Why Short-Form Video is Critical for Your Brand’s Success

 

Short-form video marketing is becoming increasingly important for brands to reach consumers. Online video consumption has been growing steadily year over year. In fact, the average person spends over 100 minutes per day watching online videos.

Short-form videos are what consumers want to watch – whether on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or Snapchat Spotlight. The social media giants know this and have shifted their algorithms to prioritize users who utilize these features.

Keep in mind – each social media platform has different placement options and nuances. One video asset copied and pasted on every channel will likely be ineffective.

Find Your Hook

Whether you’re using display video or paid social media, short-form video increasingly wins the day. One study found that attention spans last an average of eight seconds, so getting your brand and message across in an “elevator pitch” increasingly is becoming the norm. 73% of people want to see “entertaining” videos on social media so your content needs to hook consumers immediately.

Gain Authentic Engagement with User-Generated Video Content

Consumers are exposed to over 5,000 ads daily. User-generated content has become crucial to break through the noisy digital landscape. One study found that 75% of consumers don’t accept advertisements as truth, but that 70% do trust other consumer’s opinions. Utilizing user-generated video content for organic or paid social media will help your brand become authentic and approachable to consumers.

GoPro does a great job of using video as a part of their marketing strategy. They use each social media platform for a different purpose, catering to the audience by placement. GoPro shares UGC photos and videos on Instagram, tutorials on YouTube, product announcements on Twitter, and connects with users on Facebook.

Short-Form Video Drives Full Funnel Results

Video is more than an awareness tactic for paid social media efforts. It is crucial to include video at all stages of the marketing funnel. Animoto surveyed 580 consumers, 93% of which said video is helpful when purchasing a product while 71% have purchased a product or service after watching a brand’s video on social media.

One study shows six-second awareness ads are just as effective as a 15-second video for a mid-funnel strategy. Another study found that 25% of TikTok users purchase or research a product after watching TikTok and 92% of users take action, e.g. liking/commenting, sharing, following, or purchasing. Video is now a full-funnel play and a necessary investment to build ROI.

View our Video Marketing Trends and Best Practices here for more tips!

3 Tips for Better Performing Video Content

The Top 3 Benefits of Video Advertising

Are you capitalizing on the benefits of video advertising?

Programmatic video advertising is growing rapidly. Many growth brands are seeing the benefits of incorporating this highly engaging medium in their marketing mix.

However, there are still those who are unwilling to make the upfront investment to create these assets, fearing it requires too much money and too much time. That’s understandable, especially for brands operating with a very lean marketing budget.

Coegi’s Director of Marketing, Elise Stieferman, shares three reasons why your brand should avoid leaving video out of the marketing strategy:

The Opportunity Cost of Not Using Video Ads

To summarize that video, there are three reasons why brands are missing out if they aren’t leaning into video advertising.

#1 Video Drives Incremental Sales

It may not seem blatantly obvious, but brands are actually losing out on sales if they aren’t investing in video. Historically, video has been seen as an upper funnel tactic. It’s all about awareness and gaining brand rapport. This can be true, especially for a longer form video where you’re telling a story. But videos are also very integral to building consideration before purchasing a product. Sometimes, it even leads to the end conversion.

This is especially true of short form videos. I know a lot of people are afraid of six-second videos not being effective. However, that’s the way digital is going these days. Obviously, there’s a lot of things trying to grab consumers attention, especially on social media. So brands have to quickly explain the value of the product and compel action. 

Video advertising is a more personal way to connect with the consumers. It’s more impactful in a lot of ways than a display ad. Those are simply static banners, whereas video is compelling you to stop, pay attention and consider the next steps 

#2 Video Improves the Customer Lifetime Journey

The second thing brands should consider is the customer lifetime journey. Video can build greater affinity. This is especially true for people who already know your brand. It’s easy to pivot to other brands with a similar offering, especially if it’s lower cost. But if you use video to build connection and affinity, it will be positive for your brand.

Another thing to consider is how you can use video to educate the consumer. Think about creating useful how-to videos. Help them visually see the value in investing in your brand. Then, there’s the excitement around generating new leads for your brand using video. 

But there’s also the consideration of building repeat purchasers. For example, serving videos that highlight different products to upsell or compliment their existing purchases. There’s no better way to do that than this very highly engaging medium.

#3 Video Increases Brand Recognition

Lastly, video can generate buzz around your brand. Of course, people appreciate reading reviews online. But when you think about platforms like TikTok and YouTube, video is really what’s capturing attention. It’s a very shareable medium. If you want to go viral and create a moment for your brand, video is the way to go. 

