An online video share is one of the highest compliments a consumer can pay an advertiser. The thought of someone selecting, viewing, and then recommending an advertising message to friends is intoxicating brands and agencies alike.
By now it is understood that popular "viral videos" such as the Evian Babies and the Old Spice Man are the result of sophisticated and well-funded media strategies, not alchemic word-of-mouth. But the siren's lure of sharing has not waned.
Social video (video that users actively seek out and share) is a hot sector in online advertising. Millions of opt-in video views are happening every month for major brands on social networks, mobile devices, P2P and YouTube. Every one of these campaigns generates social activity (Facebook "Likes," shares, tweets, comments, ratings, etc.) all of which is tracked. But how much sharing should a brand expect?
Obviously, the answer depends on the content. A special effects-laden celebrity extravaganza may be expected to outperform a side-by-side kitchen demonstration, but since more and more brands are creating videos specifically for online distribution, we thought it would be useful to create sharing benchmarks.
We ran a study that examined six million U.S.-based social video views of ad campaigns for Fortune 500 brands in the latter part of 2010. Each view was initiated by a consumer who actively selected the video.
More than 90% of those who selected a social video watched it to completion and between 3% and 5% went on to share them. This sharing was dominated by Facebook. In fact, people share videos on Facebook 218% more than through Twitter and e-mail combined.
And content wasn't the only factor that affected sharing. Social video ads of 15 seconds or less are shared nearly 37% more than those between 30 seconds and one minute, and 18% more than videos over a minute. This finding is consistent with video completions rates that we've tracked for more than five years. Videos of :15 seconds or less have consistently delivered higher completion rates than longer videos. When it comes to social video, clearly, shorter is better!
The average social video viewer is 27 years old. Women account for nearly 57% of social video views, and they share social video 30% more than men. More than half of all social video is viewed and, subsequently, shared by 18-34 year olds.
From a geographic standpoint, Midwesterners watch the least amount of social video, but they share at a higher rate than any other part of the country by nearly a quarter (23%).
Social video is a new and rapidly evolving medium that holds tremendous promise. For the first time, advertisers can reliably reach millions of consumers without interrupting them or forcing them to watch. This self-selection is one of the biggest reasons we see such strong and consistent sharing. It won't fulfill dreams of viral fame and glory, but the underlying value of millions of consumer-initiated interactions should more than compensate.
-VideoInsider
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