Video has become an undeniably huge part of the internet. According to a report by Cisco, video will account for around 80% of global internet traffic in the near future. As millennials spend most of their time on social channels and mobile devices, it’s no wonder that advertisers have turned to social to drive engagement.
How video advertising on social has taken off
Video is effective for a number of reasons as the way that users digest information and interact with content is changing. We’re moving towards a more visual digital landscape in which videos help to bridge an emotional connection with those watching. Today’s consumers are highly visual and influenced by engaging content on social – mobile video plays into this by combining sight, sound and motion to drive deeper engagement and higher completion rates. As a result, users are interacting with video content more than ever before.
A report from the University of Oxford found that a mismatch between content and advertising (high energy ads shown during moments of tension in a show or film) was a huge turn-off for consumers. Advertisers on social understand that relevant ads are more likely to be watched by users and regarded more favourably.
How has this impacted the top social channels?
Facebook has announced it had reached 8 billion video views per day, while Snapchat claimed it had reached 10 billion views per day. The sharp rise in viewership indicates an overall increase in video consumption, while video ads command the highest rates of Facebook’s advertising options. It’s clear that video has exploded onto social, with an unprecedented potential to reach a huge number of people.
How employers can take advantage of video advertising
- By incorporating Native video – which allows viewers to stay within the social media platform, this increases the odds of that video being watched.
- To build brand awareness – visibility of video ads on social channels will increase the exposure of your employer brand to new audiences
- To capture warm leads – viewers who watch videos to completion are engaged with your brand and are therefore warm leads
- By recycling content – existing content can be turned into a video and retargeted across multiple channels
By incorporating simple calls-to-action within video ad content, brands can create an ongoing relationship with their audience. However, brands also need to think about when and where they’re placing a CTA – for example most users access social channels such as Instagram and Snapchat from mobile devices. As a result, users are often scrolling through news feeds quickly, so CTAs should hit within the first 5 seconds or so.
The best platforms for reaching candidates
Facebook is the number one video ad platform and is leading the way for video advertising. A study by eZanga found that 20% of millennials find advertisements served are relevant to their interests and lifestyle, and the same amount were likely to click on sponsored content. Video content isn’t just popular with millennials though. Ages 45 and older reported Facebook was their main platform for video consumption, with 27% stating they view most of their mobile video content on Facebook.
So how does Facebook successfully appeal to different demographics?
- Shorter video ads – the average length of a Facebook video ad is 44 seconds, in keeping with the short attention spans of viewers
- Ads pause – to ensure viewers are actually watching the video, some ads automatically pause when you leave the screen, giving you the option to resume the video
- Check out your competition – Facebook’s Video Ad Creative Spotlight allows you to keep tabs on your competition, by showing how other brands across different industries are using Facebook
Following in Facebook’s footsteps, Twitter’s First View is a video content only format which places brand stories in front of audiences. This feature allows adverts to reside at the top of the Twitter feed for a 24-hour period, while Instagram has extended its video ad opportunities by increasing ads from 30 seconds to 60 seconds, allowing advertisers to be more creative. Much like Facebook, video ads are relevant and entertaining, in keeping with the tone of the channel.
Why you should focus on including video in your social strategy
By ignoring the use of video in your social strategy you are potentially missing a huge proportion of perfect candidates. Employers should build an on-going video strategy to see maximum results and look deeper into video ad performance to harness the true potential of video advertising on social. As different social platforms cater to different audiences, brands should choose wisely depending on the demographic they wish to reach.