The Power of Video in Social Media Advertising

February 25, 2021 Mind Methods Agency

Everything you need to know

Youtube has over 1 billion users.
More than 500 million hours of videos are watched on Youtube every day.
More video content is uploaded in 30 days than major television networks have created in 30 years.

The shift of cognitive modes from deep to hyper attention.
Deep attention is characterised by concentrating on a single stimulus for an extended period of time, preferring a single information stream, ignoring external distractions, and a high tolerance for long concentration.
Hyper attention is characterised by switching rapidly between tasks (multiple tabs open, watching a minimised youtube/facebook video while scrolling through, working across multiple screens), preferring multiple information streams (fact checking an article by reading a few simultaneously instead of reading the first the whole way through), seeking a high level of stimulation, and having a low tolerance for boredom.
This shift in cognitive modes must be accounted for in internet advertising to ensure consumers engage with content. The way consumers interact with advertising content has shifted dramatically.
Attention span has a direct effect on marketing.
People use social media to be entertained.

Mention your brand in the first 3 seconds of the ad to increase aided recall.
Optimise your title and description to capture attention. E.g.” Top 10…”, “Things you didn’t know about…”, “Everything you need to know…”
Create engaging sound off videos (85% of videos are viewed without volume)
Utilise square and vertical videos 1:1 or 9:16.
Link your marketing objective with your strategy. If you’re aiming for engagement and relationship building, using a market segmentation strategy targeting a specific consumer would be ideal. The advertisement would be in the form of a feed video What tone will your audience respond to?
If you’re aiming for views, a 6 second video or gif would be appropriate.
Utilise Facebook live where appropriate. The less forced nature of the advertising medium encourages interaction in the form of comments.
Upload your videos natively. It ensures your consumers are able to view the post then and there rather than be redirected to another platform. By this time you’ve already lost attention. Consumers prefer to view videos on the platform as they load instantly.
Customise thumbnails. Facebook selects 10 to choose from, it’s recommended that you upload your own for optimal engagement don’t use too much text.
Drive action back to your site. Calls to action, special deals.

One of the most diverse social media platforms in terms of its users
85% of facebook videos are viewed without volume, ensure your images and graphics are the hero
Upload videos directly to Facebook (Native videos), they are easier to watch and load quickly
Facebook recommend 5-15 second ads for optimum engagement. This length of ads have the highest completion rate. This ensures the whole message of your advertisement is received
Diversity of advertisement forms

Videos up to 2 mins attract optimal engagement. Theres no need to worry If your video is a few seconds over your target so long as its under 2 mins
Significant drop after 3 mins
6-12 mins is consistent (these tend to have a high value proposition that consumers buy into

Stories - interesting way to create a narrative and the consumers through a journey. Optimal engagement due to stories being at the top of social media platforms
Feed videos
Non-skippable mid video ads - closest thing to tv advertising
Skippable ads
Experiment with building ads specifically for each format or repurpose advertisements to better suit each format

Stimulus perception process (consumer behaviour theory)

Deliberate exposure: Consumers actively seeking stimuli to help them achieve certain goals (researching products).
Random exposure: consumers come into contact with stimuli that exists in their environment without seeking them out. Shorter videos perform better because their aim is to capture attention quickly