Rather than looking to others, more brands are becoming content creators and publishers, investing extra time and energy into building their brand messaging. A large part of this is visual content or digital video, which is easily sharable on their website or through email, as well as through YouTube and other social networks. Videos are also a great way to create content that can be re-purposed for other outlets. Additionally, these videos can be used for as actual online video ads, which have seen a spending increase of 44.5% in the last year according to an eMarketer report. That is huge!

As noted in our Fifa World Cup blog, the average share rate of videos is 1.31 percent, and other than YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are two great outlets for video content. Instagram, is no longer just for images and while it seemed to be slow to take with many users, videos are now becoming more popular with many brands who are finding success. Adweek notes brands such as the NBA, National Geographic, GoPro and Starbucks as having engagement rates as high as 1-2% on their free, 15 second videos.

Facebook, who owns Instagram, is being tied into the mix as well, and Toyata is a perfect example. A few months ago, the company used Moontoast to produce “social rich media ads,” tying in stop-motion like Instagram videos to Facebook’s new video ads. These ads promoted the 2014 Tundra and while they showed up in users Newsfeeds, they did not automatically play, leaving it up to the user to click play. With audience consumption trending towards digital and social, this was an excellent move by the car company.

Is your brand utilizing video content? If you would like to learn more, or explore how you may be able to use video content for your marketing efforts, contact FiG - we are happy to help!