Video marketing is only going to get more popular in 2022 as brands seek to use any means that they can to break through the noise of so many ads being pushed to consumers. Video is more engaging, with viewers much more likely to continue watching a video or click through the link than a static ad. More brands than ever are fielding digital marketing campaigns, have better and better email marketing/ ecommerce experiences and in general, must contend with more competition than in years past.
This means that brands are always looking at new ways to better capture the attention and of course the dollars of their audience. Digital ad placements through AdWords, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc are massively popular even for smaller brands with lower budgets. More data is also available through these digital ad placements to tweak campaigns and determine what works and doesn’t work with your audience and what you sell. As brands, A/B test ads, not only are they A/B testing static ads against other static ads, but they are testing video ads against static ads. Overwhelmingly, video ads win out when metrics are viewed, such as engagement, click-through rate, and cost of acquisition.
In 2021, we received more interest to help clients create video campaigns to run alongside and in place of digital static ad campaigns than ever before. In nearly every case, the video ads performed better. Over time, we also helped clients develop multiple versions of video ads to test offers, intro lines and other variables. It’s hard to say when developing a campaign which variant your audience will respond best to, but over time you can continue tweaking campaigns to generate the maximum ROI on ad spend.
Where to run video ads?
The answer now is nearly everywhere. While Adwords’s search ads are 100% static, google facilitates video ads through youtube and partner networks. Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Tiktok all provide for video ad campaigns to be used and robust analytics necessary to run effective campaigns while tracking campaign data to make tweaks over time.
Even within these marketing platforms, there are various ad placements for ads, which can in some cases affect the length of the ad needed and aspect ratio.
While some PPC related video cans be 1-3 min, often, and much more commonly they are 15-30 seconds.
The specific format, length, aspect ratio, and ad placements should be discussed as you plan your video ad campaign. Depending on the strategy, your business offering/type, and your campaign goals, certain ad placements can be slightly more effective than others, but this is another variable that can be A/B tested.
Broadcast & Cable Ads
While digital video campaigns are in many cases the most assessable and at times the most effective, for certain business types – think local service companies, car dealerships, local events and tourism businesses – regional and local broadcast and cable tv advertising can be highly profitable and effective. This type of video ads are almost always 30 seconds, but in some cases can be 15 or 60 seconds long.
Often, but not always, the video ads that would run on a digital campaign, would be formatted somewhat differently than those made specifically for broadcast and cable. However, for automotive clients, we’ve found that 30 second tv spots made for broadcast and cable can also be highly effective when run through digital video campaigns on youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Depending on the type of business, a single broadcast tv spot can be run for a significant amount of time, however, for businesses like automotive dealerships where the offers and messaging can change month to month, refreshing or replacing the ads more regularly is needed.
It’s important to plan a broadcast strategy well ahead of time, including the production side and media placements. Often networks have media buy packages that will include a certain number of showings, along with the number of how many viewers will see your ad etc. Working with an agency that has handled broadcast and cable media buys and production would be the recommendation to avoid wasted ad dollars and create content that will convey your brand’s message.
Email Marketing and Website
Does your company continuously build an email marketing list and use email marketing to stay in touch with your audience? If you don’t then this should be near the top of the marketing to-do list. If you do, then you should consider adding video content to the emails you send. It could easily be video content produced for other purposes that you upload to your youtube account and send. Whether explainer style content of new products, case study video, or more sales-focused content.
There’s extensive research pointing to email marketing that includes video content being more effective as it will be more likely to be clicked and engaged with. Take a look at your inbox, it’s very likely the larger consumer pointing brands you’ve made purchases with before will include video content of some kind in at least a portion of the emails you receive. Larger consumer brands many times will create short video ads focused on certain product lines or specific products that can then be targeted to the segmented portions of their audience they believe are most relevant.
Explainer style content is also a very effective way to hook website traffic, whether a homepage video giving an overview of what you do, or more focused content that is specific to certain products or services you offer. Many start up companies will have a 1-3 minute explainer style video incorporated into their homepage just as a way to quickly engage with web traffic and show off succinctly what they do.
B2B Video Marketing in 2022
Even for B2B firms, video content is a powerful tool to capture prospective clients in your sales funnel and move leads down the funnel. Explainer-style content as mentioned above is a core type of video that can be used in nearly every marketing channel. Beyond that, more focused videos that cover a product line or service can be effective. Case study videos are one of the most popular types of b2b marketing content, these are often featured on websites, used in tradeshows, in email marketing, or used as an email follow-up to sales conversations.
Trade show Video Marketing
Video content should without a doubt a part of your tradeshow marketing plan. Booths that have rich media content, are more likely to attract and keep visitors, hopefully creating a potential lead.
Virtual Reality VR Production in 2022
Virtual reality experiences are also becoming more popular, particularly for tradeshow use, VR content is without a doubt the most engaging type of content at trade shows. At the many tradeshows we’ve been to, any booth with a VR experience of some kind is nearly always packed with a line of booth visitors wanting to try it. It’s even better when there’s a tv screen showing what the VR participant is seeing.
Video Marketing Costs in 2022
Expect a future full article on video production prices in 2022, but we expect video production prices to be pretty similar to 2021 prices. Certain changes could be the lack of available inventory for certain equipment needed and a slight rise in talent costs.
Vlogging and Live Streams
More and more vlog style video content has become popular, with many YouTubers using this format, with minimal editing, as the basis for their channel growth. Vlog style videos can also work for brands in a variety of ways. Also starting a live stream on Youtube or Facebook can be a great way to quickly reach your audience. This could be anything from a restaurant talking about specials etc, or an automotive dealership talking about special offers or new inventory, the list is nearly endless, but live streams and vlog style content will become more popular and commonplace as a way for brands to better reach their audience in 2022.
Now’s the time to start planning a video marketing campaign in 2022! If you want to explore how creating a video ad campaign could benefit your brand, let us know! We’ve worked with numerous clients to build and refine video marketing content, whether for B2C, B2B, trade shows, automotive, you name it- We’ve don’t it when it comes to video marketing!
Want to improve your marketing in 2022?
How much does video marketing cost? – Take a look at our prior article.
Want to learn more about integrating video ads into your marketing channels – Get in touch!
