Competition for consumers’ attention in the digital world is intense! What are the best ways to make sure your videos achieve higher social media engagement?
Control over ad-viewing and the need to protect the user experience has given birth to a new video marketing format. We tried Googling and asked around, but we haven’t found a catchy name. So we’re calling them…
‘Micro Promos’
What is a micro promo? It’s ‘a branded video that is 15 seconds or less. The content should be concise, punchy and memorable.’
The popularity of micro promos has taken off on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The average commercial is around 30 seconds. 15 seconds is a tight time constraint, but we love this format. Great creatives thrive under tight constraints anyway, right!?
Micro promos are great for social media engagement. They are effective for branding campaigns, offer lower risk due to lower production costs and present the opportunity for higher output frequency.
6-8 second videos are the optimal length for branding campaigns for mobile audiences, delivering on average 36% higher engagement levels than longer form, and providing the best results for driving traffic.
These clips from M&S and Ben & Jerry’s are great examples. They feature strong branding, simple concepts and the dynamic editing transitions make me want to watch again. And again. And again.
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BBPa17-C7ii/ width=300]
[instagram url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BAST7WaxkNn/ width=300]
Slightly longer form videos, from 15-30 seconds, still have their place though! They are more effective than micro promos for product-focused campaigns with a call to action.
When viewers are asked to click-through for more information, 15-30 second videos provide 30% higher engagement than micro promos.
Brands running 10 second mobile video ads have greater appeal and persuasion potential with younger audiences. However, a slightly longer, 30-second spot did better with those aged 35 to 54.
The most important thing for businesses and marketers to consider is when each format is appropriate.
Our recommendation is to use an interconnected approach i.e. use a range of different video formats and lengths across all of your digital marketing channels.