Love at first sight: Reinventing video for marketers
First impressions matter so much because they happen fast, and they stick. We make these judgments in a nanosecond (it takes only seven seconds to make a strong first impression ), and once that impression is formed, it’s very difficult to change it. For an impression to form, it is imperative that the subject gets noticed. A recent study revealed that of all the advertisements made each year, 89 percent go unnoticed, seven per cent are disliked and three per cent are liked . With so much clutter and copious amount of information filling social media and the Internet, how should brand marketers rise above the noise to outshine their competition and make a lasting, great first impression?
Humans are visual creatures who respond to storytelling, and videos are the natural medium for this. 74 per cent of B2B marketers reported that video converts customers better than other content type , with 64 per cent expecting video to dominate their strategies in the near future . Knowing that video works in their favour is not enough. There is a time and place for everything – brand marketers should draw on placement and timing to affect their video campaigns. And yet 99 percent of the Internet is made of clutter, flooded with content that fails to capture the short attention span of consumers.
Be top of mind
To prevent messages from being lost in translation, brand marketers seek to dominate their competitors with eye-catching content. We pay more attention to messages at the top of our screens rather than those at the bottom; the top-most content captures attention the longest. These placements receive the highest click through rates as well . Twitter’s First View allow brand marketers to own the exclusive top ad slot in Twitter timelines for a 24-hour period.
When Jaguar USA (@JaguarUSA) wanted to drive rapid, mass awareness for the launch of its new luxury vehicles, the auto brand went Jaguar bold and launched an #UnleashTheCats Promoted Trend and First View video campaign . The compelling short videos starred spokesperson and actor Tom Hiddleston and drove video views by using First View to make sure its Tweets were front and centre in user streams.
Time to be first
Other than great placement, timing plays an important factor. Placing an ad at the correct time frame would attain higher visibility and reach with the right target audience. Based on Twitter’s internal data, we find that the crack of dawn appears to be the time in which Tweets receive the most clicks, on average; while evenings and late at night are the times when Tweets receive the most favorites and Retweets clearing demonstrating audience engagement. Tweets with images also result in positive increase of reactions such as click-through-rates, Retweets and visitor-to-lead conversion rate .
Every good marketer will know the importance of investing in the right moments and being relevant. However, this does not necessary mean it will place them ahead of the competition; being first does. Deepavali, also known as the festival of lights, spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair.
Leveraging on the significance of this festival, The State Bank of India (SBI) launched their HOPE LOANS initiative (#BeTheHope). For every loan issued during this festive period, SBI made a disadvantaged person’s dream come true by engaging NGOs in the education, health, environment and shelter sectors. Their First View campaign stood out amongst the competition by being the first campaign that the Indian community sees, relevant to the festive period. With a video creative focused on this CSR theme, their campaign on Twitter received very high engagement levels: with a video view rate of +36 percent, and an approximately 20 percent incremental increase in their follower base on Twitter.
This Diwali, when you give your loved ones a new home, electronics or a car, you can gift those in need with something too– hope. #BeTheHope pic.twitter.com/DnjvVdAhWj
— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) October 30, 2016
This Diwali, #BeTheHope for those in need. With every #HopeLoan you take, the underprivileged across the country now have a reason to smile. pic.twitter.com/A2Sl4DpKfV
— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) October 29, 2016
Spark the ‘Love at first sight’
Beyond being first, the creative storytelling that goes alongside needs to speak to the heart and create that ‘Love at First Sight’ moment for the brand’s audience. Nescafé, for example, launched a dedicated 24-hour Moments campaign on Twitter, curating exclusive video, Tweets and other content surrounding their product story with a love story of popular Filipino movie stars Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo, that would “captivate” consumers and ‘KathNiel’ fans.
#KathNielCreamyWhiteMoment peaked when the video was added to the Promoted Moment, sitting at the top of user’s Twitter feed. Within the 24-hour campaign window, the brand and the hashtag received over 120,000 mentions and over 4.3 million impressions.
Tap the button to tweet and be part of #NESCAFENation. Let's unlock the new @NescafePH TVC featuring Alden & Maine! https://t.co/xNHnoIfdin
— NESCAFÉ Philippines (@NescafePH) May 4, 2016
Conclusion
Almost one billion people in Asia-Pacific are watching digital video, a figure that is set to increase by a third over the next four years . Marketers should consider these vital elements in executing their marketing campaigns to ensure that they lock their audience’s attention in the first few seconds, and ultimately, maximise return on investment.
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