Outstream video ads are easy to set up, which makes them a beginner-friendly advertising method.
- These types of ads offer a better user experience compared to their instream counterparts.
Cons
- Outstream video ads are still hard to find separately in ad marketplaces. You can purchase many outstream campaigns only as a part of a bundle containing different types of ads, such as pre-rolls and banner ads.
- Tracking ROI can prove tricky for these types of ads. Since they are still quite new to the market, many analytics tools have yet to implement adequate metrics for them.
- Due to outstream video being so young, people haven’t yet come to a consensus on what the best practices for this advertising method are.
- Not all video players play the ad muted, which can prove intrusive for most viewers and ruin the overall user experience.
- The increased freedom on the publishers’ side these types of ads offer is a double-edged blade — if not optimized adequately, outstream ads may prove detrimental to your marketing strategy instead of boosting it.
- Outstream ads are not the best choice for small publishers since most ad networks set minimum revenue and traffic requirements, which some smaller businesses might have a hard time meeting.
Getting Started With Outstream Advertising
If everything that we’ve covered has left an impression on you and you’d be interested in setting off on your outstream video advertising journey, you can do so by contacting an ad network. And depending on the network you choose, you will have different options and prices, so you’ll have to consult them for more details. Just keep in mind that not all ad networks offer outstream ad services, so you might have to look for a while.
However, if you’re not interested in mindlessly scouring the web, we at Brid.TV can meet all your video monetization needs with our extensive offer of video monetization solutions, including outstream ad units. So if you’re looking for one of the best ways to gain revenue as a publisher, give us a call, and we’ll help you start your first outstream video advertising campaign!
Best of luck with your advertising efforts!
