Social Videos: Why Are They So Effective?

Video content is becoming much more popular on social media, so how is it that it can be used more effectively by brands?

It is becoming more and more challenging for brands to figure out how to create effective video advertisements in order to stand out in social feeds that are extremely overcrowded. So, how can you make yours appealing, and how can its effectiveness be measured?

Here’s what you need to know about social videos:

Create Trust and Add Relevance with Auto Play Videos

Video advertisements that automatic play in the feed are typically considered much more trustworthy, relevant and non-intrusive when compared to pre-roll advertisements. In addition, individuals tend to feel that relevant advertisements are less intrusive, which shows just how important targeting the appropriate audience is prior to delivering ads to social media feeds.

So, in other words, the more appropriate the targeting, the less aggravated social media users will be.

Brand Favorability Can Be Boosted

As the users’ trust is gained through in-feed video advertisements, there is also more probability that brand favorability will be increased. This is true even if they are only exposed one time to them. Statistics show that social videos, when compared to pre-roll advertisements, have a far greater impact even though users spend less time on them.

This essentially means that businesses need to catch the attention of their audience instantly and use the first few seconds of the video to deliver the best possible message. Yes, this is a challenging task, but it can be done and it does result in boosted advertisement recall.

Advertisement Recall and Awareness Can Be Increased with Viewability

Viewability simply refers to how interesting a video is to actually appeal to an audience. The first few seconds of a video are the most important seconds of the video because they are when the audience will decide whether will continue to watch or stop watching the video.

Therefore, you have less than just three seconds to capture viewers’ attention and it takes creativity to do this. Remember, the longer the audience views your video, the higher the ad recall and the awareness.

Tell Your Story Early On

As already mentioned, those first three seconds of your social video are critical. Therefore, you need to make certain that you invest in a message that is powerful and it must begin from the first second. The earlier the story arc, the better. Statistics show that story arcs presented earlier in the video are often more persuasive, especially if the correct information is conveyed. This is because it has the ability to set-up the context for the remainder of the advertisement. It also makes ad recall a lot easier – linking the story and the brand together.

Branding Impact

While there is an overall agreement on how a brand’s content can be negatively impacted by excessive branding, it doesn’t mean that the same can be said with social videos. Instead, heavy branding can actually be pretty beneficial when you have just three seconds to get your point across to your audience, as excessive branding provides you the means to create the association between your brand and the story you are trying to tell.

With social videos, your end goal is to boost your brand’s awareness or ad recall. If excessive (or heavy) branding can help to enable this process from the get-go, then it’s worth giving it a shot.

The Key Takeaway from All of This

Video content is increasing in popularity as we speak. With its metrics continuously evolving, marketers need to become familiar with how social videos differ from various other forms of content and how those metrics can be successfully measured. These videos will only continue to grow even more, so it is critical that we all learn how to define KPIs that will make social videos beneficial as a piece of our overall digital marketing strategy.

So, as you move forward, remember the following:

• Videos that automatically play tend to be preferred among web users because they’re not as intrusive. This is a great way to build trust.
• To increase content relevance, make sure you are targeting the right audience.
• Don’t shy away from excessive or heavier branding for your social videos, as it could prove to useful.
• Tell stories in your videos with clear, concise messages. The first few seconds are the most crucial.

For more information on social videos, reach out to our experienced team at WebDetail.