Category: Video

Webinar: Earning attention with mobile video advertising

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Ad skipping, fleeting attention, distraction, clutter. In today’s crowded digital environment, earning attention with mobile video advertising can be challenging. In fact, 59% of marketers’ digital ad budgets are allocated to digital video, and that number is only expected to rise.

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eBook: How Successful Brands Avoid the 5 Biggest Mobile Video Advertising Obstacles

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Consumer video consumption has increased so dramatically year over year that, according to research from the IAB, 59% of marketers’ digital ad budgets are currently allocated to digital and mobile video, and marketers expect to increase that investment by 53% in the coming year. Continue reading “eBook: How Successful Brands Avoid the 5 Biggest Mobile Video Advertising Obstacles”

5 video marketing tips to engage and enthuse an audience

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5 video marketing tips to engage and enthuse an audience

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Video marketing offers high engagement and conversion. By using newer options like interactive video, mobile apps, social media, and incentives, brands can expand the impact of any video advertising or marketing message. Marketing managers seeking video marketing tips should consider these emerging avenues to reach consumers and get them to try a product.

The benefit of video marketing campaigns is the ability to use multiple channels to gain engagement for one video. By working with available platforms and partnering with third-party apps, your brand can get its video content in front of new users who may not be familiar with your products. These five video marketing tips will provide brands with better ways to expand the reach of their content and improve marketing ROI.

Video Marketing Tip #1: Adding Interactive Components to Video

Making video interactive—having viewers participate in driving the story—is an excellent way to increase engagement with a message. An interactive video can be simple, like in the case of a poll embedded in video content. Alternatively, these videos can be complex, immersive virtual reality experiences. Interactive elements within a video include the following.

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Encourage Active Watching

Encourage active watching: When a consumer must make selections or click on portions of the screen, they’ll be more likely to watch the video actively. This active watching means they will also be more likely to retain the video’s message and remember a brand.

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Create a Personalized Connection

The interactive components of video create a connection with consumers that regular video does not, as the consumers drive the story. This involvement helps to develop a relationship between the viewer and content, making it appear that brands are not advertising at them, but rather working with them.

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Gather Consumer Information

A common interactive component of video is a poll. Through these polls, brands can gain insight into viewers, how the content appeals to them, and other information that will better help market to the right audience.

Interactive video offers an additional opportunity to grab the consumer’s attention and get them to engage with branded content. Video that features interactive components can both help advise brands on future marketing decisions and offer immediate brand awareness and affinity.

Video Marketing Tip #2: Make It Mobile for the Most Interaction

Mobile video is a must for brands that want to reach consumers on the move. The most recent data indicates that mobile video accounted for 60% of all mobile traffic and this number is expected to increase. Selecting platforms that support mobile video—whether you’re purchasing ad space before primary content or releasing your own branded content—is critical.

Another added benefit of optimizing for mobile video is the ability to control the timing of a message to reach consumers on the move. A consumer out shopping, as an example, may see a mobile video ad for a quick-service restaurant in their immediate area and decide to stop by for dinner. The proximity of the video watcher to the product increases the chance of purchase, making mobile video a strong sales driver. In addition, mobile allows brands to extend their reach to consumers who may not have Internet access through a desktop computer. It’s very common in emerging markets—like India or China—that some consumers only access the Internet via their mobile phone. By making video mobile-friendly, you can reach a wider base of consumers in these markets.

Video has become the preferred type of media for consumers and mobile is the place they choose to view it. To ensure you’re able to make the most of this trend, a brand must make sure their video content is optimized for a mobile platform.

 

Video Marketing Tip #3: Gather a Crowd Through Social Media

Social media is a great place for video sharing, whether you choose to use it as the native platform or host content elsewhere and share the video to your social sites. It offers an opportunity to make a brand’s message trend while providing a reasonable ROI from your marketing efforts. Social media offers three basic ways to share a video message, outline below.

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Organic Engagement

Organic engagement comes as a result of ads which aren’t outright advertising—like a how-to video or customer testimonial—and it’s the content itself that drives consumers to share these posts.

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Paid Ads

On social media, paid video ads generally come before primary content, or as sidebar video content. Depending on the social media site, the paid content can blend in with the user-generated content and attract customers without seeming like an ad.

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Influencer Marketing

Another category of social media video marketing comes through influencer marketing. In this case, the brand doesn’t create content themselves but instead relies on a popular social media personality to share information about their product.

