Why Video Advertising on Facebook is Here to Stay
Pay-per-click campaigns are a steady bet even in the ever changing digital world, but new mediums are infiltrating the digital marketing sphere that advertisers need to adopt — like, yesterday. Video advertising, in particular, is increasingly gaining ground on social feeds, and the medium itself is evolving (think: live streaming, virtual reality, etc.).
It’s important to note, however, that there’s been some heated controversy surrounding video advertising metrics on advertising platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which may be skewing video metrics.
Experts argue over the numbers, but even if the numbers are exaggerated, there’s no denying that videos are getting consumed and reaching target audiences. Here’s why video advertising is working:
Video Advertising is Easy to Consume
For the first time in history, YouTube now reaches more US 18-49 year-olds during prime time than the top 10 TV shows combined. Why? Because online videos are visually appealing (when done right) and available on-demand, making video advertising easy to consume.
For multi-family communities, videos can very easily convey a property’s amenities and neighborhood vibe all all wrapped into one content package and tied in a bow, because viewers never need to leave the page.
Cheap Video Advertising Costs
While the cost of video production might feel like a big spend, the cost of getting the video in front of your audience is a stark contrast. We’ve executed video campaigns for our clients that cost as little as $.02 per view.
Above: Video advertising campaign results from a community’s video produced by GTMA
And it’s worth doing right, as video campaigns can yield high returns. definitely not a trend to write off!
77% of consumers reporting that they’ve been convinced to buy a product after watching a video, and 72% of businesses say videos have improved their conversion rates, definitely not a trend to write off!
Newsfeed Algorithm
As you scroll through Facebook, you may notice that recipe videos, among others, have hijacked your newsfeed and autoplay the moment you breeze over the post. Most of these are videos that have been uploaded directly to Facebook, these are proven to perform better than links to videos uploaded on Youtube!
There are two reasons why videos perform so well on Facebook. The first is that natively uploaded videos keep users on the site longer, thus pleasing the almighty algorithm gods that determine how relevant a piece of content is. In turn, the more relevant a post is, the more it’s served or ‘presented’ to Facebook users.
The second reason — if the content is captivating, people are likely to share the video with their followers. This part is pivotal, because in June 2016 Facebook began adjusting its algorithm to favor posts from users’ friends and families. So the more shares your easy-to-consume video gets, the greater reach it’ll have.
Video Advertising is Ever-Evolving
Live videos, for example, are rapidly growing and algorithms are prioritizing their delivery. This can be a great way to highlight resident events, and help current or future prospects feel directly connected with your community.
The second big player expected to take off over the next several months is virtual reality. 360-degree videos that allow a viewer to “look around” can put them right into a model unit. It may even become the future of home tours, and GTMA is already creating virtual reality experiences for websites.
And as technological support grows on social media, we can only expect users to demand more VR. Perhaps the most exciting for multifamily in particular, VR will allow future renters an immersive experience like no other. And in the era of selling experiences over products, this approach wins every time. Video content has earned its place in the digital marketing world and continues to evolve with the trends and available technology.