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How to Capture the Attention of an Impatient Generation

By Hendrik van der Meer, President and co-founder, Vilynx

What makes a video share-worthy or even go viral?

The Internet is the number one place people search for everything, and mobile is increasingly becoming the platform of choice to consume content. In fact Cisco recently forecast that nearly three-fourths of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2019, with mobile video increasing 13-fold between 2014 and 2019, accounting for 72 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2019. Consumers want video, and whether it’s an article covering political change or the most outrageous cat stunt ever, the content that tops the trending charts often involves a video that leverages a preview.

This style of content appeals to the impatient generation – Gen Y or Millennials as they’re more frequently called. This tech-savvy generation is eager to consume information at a rapid pace, yet is also too impatient to read through paragraphs they find uninteresting or fluffy. Publications such as Buzzfeed, Upworthy, Elite Daily, VICE News, The Cut and Vessel have caught on and are now targeting Millennials by using previews (GIF or video clips). It’s both effective and innovative, but why? Combining a bit of entertainment with news and technology makes for an engaging “infotainment” type of content that clearly caters to the younger millennial audience.

Who Is Rising to The Top?

These are some of the publishers that are capitalizing on trending topics by including video clips or GIFs in order to drive engagement. Click-throughs, time spent on site, and shares are the key metrics of success to measure consumer engagement.

Buzzfeed (200M readers)

Showcases video in a news style format, highlights with GIFs

Leverages their own content based on trending topics from popular social networks

Upworthy (50M readers)

Aggregates trending topics to create articles and highlights with GIFs and video

Capitalizes on key social trends of each week

Reposts content from YouTube

Elite Daily (55M readers)

Uses video type actions (GIFs) within their articles

Leverages new and classic generational discussions for content

Vessel (popular new YouTube competitor)

Uses video preview clips to replace static thumbnails

Aggregation of video feed based on personal interests

Why They Are Successful

Since the beginning of digital ads, publishers have held tightly to the truism that more clicks mean more money (i.e. more pre-roll ads), and fewer clicks equals less money – simple as that. Today, however, it is more about being part of the conversation and interacting with the audience. Publishers are getting smarter about increasing engagement times and encouraging shares. Video is now the tool used to drive these numbers.

In the past, vague and intriguing article titles were the only obvious ploy to entice readers to open content from social media sites. Now with the advent of digital media, publishers leverage provocative static thumbnails to drive click-through rates on videos. Consumers are looking for a better way to understand what is in the content before clicking though. Technologies like video previews are a step in the right direction to help fix this content discovery problem when faced with such overwhelming choices.

Looking Ahead

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by Hendrik van der Meer, President and Co-Founder of Vilynx

Video on mobile is big and that’s no surprise. One of the most recent statistics to support this is a study from Adobe stating that mobile is quickly becoming the viewing platform of choice with smartphone share up 75% year-over-year (YoY) in 2014. While many marketers have put their focus on optimizing for the vast variety of smartphones on the market, there’s another mobile device segment that shouldn’t be forgotten just yet. The phablet – the device that everyone rolls their eyes when seeing another person holding it to their ear – is a small, but growing trend among consumers.

Plus-size phones have plus-size potential

Usage of mobile devices like the iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note has grown by 148% between January 2014 and January 2015 – far faster than any other type of mobile device. The desire for big screens in emerging markets is even more impressive with more than 60% of the consumers buying smartphones in China, India, and South Africa preferring a phablet. More screen space directly correlates to more activities for many consumers as they are able to comfortably use their device for more advanced activities beyond texting and quick browsing. It’s not hard to draw a connection as to why this growth is so important for advertisers when you consider the fact that mobile will account for 72% of US digital ad spend by 2019.

According to ADI data, larger devices are having a real impact on consumers’ mobile video viewing habits too, aiding in video completion rates and increasing overall time spent watching online video content. Authenticated video on-demand or ‘TV Everywhere’, has also bloomed into a common trend among video watchers. According to the same report, the average number of viewers who tuned in to various authenticated streaming services increased from six million viewers in 2013 to 13 million, representing a 116 percent increase in 2014. More consumers are watching more videos and more of any given video? That’s an advertiser’s dream. Consumers who watch more videos can be exposed to multiple ads instead of a select few.

Take Advantage

Mobile isn’t a ‘wait and see’ game. Getting in on the mobile video action with consumers, you’ll need to provide what they want.