While companies don’t have to buy ad space to create organic engagement, there are costs to be considered such as the cost of creating the content and building buzz. As such, while organic engagement has no media costs, it’s not a free marketing avenue. Costs of creating content and pushing engagement by connecting with users of the platform can be extensive.

When it comes to influencer partnerships, these arrangements can either be free or paid, and the cost depends on how many followers these individuals have. On the lower end of the spectrum, brands often use micro-influencers with smaller followings as the individuals are willing to provide reviews in exchange for free samples or nominal fees. Online celebrities—like those with tens of thousands of followers across multiple sites—generally work under sponsorship contracts similar to what celebrities receive.

Social media can boost the reach of your video marketing by getting the content in front of more viewers. As sharing and commenting on videos is common, this also improves engagement, which expands brand awareness and affinity.

 

Video Marketing Tip #4: High Tech AR and VR Components Build Buzz

Augmented and virtual reality components are growing in popularity. The primary issue slowing down the development of AR/VR content is the accessibility of hardware. These types of headsets can be very expensive for consumers, as they primarily come as add-ons to expensive gaming consoles. Most recent estimates indicate shipments of virtual and mixed reality headset shipments are expected to grow by 68.9% by 2022. This is a market that is ripe for expansion, so brands should be looking at AR/VR video content options in preparation for a surge in demand.

For now, brands that wish to leverage the buzz-building potential of AR or VR video can offer experiences via a consumer’s smartphone. While the combination of video and AR is still emerging, we’ve already seen some excellent examples of this type of media in action. This strategy is one a Parisian luxury fashion brand used with great success. When promoting a new line, the company used AR as a way of sharing 360-degree video and fashion shows with consumers who were in the vicinity of stores. This immersive content spurred interest in the line while also creating an intriguing experience which gained extensive press coverage.

Of course, the ROI on most video AR campaigns isn’t clear, as this is a very new area of mobile video marketing. Over time, the removal of cost barriers will allow brands to find many creative ways to use high-tech features in video ads.

 

Video Marketing Tip #5: Rewarded Video Boosts Results

Another video marketing option for brands is rewarded video programs. Rewarded video allows brands to gain views while also creating a connection with consumers. These rewarded experiences work by offering the consumer non-tangible benefits (like rewards points or in-game items) in exchange for a few moments of their time. This rewarded viewing is a common feature of shopping apps, like Shopkick. Providing consumers with rewarded video offers several benefits including the following.

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Limiting Discount Dependency

While many CPG brands will typically look to discounts to incentivize customers, rewards offer a higher benefit. The brand does not have to take an immediate loss on the product and consumers will perceive rewards as more valuable than discounts, due to their emotional return.

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Higher App Retention Rates

Rewarded video has proven retention rates for apps. In one study, more than half of users that watched only one rewarded video within the first week after downloading an app kept that app for at least 30 days. That rate is 300% higher than the average retention rate of a non-rewarded video app. Simply incentivizing viewing is enough to boost app retention rates, which are a key part of any mobile video campaign.

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A/B Testing Opportunities

Brands can use rewarded video as a way to test out which media will be better to deliver on a mass scale. As an example, a brand offers two rewarded video options to consumers. Based on which video consumers choose more often, the brand knows this is the preferred choice. They can then share that video on social media and other platforms, ensuring they’re getting the highest ROI based on the consumers choice.

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Increased Completion Rates

In a regular video ad—like a pre-roll ad—a consumer may choose to skip or ignore the ad. In rewarded video, the consumers only received the rewards after viewing the complete video. This requirement significantly improves video completion rates.

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Improved Brand Affinity

When a brand gives incentives for engagement, this creates a connection with the consumer which can be used to improve the overall perception of a product. The consumer views the video advertisement as a benefit and not a disruption.

There are many benefits to adding rewarded video to a marketing campaign. It offers an opportunity to both reach consumers directly, improves the perception of your brand and retention of both branded apps and third-party app partnerships.

There are many video marketing tips for brands that wish to engage consumers with this popular form of media, but not all are appropriate for every brand. Higher-tech options like AR and VR may not be cost effective for smaller brands, while brands with massive followings may find that interactive content is too difficult to manage when dealing with a large audience. The best results come from using a variety of options to gain the most engagement for your marketing dollar.

Shopkick offers an engaging app which allows our partners to leverage the power of mobile video, shopping rewards, and more. For more information, contact us.

