Video Advertising Has Changed, and You Need to Keep Up
9/21/2019
With attention spans diminishing and video content flooding the interweb, modern day advertising is being forced to change its ways. Just like anything new in technology, it all comes down to specific, ever-changing calculations. Not only will the way you conceptualize, create and disperse your video ads impact your ROI, but will impact your footprint amongst consumers and fans. The internet doesn’t forget. We now live in a world where videos can go viral in a matter of hours, all with the ability to connect buyers with consumers through beautifully constructed visual content. But, have no fear! The best way to get ahead, is to look in the past.
Just about 15-years ago, you could not have imagined video would dominate the internet the way it is today. I mean, we’re talking about a time when Yellow Pages was still a thing, when huge companies weren’t worried about creating a website, when the only internet services available were dial-up, when MapQuest was our only way of travel, and pictures took about a century to load. That was our world, less than 20-years ago. Yeah, we’re shook too.
The ability to connect with buyers, consumers, or fan base has never been easier than it has with visual content. This is the way we are seeing people from all over the world bond with their followers, and also the reason digital strategists are employing an astronomical amount of visual content. Whether it’s educational, entertainment, reporting, or simple ads, these monster companies have caught onto the fact that high quality video has the ability to retain and engage users on a deep, deep level.
YouTube used to be the only site on the internet where video content could be shared, back in the 2000’s that was. In 2017, YouTube claimed that users watched over 1 billion hours of video on the website - per day. Yeah, that’s one, 24-hour cycle, my friends. Modern day digital advertising has changed because of the internet being so overly saturated with content, that it comes to no surprise how far video advertisements have evolved. At this point, consumers embrace it, providing many advantages for advertisers and companies. We all know that videos are monetized, it’s just… how it is. But, quickly engaging your audience is key these days, and ensuring said ads make it to the correct audience is another important factor. Thankfully for ad demographics, that problem is solved, but finding the creativity to engage and sell a product or service within 15-30 seconds, can be daunting. And it all comes at a price.
By price, we mean cha-ching - mula. Because the internet is so overly saturated with visual content, the common eye can easily notice poor or low video quality. A company with poor video quality would come off as tacky, desperate, and rushed. Obviously, it wouldn’t be quite engaging either, and the chance of getting a long-term follower or customer from it are extremely low.
Be sure to remember that engaging, high quality, and well-produced content is can potentially create a follower, customer, or a partner within a long-term B2C relationship. Think of it as a physical location. How quickly do you judge a business by the quality of its location? Pretty quickly, and if it’s run-down and not so pretty, you’re not going to want to use those services. Well, same goes for video content, and consumers know.
What this all really comes down to is the consumer now has a trained eye, and a shorter attention span. In order for companies to start moving forward with advertising, they must start utilizing the power of visual content, engaging content, and embrace the explosion of video on the internet.