Grab the consumer on the first try – Consumers are more likely to watch a video to completion on a bigger screen, but that starts with getting them to watch it in the first place. Draw consumers in by showing them you have the content they desire. Video preview technologies are an excellent option – showing the consumer what’s in the video before they hit play.

Optimize your content – This is more than the right resolution for the screen. You’ll also need the right kind of content for the user’s chosen device. People who aren’t at home aren’t using their tablet or desktop – they’ll need smaller, easily digestible videos for their smaller devices. For a consumer on the go, a section of a TED Talk will be more applicable to their situation than the entire talk.

Optimize the monetization – Be smarter about the ads that you run, whether they’re sponsored content for a better mobile experience or pre-roll ads. There needs to be a newer and better way for publishers to monetize their video content for mobile. Current methods simply haven’t been effective – it’s time for a monetization model specifically designed for the mobile experience. As for what that model is, only time and consumer feedback, will tell. For now, we know a consumers won’t stand for something as ridiculous as a 30-second advertisement on a 1-minute video.

Keeping up with the consumers is the only way to make sure you get your return on investment. Look for the trends you can capitalize on and don’t forget – just because some might think it’s ridiculous, there’s an entire segment of users out there who love their phablets.

An inspiring and honest presentation by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tesla Energy is one that you shouldn’t miss. To quote an article on Verge, “dude’s selling a battery and he still managed to be inspiring.” I know I’ll have a Tesla Power Wall in my house in the near future. 

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by Hendrik van der Meer, President and Co-Founder of Vilynx

Go Big or Go Home: Video is Big Business

We have all heard the saying “go big or go home.”  For years, advertisers and marketers alike have used banner ads, pop ups and well placed one-dimensional ads to dominate the e-commerce world.  While these methods have taken them far and been innovative in their own rights, they are not meant for a future filled with video. In order to succeed and engage consumers where they are, advertisers and marketers will need to take the first step and go big, or else.

Video Goes Big on Attention

The brilliance of video is that it offers a visually engaging experience that can bring anything to life, invoking emotion and engagement. Whether it is a funny cat or the sentiment of a soldier’s homecoming, video has the big attention factor with which its counterparts can’t compete.  

The recent Invodo Video Commerce Benchmarks Report supports this, showing the attention span of the average consumer grew 12% in the year 2014 when it came to online shoppers who played video.  Additionally, two in three shoppers who played an online video watched it to at least 80% completion.  

As every good marketer knows, you can’t sell to a consumer if they never see the product long enough to connect with it and buy it.  Video is effectively overcoming the short attention spans of consumers and leaving them engaged within the video world.

Video Goes Big on Influence

Video did not invent the advertising or e-commerce market, but is certainly monetizing on it.  Marketers and businesses have added video as part of a new arsenal to link to consumers, as those who view video through both multichannel retailers and strictly online retailers are more likely to buy.

Invodo also reported that consumers who shopped online and viewed video were 1.6 times more likely to buy than shoppers who did not view video.  This statistic shows that consumers who watch online video are more likely to follow through with making a purchase as opposed to ignoring what might be just ‘another ad.’  

Video has influential power by sharing a story with the consumer.  Whether it is for purses, jewelry or cigars, consumers can picture themselves better with the products after watching a video, leading to a more powerful impact and influence to buy.

Video Goes Big on Devices

Visit almost any coffee shop, grocery store, or university and at some point you will see someone accessing video.  Video is everywhere, and our mobile devices are giving us greater access to entertainment as well as e-commerce. According to Invodo’s report, while PCs at 62% are still the primary medium for e-commerce video viewing, a third of all video views occur beyond the computer. Smartphones and tablets have a share in the e-commerce video market at 20% and 18%, respectively.

Consumers are obviously transitioning into a mobile-driven world while still wanting traditional, at-home shopping options.  This means video needs to meet both marketers’ needs as well as consumers’ demands in order to effectively capture the imaginations of consumers and execute e-commerce video campaigns.

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This video is a great dance performance highlighting the plight of orphan by the amazing Cookies San Diego dance team. They won 1st place in the Vibe XX 2015 Dance Competition. The routine is truly an incredible one. It is artistic yet full of emotions and meaning. It's worth the eight minutes but if you're short on time, the clips below will give you an idea of how amazing the choreography is. 

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