The claim that “video can do wonders for your business” isn’t just an empty marketing shtick from video companies. Studies have shown that videos are two times more likely to appear on the first page of Google compared to plain text pages. Additionally, it’s a known fact that most people are drawn to images more so than words, and that often, moving images can communicate things faster and easier than sentences and paragraphs.
A new study by comScore further supports this; last week, the research company revealed that combining professionally-produced video content and users-generated vides can actually boost sales effectiveness. The study, which was conducted in collaboration with online video community EXPO, aimed to measure how professional videos and user-generated videos complement each other.
In their research, comScore and EXPO rounded up a group of consumers to participate in a “veiled exercise” to determine how effectiveness of professional videos, user-generated videos, and both together. In this exercise, the researchers found that “Professionally-produced content generated a 24.7 point lift in Share of Choice for the featured product and a 16 point lift for the brand’s total line. User-generated product videos drove an 18.7 point lift in Share of Choice for the featured product compared to a 10 point lift for the brand’s total line. When exposed to both professional content and user-generated product videos, lift in Share of Choice for the featured product jumped to 35.3 points for the featured product and 28 points for the brand’s total line. This demonstrates not only the value of each of these media individually, but also the powerful combination when used together.”
The researchers also took a second group of consumers to go through a “cued exposure exercise.” After being exposed to the content, these consumers were surveyed to determine their responses to the videos. The results of the survey indicated that professional videos were more effective at being informative to users, while user-generated videos “were more successful at producing emotional intensity, key message communication, and ease of relating to.” However, the study showed that “When consumers were exposed to both professionally-produced and user-generated content, the combined increases were greater than for either of the individual media exposures.”
Indeed, it appears that videos are definitely a boon for businesses that want to put their brand and messages out there. Whether you’re a publisher or an advertiser, be sure to look into ways where you can you videos in your materials, websites, or campaigns.
A great way to do this is by incorporating ads in your videos. If you’re an advertiser, adding overlay advertisements can effectively put your brand in front of your target audience. You should also consider adding preroll or midroll video ads, allowing viewers to get front-row seats to your products and services. Just make sure that the ads are related to the content of the video. Talk to your ad agency and ask about their targeting features to make sure that your ads are only added in relevant videos.
Publishers can also benefit from adding overlays, prerolls, and midrolls to their videos, because it provides the opportunity to earn more revenue every time a user clicks on the ad.