It is an open secret that internet users love moving images. Facebook, Google+ and Twitter: users of social networks in particular watch all kinds of video and share it across the web at lightning speed. When it comes to getting advertising messages across, showing products and services with sound and pictures is becoming ever more important and, above all, ever more popular with users. The AdEffects study from 2011 makes it clear: in terms of both acceptance and comprehension, users respond very positively to advertising messages delivered through video ads. (Source: AdEffects 2011)
Find the people who actually care about your message…
However well a video is edited, however elaborate its effects and however good its soundtrack, the person watching it has to be receptive to the message. Otherwise the message fizzles out and adds no value at all. Now that Google AdWords also lets you include video, targeting your own video clips at a specific audience is easy. Targeting tools let you split audiences into ever more detailed and specific segments, so you reach exactly the users you want to reach.
… and don’t force your message on anyone!
Videos that ambush users the moment a website opens, in an attempt to make them watch, usually get clicked away. Sometimes people close the whole website. If you embed videos that users start themselves with a click, you have their full attention. At the same time, the ad is not seen as a nuisance, so no negative association is created.
Opportunities in the financial sector
This applies especially to financial products and services: complex topics and processes are particularly easy to explain through video. Videos not only make facts vivid and therefore easier to understand. They also convey emotion and entertain, so they stick in the memory and leave a lasting, positive impression. Ideally, the explanation of a financial product can move away from hard-to-follow text and become an advertising message that is easier to understand and enjoyable to watch.
Another plus for video advertising in finance is how the relevant target audience uses the internet. In trading in particular, people get a lot of their information from video formats and video messages (YouTube, for example). Contextually relevant video advertising, set up in the right places, takes advertising messages exactly where they need to go, in the financial sector too: to interested potential customers.
Transparent evaluation, and you only pay for attention
When it comes to measuring success, video advertising generally makes it easy to see clearly which users you have reached. As an example of the tracking options offered by video ad providers, here is a quick look at how Google AdWords works. Recently, the range of ad types you can place through AdWords was extended to include video. Because clicks and video views can be tracked, you can analyse the reach of video ads in great detail. The system also lets you control costs and adjust them to your advertising budget. You only pay when the ad is actually clicked. The principle is simple: costs for placing the video only arise when a user clicks.
The format in which ads appear, for example in the Google Display Network or on YouTube, can be varied and adapted to suit your needs. As a standalone element in the search bar, or as an ad played before videos: the options are many.
For the near future, one thing is clear: video ads are a good alternative for presenting complex topics quickly and clearly, especially in the financial sector. Combined with their other benefits, such as the lasting effect created by the emotion they carry, video ads offer a versatile way to bring your products closer to the right customers. In all likelihood, video ads will be a fast-growing segment of online marketing in future. All advertisers should therefore watch and analyse them very carefully.
For explanations of the different ways to integrate video ads, see here: overview of the various embedding options
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BRmeq4XHZXk