Video can seem expensive. But it doesn’t have to be high production quality. It can be user-generated content that comes from your iPhone that’s six seconds long and that even feels more authentic on social platforms. 

The longer we wait to dip our toes into the water, the further behind we’re going to be for our brands. Now is the time to invest in video and understand you are going to get that return. It may be a longer journey before you see that investment come back, but it ultimately will feed into your bottom line.

Now that we know the benefits of using video, let’s explore how to maximize the impact of your video ads.

How to Create Better Performing Video Advertisements

“Humans are incredibly visual and powerful, moving images help us find meaning…video helps capture and contextualize the world around us.”

– Dan Patterson, Digital Platform Manager for ABC News Radio

Digital video consumption is on the rise and forecasted to reach $12.66B by 2024. How are marketers adapting to changing consumer trends and creating better performing video content?

Recent studies show that the increased ad spend towards digital is a worthy investment as video is the #1 preferred content form to see from brands on social media. Additionally, video has major down funnel implications. 71% of consumers report purchasing a product or service after watching a brand’s video.

Compiling a quick video and using it across all channels, however, is not a strategy that drives results for businesses. Consider where and how long you have your audiences’ attention. This will help you avoid wasting the resources and budget you have dedicated to high performing video content. Your videos must also be intentional, authentic, and targeted to resonate with your audience.

3 Tips to Improve Your Video Marketing Content:

#1 Remember time is money

With the recent popularity of short-form video formats like TikTok and Instagram Stories, conversions are now outperforming longer-form video. Brands have mere seconds to capture their audiences’ ever-shortening attention. According to a report by Analytic Partners, this shift has translated into much higher ROI for 6-second videos (127%) than it does 30-second videos (58%).

 

Long-format videos certainly have their place, but when designing ad campaigns, make sure your content catches attention immediately and keeps your audience captivated throughout. Shortening viewing times also mean you need to make sure your product and brand both appear within the first few seconds. Otherwise, the user will likely scroll away before they understand your offering.

#2 Meet your audiences where they are

Not all video viewing experiences are the same, especially when you consider the difference between desktop and mobile viewing.  Penthera reports that 74% of consumers are watching video content on their mobile device or tablet, where the standard horizontal video appears much smaller and allows other content to be displayed along with it. With multiple items competing for attention, the viewer may decide to continue on to the next item instead of consuming the entirety of your ad. To combat this, consider framing your videos vertically so the video fills the screen. This makes your ad easier for viewers to see and focus on.

92% of consumers now watch video on mobile with sound off. So designing ads to be seen and understood without audio has become crucial. This could be telling your story entirely through visual elements or adding closed captioning to the final product. According to a report from Verizon Media and Publicis Media, “when captions are available, 37% of viewers said they are encouraged to turn the sound on.” These videos seem more interesting, and 29% said that even with the sound off, they were better able to understand the video because of the captioning. With that in mind, incorporating captions can be an easy way to boost video campaign ROI without increasing your budget.

#3 Be a story-teller, not a movie director

The single most impactful component of video performance is the creative. An Analytic Partners study found, 70% of the potential ROI comes from the creative itself.” This does not mean, however, that you “push out Oscar Award-winning video content for every commercial or video,” as our Account Strategy Director, Maggie Gotszling, said when asked about her recommendation for better performing video. There are baseline levels of quality to aim for: decent resolution, good lighting and audio. But, the key for video performance is to capture the viewer’s attention with visual interest and a strategically designed story.

In a recent publication, The Lab outlines several principles to consider while strategically designing your video content. There were three on their list we think are especially impactful for improving marketing ROI:

  1. Be short and succinct
  2. Flip the standard storytelling arc
  3. Build visual interest with eye-catching graphics.

Short and succinct messaging serves two purposes. First, making sure the viewer has a chance to consume the message fully before they scroll. Second, ensuring your messaging is clear and memorable, leaving no room for confusion. If the video has too much fluff, complexity, or goes on too long, you risk losing their attention.

When you shorten the message, also consider rearranging the story arc so the most engaging piece comes first. Historical story arcs take their time. First they establishing key elements and players. Then they build to an energetic conflict and eventually resolve the issue at the end.

To grab and keep attention with video ads, however, you’ll want to flip the script. Start the story with the high energy moment and conclude shortly after. This will “slow the scroll” of your viewer and hold their attention more effectively. If your video needs to be on the longer side, add multiple twists and turns throughout to sustain interest.

Another way to grab viewers attention is to add visual interest with eye-catching graphics and fast-moving edits. Our eyes naturally follow things that move quickly, so adding this will also contribute to scroll-slowing. When you combine these cuts with the shorter message and flipped story arc, you will have done the bulk of the needed work to hook your audience and lay the foundation for conversion.

