Video Trends to Authentic Advertising

A company can go in many different directions to promote its products/services. Whether it’s web design, social media ads, digital ads, search engine optimization, or multimedia content, Online Optimism works to give clients different options for enhancing their reach and strengthening their brand. With so many options available, why would a company choose video advertising? Do consumers even care about commercials anymore? How much is a successful ad campaign going to cost to produce? Video advertisements serve to raise awareness of a company’s offerings through the creative visual medium of videography and film. Video ads are one of the oldest ways of advertising that is still prevalent in our digital age. Through the test of time and rapid development of technology, video advertisements are still bringing brand engagement and awareness to companies of all scales. People’s desire for authenticity in media is acknowledged as video advertising evolves into the digital age.

The Different Types of Video Advertising

Different types of ads have served different purposes. For example, informative ads are rooted in factual information about the product or service’s capabilities, while straightforward examples can be found in infomercials. The video’s objective is to showcase the functionality and purpose of the product by exploring real use-cases. 

In story-driven ads, narratives get played out during the video in a way that ties the product in. These ads are different from informative ads because successful story-driven ads don’t necessarily have to show the product or service. This type of advertisement doesn’t try to convince you to buy the product/service by showcasing its benefits, but more so connects you to the company to create a desire to become involved with the brand. Video ads now come in many different forms. They all used to be broadcasted strictly on television. Currently, there are so many other ad formats that serve different purposes. Whether in-stream ads, bumper ads, out-stream ads, or masthead ads, advertisers create various forms of advertisements native to the consumers’ user experience. This ability gives advertisers many options for how they want to reach their target audience effectively. A goal for advertisers is to place video ads in places and incorporate them in a way that feels organic. Consumers have become very aware of online ads and feel like there’s no escape from them, but an effective video advertisement can be something that the viewer enjoys watching.

Video Trends Push The Narrative

There has been a push for authenticity in video advertisements. You can see this in the rise of ad campaigns that are emotionally focused, trying to appeal to the watcher’s ideals and emotions. Many ads demonstrate the company’s ethics or cultural values. This is another push to be authentic and appear honest to their viewers. With the popularity of social media platforms like TikTok, many companies are also reaching out directly to social media influencers to record and post candid and casual endorsements of their products or services. This form of native advertising allows their ads to exist within social media platforms as genuine posted content. Consumers are interacting with companies more than ever before through the internet. Companies now have whole teams dedicated to social media planning, and a lot of them reply to people directly on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Companies have leveraged social media to respond to people’s desires and critiques, allowing them to better understand what their target demographics want out of their company. They can also create video ads explicitly tailored to the sensibilities of their audience.

Influencer Marketing and Social Media

Companies have many options for reaching people on social media, and one of the most successful and prevalent ways of doing that is influencer marketing. An influencer is somebody with a social media following whose presence affects and interacts with a company’s industry or target audience. Many companies are reaching out directly to influencers to post original content that promotes a product or service. Some influencers make skits out of the ad; others speak directly to their viewers about the benefits of the product/service. There are influencers of many different scales. For example, celebrities are influencers, but someone with a modest following who posts funny TikToks is also an influencer. The wide range of influencers and micro-influencers makes it very accessible for any company to take advantage of, no matter the size of the company or industry. In addition, social media influencer sponsorships are much cheaper to produce; the majority of money spent is directly paying the influencer. Social media and influencer marketing are incredibly efficient because most people’s media interactions are on social media and their phones. That, paired with the fact that production costs are so low, has made this type of advertising very popular. Consumers feel like they are listening to real people and not rich marketers.

Reaching Your Audience

A great way to reach your target audience is to take advantage of these established platforms and influencers who have amassed followings. It is cost-effective to produce and is efficient in reaching focused audiences by targeting specific influencers who interact with the people you are tailoring your product or service to. People are fearful of being manipulated and lied to, and after decades of formulated ad campaigns, consumers are looking for something new and authentic. Whether it is hearing real people talk on social media or higher-produced video ads focused on narrative and story, the days of infomercials and stiff video advertisements are over. 

To learn more about how Online Optimism’s video capabilities can benefit your business, contact us today.