Common advice for online content is: the shorter, the better. But what if a brand wants to tell a story? From a variety of clients, charities and social organizations, as well as FMCG brands, we are increasingly getting requests to promote a longer video of 1 to 2.5 minutes.
It feels counterintuitive to deploy this online, given the unwritten rule of deploying short videos. Yet we at STROOM have increasingly done so in recent years based on the belief that longform video online can work for your brand. For inspiration, our Sr. Digital Communications Consultant Patricia van Zon shares our experiences, learnings and talks about when you should or should not opt for longer content.
To start with the most important question: when do you deploy longform content?
Longformat is especially suitable for telling a story. This can be content about what an organization does, but this can also have entertainment as its purpose. For example, to reinforce a brand's image as a fun brand. Longer content is ideally suited to reinforce content awareness (what do they do?) of a brand or associations with a brand (fun brand). After all, building associations or conveying knowledge takes time.
If you have a simple message, and/or just want to work on brand awareness, then a short 5-15 second video is perfectly capable of achieving those goals. As impactful as longer content can be, it's pricey and less easy to deploy. Many platforms only accept videos up to a maximum of 30 seconds; we see that limit getting lower and lower as well.
Is there a pitfall for brands when engaging with longer content?
Just posting longer content on YouTube, socials or your own website, for example, in the hope that the content will be viewed en masse, is unfortunately not enough. No matter how strong the content is. After all, there is so much to choose from in terms of content that you do have to put some effort into reaching and engaging your target audience. Promotion is key to success.
Over the past few years, we at STROOM have run a number of successful campaigns in this area, targeting different audiences where we used 1-2 minute videos to convey a story. We are currently planning another number of campaigns in which longform video is a key component.
What are the key learnings from those campaigns?
The key learning though is to promote the long video itself. Working with teasers via social to YouTube or a website, for example, does not work as well. People drop out pretty quickly after the click. Even on a fleeting channel like social, a video is then more likely to be watched completely. YouTube is the most effective channel here, but we have also achieved good results on outstream video positions. A channel where people are used to watching videos ensures the best results.
What results can you expect from longform content?
The cost per video watched is obviously higher than for a video up to 15 sec. Consider a factor of 3 to 10. On the other hand, the people who watch the longer video have paid attention to your brand for a long time. This attention is hard to match with a shorter video. With the same budget, it is possible to realize up to 70% more contact minutes with a target group with a longer video. The reach of completed video views may be relatively low, but the impact in that small group is great. Experience shows that of the people who watch the video for 30 seconds, 50% or more actually watch it all the way through. There is no difference here between a 1-minute or 2-minute video. Viewing ratios fluctuate greatly depending on video length and type of video. They vary between 8% and 35%. Emotional or highly entertaining videos are viewed best.
We often see a higher CTR already with longer videos, for example, than with regular videos. Content triggers people to want to know more about the topic/brand in the video.
What final tip would you like to give advertisers?
Don't be afraid of wear-out. A long video is an investment in terms of production and distribution. Therefore, it takes time to build reach. In our experience, wear-out is small. For one of our clients now, after three years, we see a decrease in results, in return we see a significant reach in the target audience. For another client, we are now promoting the same video for the second year in a row and are seeing even better results.