Video by Design: Not All Channels Are Alike
Performance marketing always has had a unique and valuable feature: we are able to accurately measure the performance of each creative on each media channel, then we are able to scale that data to reach maximum media efficiency to ensure a product or brand is making the biggest return on its marketing budget.
Today, people are consuming media all day long. It is where we get our news, goods and services, entertainment, and education. The average person spends three hours and 15 minutes on their smartphones, checks their phone more than 58 times, and spends more than four hours watching television programming every day. In addition to our phones, which rarely leave our hands, many of us also have computers, iPads, TVs, and other devices on which we take in our preferred content.
With all the time a potential customer spends on multiple content platforms, it should be clear that, from a pure business perspective, creative matters! If a potential customer does not stop on your ad to learn more or make a purchase, then there is no business.
The key to success across all performance marketing media is understanding and customizing content — not only to your target audience but also to each unique platform. There is no more one-size-fits-all creative; it is now imperative that you develop platform-specific creative, and the most effective format is targeted video content.
Nearly 75 percent of consumers prefer video content over text content to learn about a product from a brand for these reasons:
- Video catches attention visually.
- Video emotionally connects with people.
- Video allows for demonstratable evidence.
- Only video can deliver authentic endorsement and testimony about the benefits of the product.
- Video is highly sharable, thus expanding your audience organically.
Successful performance marketing is targeted video content for every channel. Think of each platform as a different kind of playground for your brand or product:
- Television is still the playground for reaching the masses, not niche products. Television provides space for short- and long-form content, where you can educate, demonstrate, and validate that your product or brand is the best solution to the problem.
- Connected TV, such as Hulu, is the neighborhood playground where you tell your closest friends (who are just like you) that they should check out this solution to a shared problem.
- Meta/Facebook is the playground for family and friends. This is the channel where you authenticallyshare with your inner circle.
- Instagram is a visual playground that shares experiences in pictures and video. This is where visual storytellingthat shows the features and benefits is most effective at driving clicks on “shop now.”
- YouTube is the schoolyard playground where you go to learn via video. Like television in its format, this channel provides more time to educate, demonstrate, and validate why your brand or product is the best choice for an informed decision.
- Google is the playground where you search for answers.
- TikTok is a big playground free-for-all, where someone with relevance can make a positive impact on sales for your brand. (Note: This one is not scalable.)
- Audio/podcasts are the playgrounds where recesses have no time constraints, and the “teacher” has immense influence.
- Amazon is the playground where you meet the competition: everyone will come to see what you and others have to offer.
- Finally, retail still has its place among the channels; it is the ultimate playground, where if you pulled all the levers successfully in your multichannel campaign, the rewards can be tremendous.
No matter what platform(s) you choose, direct-to-consumer marketing principles still apply. Each creative on each channel must include all or many of these elements: problem and pain points; offer a solution; tell a story of how you solved it and why; highlight what’s unique and better with your solution; demonstrate it; validate it with authority and authentic testimonials; create value; provide a compelling offer; and create urgency.
When every dollar counts, make sure every message counts on every platform. Partner with a team that knows how to leverage content to your best advantage.