The 2018 video advertising trends that will shape 2019 and beyond

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The 2018 video advertising trends that will shape 2019 and beyond

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Video is going through a significant transitional phase as emerging video advertising trends are set to change the way advertisers approach this medium. While traditional video marketing has always had strong sales conversion potential, new formats like 360-degree campaigns, rewarded video, and live features may offer an even better benefit. That benefit is the ability for a brand to gain attention with video, even as the traditional marketing space for videos becomes a crowded and challenging area in which to compete.  

Most of these new features in video advertising trends come as a result of improved mobile technology and the platforms these consumers use on their devices. With increased access to smartphones, consumers can interact with brands in immersive environments, receive incentives for watching content, or participate in events remotely as they happen. Today’s video advertising trends show us that brands must be prepared to deliver innovative marketing content as consumers’ demand for incentives, live features, and immersive experiences grow.

 

Going Live on Social Media

Live streaming is such a favorite feature among consumers it’s even been called “the future of social media.” Most popular social platforms offer live streaming features as part of their apps, allowing consumers to film and share simultaneously. This is an area of which brand leaders can take advantage to help their content stand out.

Live video offers content without the expense often associated with creating it. Consumers tend to have lower expectations for the quality of live streams than traditional formats such as professionally-produced commercials. Live streaming allows someone to create a short, in the moment video that can be shared immediately. Some live videos can even be saved and stored, for future accessibility.

Live Internet video is expected to account for 13% of all Internet video traffic by 2021. This boost in live traffic will continue as brands start creating live campaigns as part of new product launch plans or other branded events. Those who understand the power of live content will be best poised to deliver it.

Rewarding Consumers for Watching Videos

One of the most significant challenges in video advertising is not in attracting viewers but in keeping them engaged from beginning to end. The longer a video is watched, the more likely the consumer is to retain the brand’s message or even buy its product, making full views the pinnacle of performance in video metrics. Content is just one of many factors that can determine if a video is viewed in its entirety. Some other factors to consider include:

 

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Placement:

Video advertisements play in conjunction with a featured video. Having the footage play before content is often a more effective way of gaining full views when compared to putting it in the middle or at the end of the primary material. This is because the consumer may not watch the primary content all the way to the end.

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Length versus impact:

A consumer may be more than happy to watch a 15 second advertisement, but are they really grasping the concept in such a short span of time? The purpose of the ad is to share the brand’s message and increase consumer connection. If the ad is extremely short, the consumer likely won’t retain anything from it. However, if the ad is too long, they may not watch it all the way through. Brands must test various advertisement lengths to determine the maximum amount of time needed to retain the message compared to how long consumers are willing to watch.

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Value for time investment:

The most prominent factor in whether or not the consumer will view a video all the way to the end is if the consumer feels that the amount of time spent watching the advertisement is worth it. At best, some brands hope to get passive watchers of their ads, in that the consumer tolerates the commercial until they are able to skip to their primary content but isn’t fully engaged with the ad. However, by rewarding the consumer for watching the video in the first place, the likelihood that they’ll actively watch the video increases. This active watching is where rewarded video can make a stronger impact for brands.

Rewarded video is a means of encouraging watching a video to completion by offering an incentive.  In games, this incentive might be additional lives or equipment, while in shopping apps—like Shopkick—the focus is on allowing the consumer to collect rewards points (aka kicks) for viewing specific video content. In either case, rewarded video improves:

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Engagement:

Rewarded video creates a back and forth between the consumer and the brand that isn’t produced through a standard video advertisement. The consumer gives the brand permission to show them the ad for something in exchange, heightening the connection.

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Retention:

In one study, 53% of users of new apps who’d watched one rewarded video in their first week kept the app for 30 days or more. When a company is trying to improve retention of a branded app, rewarded video can make the difference as consumers are more likely to keep an app that rewards them.

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Value perception:

One of the benefits of rewarded video is the brand is giving something that has a higher perceived value than an instant discount or coupon. When gaining rewards points, the consumer’s perception of value is worth more than the dollar amount of a reward being offered. As consumers place high value onrewards points, these act as a great motivator in the rewarded video segment.

Rewarded video can be an excellent way for brands to leverage the popularity of video while minimizing their competition. Through the incentivized experience, the consumer develops a favorable impression of the brand which can later lead to sales. These rewarded experiences are also less costly than other emerging video marking mediums.

Immersing Consumers in 360 Video Advertising Trends

One of the most advanced ways to reach out to consumers with video advertising is through immersive experiences that allow the consumer to feel like part of the advertisement. This immersive experience is a more cost-effective option than virtual and augmented reality video advertising. These experiences can also improve sales, as one study showed a 7% greater purchase intent from those who’d viewed a 360-degree experience from a brand.

