The video landscape has changed drastically over the last 10 years. As people close their laptops and pick up their smartphones or tablets, there are virtually no boundaries on how, where and when people consume content. Michael Jaschke, glomex CEO and former ProSiebenSat.1 digital managing director, discusses the future of video and where you need to be when video takes over. Jaschke has suggested four key areas to help get the best out of your video content in the evolving digital age.
1. It’s all about relevance
Mass reach has traditionally been seen as the ultimate prize for any content owner, but isn’t it also important to think about who is actually watching your video and whether it is relevant to the audience that is receiving it?
Over the past year we’ve seen a change in direction for digital advertisers as they accelerate towards direct programmatic. Marketers are searching for marketplaces that are bringing transparency into the transaction to reach their customers, in an environment that is contextually relevant for their audience.
By mid-2017 the total UK digital advertising market was worth £5.56bn, up 13.8 per cent year-on-year. The industry is booming, but companies are demanding brand safe environments. Plus, they need to make sure they are reaching as many of the right customers as possible. For content owners, context and video quality is key for successful content distribution.
2. User experience is your number one priority
It’s safe to say video is here to stay, but making sure your video gets to the right audience is vital. Publishers will only look to host your content if they feel it suits their target audience. However, you have to maintain the best possible user experience while still generating enough revenue to support your business.
As a content owner, think about what you would want to watch. Quality always beats quantity. Viewers have high expectations; premium video content has to at least meet or even exceed the traditional linear TV experience.
If cars are your passion, make videos on cars. If it is sports, make videos on sports. Users feel the passion behind your content. Producing content you enjoy and are passionate about will be more authentic and relatable, and makes for better direct communication.
3. The present is 30 seconds long, but it will become longer
Mobile is driving almost all growth in the digital market, therefore content owners have to adapt to meet the consumer’s needs. At glomex, we’ve seen videos that last about 30 seconds perform best in terms of engagement. For example, most people will be consuming content on the train or bus to work, so realistically you need to think of a time frame in which those people will be watching a video. In this instance, creating content that is short and succinct can positively impact your video’s performance. However, going forward we strongly believe video length will grow, as more and more stories migrate from text to video.
4. Curated playlists drive engagement
Consumers aren’t going to go searching for content, content has to find them. Professionally curated playlists are one of the best ways to arrange and prioritise your video content. At glomex, our video editors have an eye for finding the gems in deep pools of online video. One of the challenges is, where do publishers go looking for content? And how do content owners get noticed by publishers?
Here are five tips on how to get noticed by a publisher:
1. Content – videos need to be interesting, valuable and relevant to the needs of the consumer.
2. Findability – is also key for video curators. Titles with key words or tags can help make videos more retrievable.
3. Length – viewers want readily accessible content that doesn’t demand hours of their time. A video curator will look to include short pieces as introductions to topics of interest to support longer feature pieces.
4. Quality – professional, consistent and trustworthy are three key areas that will catch a publisher’s attention.
5. Reliability – make sure to provide content on a regular basis so that editorial teams learn to plan with you, and that way you help with their scheduling.
[1]https://www.iabuk.net/research/library/h1-2017-digital-adspend-results
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