Digital Video Ad Spend is Experiencing Major Growth

If you’re looking for a new trend that isn’t high-waisted shorts or man buns, look no further than digital video.  Recent studies have found that digital video spending is on the rise, and shows no signs of slowing down. It looks like this year’s digital and mobile video ad spend will be about 85% more than it was in 2014. In this case, that’s a difference of about $5 billion.

There are a few factors contributing to this growth, one of which is social media. Within the last year or so, video advertising on popular social platforms like Facebook and Instagram has become available (and also quite popular). With the addition of a video feature on Facebook’s carousel ads came the opportunity to have up to five videos in just one ad space. Instagram also recently rolled out video capabilities, and will soon have those capabilities on its carousel ads as well (this feature recently started beta testing).

Digital video advertising, especially on five slide carousel ads, provides immense opportunity for creativity in advertising and gives brands more possibilities when marketing themselves. Taco Bell, Macy’s, and Airbnb are among the first companies to participate in the video carousel ad beta testing, and they are using it well. Macy’s combines both video and photos to highlight their products and uses this new video integration to elevate its Insta-advertising.

By 2019, digital video advertising is estimated to reach over $14.75 billion, and 68% of marketers think digital video will become as important as TV video content within 3-5 years. So I’d say you should probably start thinking about spicing up your campaign with some video ads. A helpful hint for when you do: 30 second video ads are the golden ticket. A recent study done by Google revealed that 30 second ads created greater brand favorability and the higher view through rates than their 15 second or 60+ second counterparts. Just something to consider.

So grab your selfie stick, fill in those eyebrows, and go create some digital video content.