One example of this type of advertising is a campaign for Mountain Dew that included immersive trailers for a street basketball game sponsored by the Pepsi brand. The brand features popular streetball player Grayson “The Professor” Boucher in a series of 360-degree video ads for an event. Overall, the commercial reached a 22% click-through rate, which is significantly higher than the standard 1% rate of most video advertising campaigns. Mountain Dew was able to achieve this by using immersive ads in conjunction with:  

 

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A niche celebrity endorsement:

Boucher may not be a household name, but in the streetball community, he is well known. This partnership gives Mountain Dew credibility in a niche community, allowing them to reach out to the fans of that community through their celebrity partnership.

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Highly targeted advertising:

Again, streetball is a bit of an indie sporting event, not as widely-followed as events from the NFL, MLB, or the NBA. This niche audience offers a smaller, but less diverse pool of consumers who may be more likely to be fans of Mountain Dew. This offers a smaller, but more purchase-motivated audience for the brand.

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Social media tie-ins:

During the event, the brand tied in social media using the #GotHandles hashtag on social media. The hashtag is a play on Boucher’s goal to inspire basketball players of all ages to stay on top of their basics—like ball handling skills. The hashtag gained greater attention for the campaign when used on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

The results speak for themselves when it comes to immersive campaigns. They offer higher conversion potential than standard video while improving consumer engagement. Despite that, these campaigns are incredibly expensive to create, far more so than a traditional video ad. While technology is being designed to lower the barrier to entry in this medium, it will be some time before it’s a feature that’s affordable to all. One more cost-effective way to leverage new video innovations is by partnering with a third-party app provider.

Managing Video Experiences with Third-party Mobile Advertising

When it comes to video advertising, the trend seems to be moving the way of mobile. In fact, mobile video traffic now accounts for half of all mobile traffic. Brands must be prepared to take a mobile-first approach to offering video advertising to consumers. This mobile-first approach is often more accessible for a brand to manage by partnering with a third-party, like a shopping app, to provide videos to consumers while offering a well-rounded mobile experience. Leveraging a third-party mobile app for delivering videos offers more than a few benefits to brands, including:

 

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Greater audience reach:

Through a third-party partnership, a brand immediately gains access to that app’s existing user base. In partnering with an established app provider, this can often include millions of active users.

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Rewarded experiences:

Some shopping apps provide the option for brands to leverage rewarded video on a platform that offers points for consumers viewing those advertisements. These apps incentivize views of a brands video and gain attention for its products without requiring an immediate discount.

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Video insight:

By using a third-party, a brand can gain access to data from their video interactions, helping them discover valuable signals of purchase intent which they can then use in future advertising campaigns.

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Less competition:

When a brand puts a video on an open platform that anyone can use, they automatically enter into competition with every other brand on that platform. Shopping apps are a bit more exclusive, allowing a brand to limit the competition for views of video content within an endemic shopping environment.

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Conversion boosting features:

We know that video advertising has a high ROI. Proximity marketing—where consumers receive messages based on their location—has high conversion potential. Combining these two powerful sales converters significantly expands the impact of a branded message and could help improve sales as well.

Using mobile apps in conjunction with third parties can provide a cost-effective solution for a brand that wants to leverage video advertising but isn’t sure they’re ready to invest heavily in the technology. These apps can be a way to test the water before a brand moves on to more complex, in-house video marketing campaigns. Finally, they provide a better way to incentivize consumers without giving discounts.

Video advertising trends that will shape the future combine technological advances to deliver greater interactive experiences for consumers. Whether a brand is using live video options, incentivizing consumers through rewarded video, or promoting an event with 360-degree content, it is gaining an edge by offering content consumers are starting to demand. By making these experiences mobile, through a third-party partnership, brands will be better able to leverage trends in video advertising as they emerge.

Shopkick provides an innovative app that our partners can use to share their video messages with a broad audience of active users. For more information on our app’s video capabilities, contact us.

