The most challenging yet rewarding part of being a marketer is keeping yourself in-the-know of the latest trends and cutting edge technologies that help acquire new users, engage them and monetize the content.
Last month, Google and Facebook both released important information and updates. In case you're missed those announcements, don't worry because we've got your back.
As the oldest millennials approach 40, parents can make up to 40 per cent of the generation. A survey conducted by Google among 1,500 moms ages from 18 to 54 who watch online videos showed 83% of them turn to the Internet when they needs answers to their questions. Interestingly, three out of five use online video in their moments of need, no matter how big or small.
Videos like this one from WhatsUpMoms,
or this funny ad by Clinique:
are excellent examples of being present when moms have those I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want-to-buy and I-want-to-do moments.
So if your brand speaks to moms or it's easy to fit into the niche, think about your YouTube content strategy holistically and how you can be there for them, in big and small ways, to win the moments that matter.
Recently, YouTube announced that watch time of TV channels on YouTube has grown 50% in the last year and watch time of YouTube videos on TV screens doubled year over year.
Meanwhile, during an average day in the U.S., during prime time, more 18 to 49 year old viewers visit YouTube than any TV networks on mobile alone.
Moreover, between July 2015 and June 2016, YouTube conducted the Extra Reach Metra-analysis, which indicated that all TV programs in the U.S. of above 600 GRPs (Gross Rating Points) per quarter would have reached more 18-49-year-old viewers by combining TV and Google Preferred without spending more money.
It's great with building brand awareness and it's great for brands to partner with media networks that are among top 5% of content as ranked by Youtube preference score. You can find out the most beloved YouTube channels by browsing for your country lineups HERE.
The main theme of this year Facebook F8 conference was Augmented Reality, with which Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook aim to enable people to connect on a much deeper level.
You may have noticed all the cool camera effects that Facebook has launched over the past few weeks - but that is just Facebook's Act 1.
AR might not be mainstream until the next 2-3 years, but once it is, it's going to open limitless opportunities for marketers to get creative with engaging and interacting with followers.
At the moment, what brands can do is create special branded masks and effects on Facebook camera and start building brand awareness.
Unfortunately, at launch, Facebook stories is not available to brands, publishers, celebrity pages and advertisers. However, Facebook said it had deals with six film studios to make promotional filters on an experimental basis. So if you're keen on using Facebook stories for your brand, I suggest that you create a personal brand highly-related to your business and start sharing and updating everyday.
In the future, the virtual pop-up card will be of great value, especially for retailers or e-Commerce businesses. Watch this keynote at 19:22 to see the example of the virtual information card demo.
Other exciting features include the building of two new high-tech 360-degree cameras to presumably encourage more production studios and filmmakers to 360-degree videos, which is supposed to make consumers more inclined to watch brands' content on Facebook.
Facebook Surround 360 camera is now available on GitHub (Source: Facebook 360)
Mobile storytelling is richer than ever with video accounting for 50% of all mobile data traffic. However, monetizing this type of content is complex and requires heavy investment.
Now, I'll go through two options that marketers can use to monetize their video on Facebook for better ROI. But if you prefer watching the video instead, here's the full video:
15-second long ads in Facebook Live videos and/or on-demand videos bring endless opportunities for brands to reach new audience.
For more information about how to set up ad breaks, how to take ad breaks while you're live and how to receive payment, click HERE.
This includes Title Sponsorship, Influencer Endorsements, Native Content, Deep Integration and Product Placement. It allows brands to tag their business partner in their Facebook updates and benefit from the mutual customer base.
For further information, click HERE.
Business partner can see Reach and engagement metrics as well as total spend and CPM in Insights and Business Manager. Source: Facebook for Business
Paid tag appears in branded content that are unpublished ads. Source: Facebook for Developers
Marketers and advertisers should start applying Youtube's newest stats on viewer behavior and devices and mediums as well as Facebook's updates on augmented camera and video monetization ecosystem to their marketing strategies now to create more sustainable business and achieve higher ROI.