• by Chad Bronstein , November 10, 2014

The value of video in digital marketing is growing as video consumption continues to rise across channels and connected devices. In the first half of 2014, the Interactive Advertising Bureau reported digital video ad spending increased by 24% compared to the first half of 2013.

While TV is not dead -- consumers still watch on average 4.5 hours of TV per day -- users are spending significant amounts of more time viewing video content on other devices like desktop, smartphone and tablet. Mobile now accounts for 22% of overall digital video consumption, expected to rise in 2015 with ad spending in social expected to exceed $26 billion dollars globally.

Enter Social Media: A Channel Capable of Widespread Impact

As marketers, we need to stop thinking in silos and start media planning with complete storytelling in mind. Using video content and social channels together to tell a cohesive, engaging narrative that leverages the mind-set of the user, based on the screen and platform they are viewing, should be the norm.

Once content creators begin to develop video based on channel and device, engagement and video completion rates skyrocket. Adding videos to landing pages can increase conversions by nearly 90 percent—especially across the ever-increasing landscape of social platforms, where video has become a strategic way to break through the daily clutter of 58 million tweets, 4.75 billion pieces of Facebook content, and 60 million Instagram posts.

Few advertising channels outside of social allow a brand to maximize distribution of short- and long-form content and get users to watch nearly an entire video clip. Video is a tool to help change perception and sentiment among a brand’s target audience, while leveraging established advocates to relay influential opinions to their peers across multiple channels.

Given the usage of social platforms, high engagement with content and the ability to target audiences on a one-to-one level, it’s surprising that video and social are so commonly planned separately. As marketers, isn’t it our job to find the right user and deliver the right message to them at the right time? If so, why are we not planning video strategies on Facebook and Twitter in conjunction with our broader video buys? It is time to tear down the channel walls and start building smarter media plans inclusive of social user behavior and each platform’s unique capabilities.

Video-based social media offerings are becoming more advanced and marketers should continue to adjust their strategy accordingly. Recent research from SocialBakers found that more marketers are opting for Facebook video over YouTube, and Twitter’s native Video Card outperforms YouTube links -- emphasizing the huge opportunity for brands to develop engaging content that resonates with each social network’s unique audience and format.

Using Video to Increase the Success of Social Campaigns

A recent example of a video-based social media campaign that demonstrates the power of video and narrative was Showtime’s “Homeland” TV series fall season launch on Twitter. Leading up to the premiere, Showtime used the @SHO_Homeland handle to reveal a promo video clip to followers. Followers were teased to engage with @SHO_Homeland until their tweets unlocked additional exclusive video content.

What this type of execution proves is that a brand's social media followers can be activated to help spur further awareness and engagement when the right creative is used and strategically promoted. However, TV ad targeting alone will not reach a brand’s entire audience—and when utilized as the only targeting parameter it can lack scale so it’s important to build in additional targeting to expand reach. This is where Big Data comes into play.

Leveraging Social Data for Audience Connection

Knowing what drives social users to action needs to be determined by real-time and historical content consumption behavior. Tapping into the actionable insights that come from Big Data are essential in identifying trends and a brand’s key influencers that can be activated to optimize campaigns. Once you know who you should target, what matters to them, and what content will keep them engaged, social media becomes a viable means for brands to sustain 1-to-1 dialog at scale.