Three must know video marketing statistics

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Knowing what your competitors are doing in terms of marketing initiatives is one of the key parts of building a campaign, and you can gain a lot of insight from video marketing statistics for 2018. Understanding competitors’ practices reveals how they’re reaching out to consumers and, sometimes, what you should be trying as well. Using these statistics can help brands develop ideas for differentiation. Video marketing statistics reveal what others in the industry are doing and how a brand can stand out in an attempt to gain market share.

must-know video marketing statistics Choosing a slant, an audience, and a platform for video ads can be a challenge for brands, as the number of choices can almost overwhelm. There are thousands of platforms and audiences to approach and millions of ways to deliver messages. Brands need to be able to segment themselves and find the ideal place to share their category of goods. Gaining insight from three key video marketing statistics can help guide and improve your video marketing decisions.

Video Marketing Statistic #1: Marketers Are Increasing Focus on Video

Most marketers plan on boosting their budgets for video marketing in 2018. In one survey, about 85% of digital marketing professionals plan on increasing their investment in video in 2018. That’s across all major platforms, including:

  • Social media: About 61% of mobile marketers plan to use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share video advertising this year. The rapid increase in marketers using video advertising on social media platforms could be due to the increased development of native platforms within these sites. Facebook is one such site that is increasing its support in video, to include adding options for mobile video. The increased access to social platform video support is a driving factor for why so many brands are choosing to leverage it.
  • In-app advertising: Marketers are also looking to in-app advertising for mobile video, where advertisements appear while consumers are using apps. This category also accounts for shopping apps, like Shopkick, which are seeing a rapid increase in popularity with consumers.
  • Branded video advertising: Brands making their own videos and hosting them on their own sites will also grow this year. When a landing page includes a video, it’s estimated that up to 86% of users will go on to view additional site content after viewing the video. This is a key factor in why brands are upping their native video content production.

Of course, there are a few downsides to increased video advertising spending. First, many brands will find it more difficult to gain attention as competitors also roll out video offerings. In addition, increased ad spending on video advertising has also increased the risk of fraud.

Video Marketing Statistic #2: Scammers Now Focused on Video

Video is becoming a prime target for ad fraud as it has become a lucrative area for scammers. Video makes up about half, 45%, of ad spend for companies, but it accounts for 64% of ad fraud. This fraud occurs several ways:

  • Pre-roll mislabeling: In video advertising, a brand can purchase advertisements to run prior to editorial content, often referred to as pre-roll. In some cases, however, a disreputable firm may instead play video in a pop-up window, with no editorial content. The issue with this is that advertisers will pay for a more expensive editorial spot with high conversion potential but will instead get impressions from one of these low conversion potential pop-up windows.
  • False traffic: In this style of advertising fraud, fraudsters set up bot networks that send fake traffic to view videos. The advertiser pays for real, human traffic, but instead gets machine generated traffic.
  • Piracy: Piracy, in relation to ad fraud, comes when sites deliver pirated content at the expense of legitimate sponsors. In 2016, digital ad revenue from content that infringed on copyrights reached $111 million, forcing many online advertising organizations to begin cracking down on copyright violations.
  • False completions: Fraud also occurs when a viewer scrolls through a feed and sees only 2 seconds of a 30 second video, yet the marketer is charged for a full 30-second view.

It can be difficult to fight these types of fraud because spotting them can be a challenge. To avoid paying for fraudulent ads, companies should work with marketers that hold industry credentials, like TAG and MRC certifications. Those credentials show that a company has met certain standards, so brands can trust the methods they use for gaining and measuring traffic. This is especially important for brands as video viewing switches to mobile devices.

Video Marketing Statistic #3: Mobile Makes the Difference

Mobile video advertisements grew by more than one-third in 2017, and it was reported that consumers spend around half an hour every day viewing these advertisements. It appears that mobile video demand and supply are increasing simultaneously, as consumers seek more mobile content and brands hustle to deliver it.

One way to stand out with mobile video advertising is to take an in-app based approach.

Mobile video advertising is in a massive growth phase right now, which is why brands need to seek unique ways to leverage it. An influx of innovative new advertising platforms makes for exceptional opportunities for brands, as it’s possible to get in on the best advertising platforms while they’re still in their infancy—before they’re overrun by competition. One way to stand out with mobile video advertising is to take an in-app based approach, such as with shopping apps that allow brands to share video advertising in a platform that leverages multiple strategies for incentivizing sales.

These video marketing statistics for 2018 provide insight on what the competition is doing in terms of ad spending. They also show us areas of risk—like increased ad fraud—and reveal what platforms to focus on. Understanding what is driving competitors to take the steps they do with video lends insights brands can utilize in their own marketing campaigns.

Shopkick is heavily focused on the impact of video and offers our partners the opportunity to leverage it through the power of mobile apps. For more information, contact us.

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