It’s no secret that today’s online advertising world is overcrowded, so it’s critical that you think outside the box. Gone are the days of static banner ads, we know this. But it’s also not enough anymore to rinse and repeat ads, hoping to capture the attention of your target audience. It’s time to get creative. In this article we cover Video and Social Display, two formats that will help you cut through the noise, ensure your ads are really standing out, and ultimately drive conversions through programmatic.
1) Video advertising: If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million
While video is already part of every marketing strategy, it’s easy to forget how much impact it can have on campaign performance.
By adding video, whether it’s in-stream or out-stream, into client display strategies, we’ve seen on-site visits uplift by 15%, page views and consideration uplift by 21%, and – arguably the most significant – conversions uplift by 5%. So if you aren’t already leading the charge with video content, now is definitely the time to start.
When working with a German travel company, we adopted an omnichannel approach, and ran a pre-roll format with the goal of increasing awareness among new customers. Then this was supplemented with prospecting display activity. We targeted viewers of the pre-roll video based on the percentage they watched with the display ad, and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of our omnichannel synergy. Audiences that viewed between 75-100% of the video had a 14% higher CTR on display, with a 28% lower CPC. With results like that, video is essential to achieving optimum campaign ROI as part of your omnichannel strategy.
2) Social Display ads: Bringing the high quality, engaging content of social media together with the data and audience targeting mastery of programmatic
First things first, what is Social Display advertising? Simply put, it’s placing social media posts outside the walled gardens of social media platforms, often using existing media buying infrastructure. The user experience is similar to encountering social media posts out “in the wild”.
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So what are the benefits? Social media posts look and feel more like entertainment than traditional ads. It’s a clever way to combat ad blindness. And, it shows in the results. Our campaign insights show that social display ads achieve an increased CTR compared to regular banner ads. Working with one global beauty brand, by using social display ads, we saw a 5x higher CTR against the standard display benchmarks, and achieved a 70% completion rate for a 30 second video.
Combine these results with leveraging the capability that social media posts have to build relationships and interaction, rather than seeming like a sales exercise, it’s a no brainer. This approach encourages organic engagement and signifies to the user that what they are seeing is content rather than an ad. This ‘softer’ approach benefits your brand whilst driving better performance and an uplift in social media followers, giving the opportunity to then further target these users.
But the true secret to maximising campaign ROI? It’s what happens when you use an omnichannel approach and bring both of these elements together with other channels and formats.
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Both Social Display and Video are formats that can be overlooked or considered less important in advertising strategies but which undeniably achieve successful results. With Social Display ads, you likely already have the content ready to go, and by working with a trusted partner like Crimtan, you can deploy these quickly and cost-effectively. Your brand will then be rewarded with increased click through rates, heightened brand awareness and a higher level of customer trust and engagement. And for Video, we’ve found that it is an excellent supplement for display ads to drive even more engagement and conversions.
Ready to get creative with your programmatic strategy? Get in touch today.