Video advertising can be beneficial for building brand awareness and growth and can also give it a distinct personality.
As a survey has concluded that 80% of people retain the information in video advertisements seen in the past month, video ads seem to have proven themselves to be both impactful and powerful.
Equally, when videos get shared on social media channels, the reach of your brand increases even further.
There are different kinds of video ads:
- In-stream ads
- Companion ads
- In-banner video ads
- In-page video ads
- In-text video ads
- In-game video ads
In-stream video ads
In-stream video ads are the ad type that most users will be commonly familiar with. The ad plays before, during, or after the video content.
In-stream video ads can also be categorised depending on their placement within the video:
- Pre-roll ads are the most suitable as they must play before the content is viewed.
- Mid-roll ad advantage is when the user is already engaged in the video. Although the abandonment might be lower, the ad is likely to be more intrusive and could receive a negative connotation from the viewer.
- If the ad is played at the end of the video content, the chances of the viewer clicking out of it are increased.
Depending on how big of a section of the screen they take up, in-line ads can be linear or non-linear.
Linear ads
Linear ads take up all the screen and can be played before, during, or at the end of a video.
Linear ads also include user ad choice overlay, which has an interactive aspect. For a more targeted approach, the user can choose between several ads.
Another interactive option is Interactive Video Ads, which enable broader interaction options, such as locating a store or signing up to a newsletter.
On the downside, all types of video ads risk of being abandoned by the viewer as they interfere with video content consumption.
Non-linear ads
The non-linear video ad type includes overlay video ads and non-overlay video ads. The overlay video ads appear in the form of a banner on the video content.
If a user clicks on the ad, the content will pause while a full player ad is shown, or they are redirected to a website associated with the advertisement.
Non-overlay video ads are very similar to the overlay video ads, and here the difference is in the fact that these ads can play at the same time as the video content.
The ads are designed to be a constant reminder of the brand, which can both lead to increased brand awareness, or abandonment of the ad and the creation of a negative association with the brand.
Companion Ads
As the title suggests, companion ads are in addition to the video content played. These ads are displayed around the video player in the form of a banner. On the positive side, these ads do not intrude the video content. However, the user can get rid of the advertisement by displaying the video content in full screen.
In-Banner Video Ads
These ads can be collapsible, stand-alone, or serve as companion ads. In-banner video ads do not interfere with the video content displayed, and all interactions are user-initiated. On the downside, these ads can be distracting to the viewer and cause abandonment of the site.
In-Page Video Ads
These are very similar to in-banner video ads, aside from the fact that they are embedded in the webpage.
In-Text Video Ads
These are user-initiated ads that appear in a video form when a user rolls the mouse over a highlighted part of a text on the website. The disadvantage of this is that accidental hovering over a highlighted word may unintentionally cause a video to begin playing, which might annoy the user and cause them to abandon the website.
In-Game Video Ads
Have you ever seen an ad before a game is loaded? Or in-between game levels? In-game video ads can be placed on online games, as well as on social and mobile games. From the advertiser perspective, these ads are not skippable and short, which reduces abandonment. However, from a user perspective, it may be perceived as off-putting.
Pros and cons of video advertising
There are several benefits of video advertising, such as the multiple and flexible formats we have seen, as well as real time results and global reach. Moreover, the costs of video ads are relatively low, averaging around 0.10$ and 0.30$. The video can be short, comprehensive, emotionally-provoking, engaging, and compelling. If the ad is creative, it could also be posted on the brand’s YouTube channel or embedded on the website to serve as permanent content.
Video ads can be targeted to a specific audience depending on parameters such as demographics, topics, and interests. Similarly, you can exclude market segments and websites if you do not wish to advertise on them.
You can target your video ads to people who have previously interacted with or viewed your ads. This can be done through the Google Display Network remarketing.
On the downside:
- Ad and website abandonment due to ad-skipping – Statistics show that 64% of users in the 18 to 24 age range skip ads. However, if your target audience is 35 to 44 years old, you have a high chance of getting your ad seen, as this ad group is the least likely to skip an ad.
- Attention span – this tie in with the previous point, as even if the ad is played in its entirety, there is no guarantee that the user paid attention to it.
- Timing – depending on where the video ad is placed, users are likely to watch it.
- The market is saturated – the video must be of high quality both from the filming point of view and from the content side.
- Expensive production – editing, music, and equipment of a quality video ad can be high, as well as the apparent ad placement. A healthy PPC budget might be required for video advertising.
- Technical issues – video loading speed, any other viewing problems, such as slow internet connection can temper with the video ad performance.
Video ads can be incorporated in different networks and channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The Twitter PPC platform enables advertisers to upload videos of 2 minutes and 20 seconds or even videos of 10 minutes for specific accounts.
YouTube video ads
YouTube has a massive audience that stretches across a multitude of industries, making it the second biggest search engine in the world. With an audience of close to two billion users across 90 countries and 80 languages, it should not be ignored. If you are advertising for eCommerce businesses, YouTube is an excellent opportunity to showcase your products and their qualities. Some audiences are more prone to respond positively to a video format than others. YouTube ads have an average cost of $0.10-$0.30 per view.
Video ad options on YouTube:
- Display ads – these appear only for desktop users, above the suggested video list.
- Overlay ads – as previously mentioned, the overlay ads appear on top of the video content, covering around 20% of the video. Overlay ads are also displayed to desktop users only.
- Skippable and non-skippable video ads – If the ad is skippable, users can skip it after five seconds of watching, if it’s a non-skippable, then it will play for 15-20 seconds. YouTube used to have longer 30-second ads. However, due to their unpopularity among the platform users, this ad length was removed.
- Bumper ads – Short six second non-stoppable ads before the video starts playing.
Out of these options, display ads are less frequently used, as the user can easily watch the full video screen and disregard the advertisement completely. Even if the ad is visible, it is not directly on the video; therefore, it is less effective advertising method.
In terms of targeting, you can choose your target audience by demographics. You can block out users in certain countries. So, for example, if you have an online clothing store that ships only to Europe, you can target countries only in the geographic area.
As mentioned in the disadvantages of video advertisements, creating a video can account for most video advertising costs. However, this depends on the equipment available to you and the level of the desired outcome. The better the ad, the less likely people will be to skip it or not pay attention to it.
Create a YouTube advertising strategy, alter your targeted audience, set a daily budget, and pay only when a viewer clicks on your advertisement. Once you have run a YouTube campaign for a while and can review the statistics, you will be able to see if and what type of audience found your ad compelling.