Key Takeaways: 

  • Time is money: Get to the core of your message and display your branding/offering as soon as you can.  If you opt for a longer video, design the messaging strategically (see Takeaway #3).
  • Meet your audience where they are: Design the frame and video contents for mobile viewing. Crop the frame vertically, rely on visual storytelling and/or include closed captioning.
  • Be a story-teller, not a movie director: Reach basic technical quality standards then focus your efforts on crafting an effective story arc. Start with a bang and include surprising twists and turns.

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The Do’s and Don’ts of TikTok Advertising

As new social media platforms roll into our day to day lives, it is important to understand their marketing powers and which audiences fit best with your brand. TikTok is the newest social media platform that has really captured the attention of individuals globally. Tiktok advertising popularity has accelerated within the past couple of years. Brands want the opportunity to present their brand on a platform.

The TikTok opportunity

TikTok has reached a total lifetime user spending of $2.5B globally, has about 1 billion monthly active users since February 2021, and an engagement rate of 18% – higher than any other social platform.  It provides a huge opportunity for brands to not only introduce their brand but drive incremental conversions.

We know TikTok for its authentic, personalized, funny, and relatable content. Many brands use this tactic to show their brand’s personality and connect with their customers on a more personal level. True, Millennials and their younger peers in Generation Z are tired of ads. In fact, many of them use ad blockers when they browse.

But since engagement on TikTok is so high, advertisers can promote consumer advocacy rather than pure marketing strategy. This way, “you build brand awareness with an audience that talks about you because they’re genuinely impressed.” Many brands are focusing on reaching younger demographics on TikTok. However, 53% are aged 30+ – leaving a large reach for brands not going for the typical Gen-Z audience. 

How to create successful TikTok advertising campaigns

TikTok is a place for authenticity and personality – differentiating from a majority of social platforms in which highly-produced and staged ads perform better. Brands should strive to make their advertising blend in on TikTok. Create a seamless user experience and minimize viewing disruption. The ad should not look like a typical ad seen on other platforms because it will be not resonate. However, if it uses trending audio, popular dances, or tells a funny story,  it is more likely to gain attention.

Here are some topics to utilize while creating ads for TikTok:

  1. Get comfortable with comedy – Find a way to show the personality of your brand through relatable funny content. This could be of your product/service or of your company culture. 
  2. Show how your brand can be a #lifehack – Your brand’s main goal is to make people’s lives easier, more efficient, and/or more enjoyable.  Find that #lifehack your brand offers, and present it to your audiences in a quick video story. Overall, this hashtag has 78.6B views – allowing for a huge increase in reach for your brand.
  3. Bust a move – People love to show off their dance moves on TikTok. Use dance to keep up with trends and utilize popular audio at the same time. One example of a powerful brand deal was the partnership of Charli D’Amelio and P&G #distancedance at the beginning of the pandemic, which generated over 8B views.
  4. Utilize trending audio – Audio is a necessity on TikTok for a high performing ad. 88% of TikTok users said that sound is essential to the TikTok experience, and ads with sound-on are 2.2x better at increasing brand awareness. Brands can amplify their voice by creating an original audio clip or utilizing existing trending audio. E.L.F. Cosmetics commissioned a song for their TikTok campaign “Eyes Lips Face” and collaborated with influencers to aid in the promotion. The #eyeslipsface hashtag has been used in over 9.4B videos created by TikTok users.
  5. Find Your Niche – TikTok’s powerful algorithm, which is based on videos users watched, liked or shared, allows users to be served content that is extremely relevant to them. Understanding and reaching niches on TikTok is a great way to get your content in front of high potential audiences. 
  6. Don’t Shy Away from Activism – TikTok is a very popular platform for spreading awareness on social issues.  According to Reach3Insights, nearly 77% of TikTok users say that the app has helped them learn more about social justice and politics. As an advertiser, it is important to be sensitive to the social issues on the platform. 

TikTok is a great platform to show your brand in a new authentic light. Create genuine ads that blend in with content users are already viewing. Because of this, it is important that advertisers remain up-to-date on the latest TikTok trends so they can advertise in a way that does not seem invasive or out of place.

Take some time to scroll through the For You Page. Find the niche audiences you are looking for. Then create ads that fit the trends.  As previously mentioned, when creating a TikTok ad, look out for trends in comedy, life hacks, dancing, social justice or audio – depending on your audience. A little effort to understand your audience’s interests can go a long way on TikTok. Finally, always keep in mind that authenticity and personality are key. 

Written By: Julia Read, Sr Social Media Specialist and Rachel Vibbert, Data Architect

Coegi Partners

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