Why You Should Be Marketing With 6-Second Video Ads
Human Attention Span
According to a study by Microsoft the average person now has an attention span less than a goldfish. The study claims that this is mostly due to our use of mobile devices. Our brains are adapting to evolving technology and our marketing tactics need to shift as well.
The 6-second Ad Experience
YouTube and Facebook have both been pushing agencies to have their clients create 6-second “Bumper Ads”. YouTube even released an ads leaderboard and ranked the top 6-second ads from Juy, 2017 to July, 2018. Ad Week published the results from the ranking and it is a good idea to watch them to see what top companies are doing to get their messages out in 6-seconds.
Six-second ads have become a standard format for digital advertising, TV, and premium video services over the last couple years. According to the research company Realey six-second videos have an even greater impact when they are used to reinforce a message already delivered by a longer ad. This means it is important for you to have a strong brand message, or tag-line, that you can deliver in six-seconds that reinforces the main messaging of your longer brand videos.
6-Second Ad Placements
YouTube Bumper Ads
YouTube’s Bumper Ads are un-skippable 6-second video ads that appear before, during, or after a YouTube Video. They are typically used for creating brand awareness similar to the running commercials on TV. You can target people based on demographics and audiences and where your video appears can be done by targeting keywords, topics, and placements.
Facebook In-Stream Video Ads
Facebook offers-instream ad placements during videos. You can choose from different feeds like Facebook, Instagram, Marketplace, Suggested Videos, and the Right column. You can also appear in Facebook, Instagram and Messenger Stories.
The objectives with these placements are video view, reach, brand awareness or post engagement. Only videos that are 3 minutes or longer from Facebook’s publishing partners are eligible to host the in-stream video ads.
Summary
While we do recommend creating longer brand videos for use on digital platforms we also recommend creating shorter 6-second videos that can be rotated in with your brand video.
Your 6-second should videos should get your brand name introduced and core services offerings from your business. You may want to have different videos that expand on your tagline and how you stay true to what your company tagline means and how it benefits your customers.
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Sean Golliher
President
Sean periodically teaches as an adjunct professor on the topic of search engines and search marketing at MSU and is a member of their computer science advisory board. He completed coursework for his PhD in machine learning at MSU. He was the founder and publisher of SEMJ.org. Sean holds four engineering patents, has a B.S. in physics from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a master’s in electrical engineering from Washington State University. As president and director at metric ppc, Inc. he focuses on search marketing, internet research, and consults for large companies.