Integrating Video Ads in Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

The New Pay-Per-Click: Video Ads in Your Social Media Marketing

Video marketing is quickly becoming a very profitable method for small businesses. According to Wyzowl, 2017 will be the biggest year yet for video. According to a survey conducted by Wyzowl, the key findings included:

• 83% of businesses believe that video gives them a good ROI.
• 97% of businesses said that their explainer video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service.
• 91% of consumers have watched an explainer video to learn about a product or service.
• 78% of businesses that have used Facebook Live, said it was an effective marketing tool.
• 95% of consumers believe that a video should be less than 2 minutes long.
• 84% of consumers have been convinced to make a purchase after watching a brand’s video.

Also, according to the 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report written by Michael Stelzner, published by Social Media Examiner,

• A significant 60% of marketers use video in their marketing and 73% plan on increasing their use of video.
• A significant 50% of marketers plan on using live video services such as Facebook Live and Periscope, and 50% want to learn more about live video.

In a February 2016 survey from RBC Capital Markets and Advertising Age, 12% of US marketers had already purchased autoplay video ads on Facebook and an additional 57% were likely to in the next six months. Only 7% said they definitely would not buy Facebook autoplay ads.

Brands like Citi, AT&T and Frito-Lay have come to realize that the traditional way of thinking about video—as merely a 30- or 60-second TV spot—is outdated. Consumers are spending more time with feed-based social environments and are growing comfortable with watching video on a mobile device.

According to a survey conducted by eMarketer.com, the following stats were calculated for 2015 on the media platforms where the teen and young adult internet users viewed videos:

Top Social Media Sites for Video Advertising

If you want to launch a social media video ad campaign, there are a number of sites where you can start.

1. Facebook.

By far, Facebook is the number one social media site out there. And they offer video advertising, so you should definitely consider it as a medium for this purpose.  Video ads on Facebook appear just like video content posted by a user’s friends. You can think of them as native ads on social media. Video ads provide Facebook users several options for engagement. They can “Like” your Facebook page, visit your Facebook page, “Like” the video, comment on the video, share the video, and/or click a “call to action” button (“Shop Now”, “Book Now”, etc.).

To stay within your budget, you can choose a flexible schedule for your video ads, as with all other advertising on Facebook, It costs as little as $5 per day to get your video in front of the right audience.

2. YouTube.

Did you know that YouTube is the 2^nd largest search engine used in the world, second only to Google? YouTube video ads are offered in two major categories: skippable and non-skippable. The skippable ads are a cost-effective way to reach people who are willing to engage with the brand. As with Facebook, you get the opportunity to set your own budget with YouTube video ads.

3. Twitter.

Although Twitter is often viewed as a text-based platform, it also supports images and video. You can choose promoted video ads on Twitter as a cost-effective way to reach people in your target market. This cost-per-view (CPV) model will not charge you unless the user who sees the video actually plays it.

4. Instagram and Snapchat.

Instagram video ads look, feel, and act a lot like Facebook video ads. If you’re offering a product or service that will appeal to millennials, you might want to consider video advertising on Snapchat.

There are other social media sites, like Pinterest, where you can run video ads, or ad management platforms like AdEspresso and Vungle; and more are joining in this lucrative ad field all the time.

Contact St. Louis SEO for Growth for Help with Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

St. Louis SEO for Growth offers our clients social media marketing packages that get results for businesses. We offer several standard packages, or we can customize a package that will fit your specific needs and goals, including social media advertising and video advertising. Contact us to discuss which option is best for you and how we can tailor it to fit your needs.