As with anything else related to technology, you need to keep up with the latest news in video marketing to anticipate trends and take advantage of new technology and platforms before your competitors do. While it’s impossible to determine what the future of video ads will be, here’s some news you need to know right now to help prepare yourself.
Instagram is In
Instagram recently announced it will be inserting photo and video ads into the US user stream within a couple of months. The initial wave will be slow to allow users to grow accustomed to the change, with ads featured primarily from current Instagram users. As with Facebooks, users will have the ability to hide ads they don’t care for.
As part of the preparation for the ads, Instagram has disabled the user option for turning off autoplay. This ensures users few at least the first few seconds of any video or photo ad inserted into their stream. However, the feature is still available for those on the Android platform, although this is expected to change once Instagram begins introducing the ad content on a full-time basis.
AOL Defeats Youtube
In a surprising announcement, AOL has defeated Google-owned Youtube in terms of video ad views, logging 3.7 billion views over Youtube’s 3.2 billion. The result is partly attributed to AOL’s acquisition of Adap.tv, a video marketplace automater.
AOL is fast becoming a platform to consider for any serious campaign. The company also beat out Facebook in terms of unique video view accounts according to figures released just last month. While Google is still the leader in this area, AOL’s rapid growth can’t be ignored. The recent partnership with ESPN, giving AOL access to popular sports clips, is likely to grow AOL’s market presence even faster.
Trailorpop: The Next Generation of Movie Ads?
Trailerpop’s unique take on movie trailers is starting to gain some traction and proving that more interactivity in video marketing is generally a smart move. The app turns movie trailers into games and also offers trivia and player tournaments to encourage sharing.
Currently, users are averaging eight trailers each month in terms of viewing, with quizzes being a popular feature. Native advertising was recently introduced and appears to be working well. While it’s too soon to tell what effect this level of interaction will have on users in the long term, the results will help gauge the health of this type of video ad approach.