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How do consumers use social media

Setting Smart Social Media Goals

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Setting smart social media goals for your social media strategy does not have to mean reinventing the wheel. It has been said that you can’t change the past but you can learn from it. We frequently use past information to inform future strategy in marketing. Social media is a great way to talk to your audience. And you can learn a lot from your posts that will help you understand what works against your social media goals, and what doesn’t.

Let’s jump in to find out how to set smart social media goals

There are a few easy steps you can take to set yourself up for success when creating goals for social media. In this two part blog post, we will go over how to assess your previous posts and set yourself up for success with goals to point you in the right direction for the future.

Take an assessment of the platforms you use

When was the last time you posted on each platform and what were the results for that post?

Look at your demographics

Are you posting on platforms that match your demographics? Are you creating the right content for the platform to meet that audience’s expectations? Have you looked at different audience segments to see if they engage differently?

What do you want to achieve with the platforms?

Are you looking to increase overall awareness of your brand?
Do you want to increase traffic to the brand’s site?
Are you introducing a new product or feature?
Maybe you’re endorsing an event?
Write the answers to these questions down. Now take a look at your previous few posts and dive into the insights for each. What was the reception and how was the engagement? Were there comments? Did you comment back? In part two of this blog post, we will go over setting smart social media goals based on the findings.
AlphaDigital is a media company that specializes in custom, multi-channel campaigns based on client goals. We are a company long entrentched with small local businesses and their unique marketing needs as well as large companies looking to talk to local audiences. Social media is an excellent way to continue to talk to your followers and grow new ones. Setting up smart social media goals and a strategy to reach them requires time and attention. We can help you, contact us today to talk to a digital specialist.
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A Step-by-Step Guide to Incrementality Testing for CTV Advertising

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Sophisticated digital advertisers use incrementality testing. This allows advertisers to isolate unique contributions coming from their many digital marketing channels. As marketers move into CTV as the next growth channel, incrementally testing is especially important. CTV is unique in the digital advertising domain and because consumers cannot click on TVs. Incrementality testing is a foundational way for marketers to go “beyond last clicks attribution“. This of course is a requirement when there is no last click.

From defining your audience to calculating incrementality. We will show you how to apply this methodology to the fastest-growing video advertising channel in the world.

What Is Incrementality Testing?

Incrementality testing in advertising is an approach to measure ad performance measurement. It allows marketers to determine the exact level of contribution, or “lift”, that a channel’s advertising has on audience behavior. It requires using two groups: the test group and the control group. The test group is exposed to the advertisement. The control group is not.

If the exposed group performed better, then the test has shown a positive incremental lift. However, if the control group outperformed the exposed group, then the test shows there wasn’t incremental lift. And if there is no difference in the results, the test is deemed neutral. A difference between the results is only meaningful if the gap is statistically significant.  

Incrementality testing is a type of A/B testing. Instead of comparing two advertisements, incrementality testing determines the value of advertising at all. In other words, incrementality testing is about understanding whether advertising on a given channel works. And exactly how much it works.

How to Run Incrementality Testing for CTV Advertising

Step 1: Create a Hypothesis and Establish Performance Metrics

It’s surprising how often advertisers can jump into a testing process before clearly establishing what they’re trying to test. Or how they’re going to assess success. With incrementality testing, you’re testing whether an advertisement works better than not advertising. This means you could test messaging and creative. But you could also test with placebo or dummy ads. These would measure the fundamental value of the channel.

On top of generating your hypothesis, you also want to agree on the performance metrics you’ll be using to evaluate that hypothesis. These are usually metrics like purchases, visits, average order value (AOV), conversion rate (CVR), and visit rate.

Step 2: Define Your Testing Audience

Next you need to build a testing audience derived from your overall target audience. This testing audience will contain the control and the exposed group. When defining this subset, you’ll want to account for any variables that could have an impact on the outcome of your test. For example, if you’re advertising a luxury product, it would likely be a good idea to hold income constant across the groups. Without accounting for these variables, the results could be erroneous. As would be any actions taken as a consequence.

For advertisers looking for precision audience control during testing, our CTV advertising and attribution platform provides numerous targeting parameters. These include age, gender, education, income, household and zip code. In addition, we can target by brand affinity, online purchases, offline purchases, viewing habits, device, business vertical, and fifteen thousand more segments. This level of granularity provides advertisers with complete control over their incrementality testing process.

Step 3: Determine Timeframe and Ad Content, and Run Your Test

The timeframe of the test depends on the volume of interactions, not any specific amount of time. It’s accepted best practice to run your experiment for a minimum of a week. Generally speaking, you should also consider running your test during a relatively normal time of the year. Holidays, elections, and any other major event could impact your audience’s state of mind. This could undermine the validity of your results.

Now, you need to develop ad creative based on the hypothesis you’ve set out to test. If you’re measuring the raw, incremental value of CTV advertising, you need to run placebo creative during your test. This creative needs to be irrelevant to your business. Whether it’s a placebo or a public service announcement (PSA) ad. By running this kind of test campaign, you’ll be able to get an accurate handle on the baseline value of CTV advertising.

With these done, it’s go time. Flight your ad to your test group while suppressing the control group’s exposure.

Step 4: Analyze Test Data and Calculate Incrementality

Once your test is finished, collect all the campaign data from your two groups and review them side by side. From visits to CVR, analyze all your performance metrics. And use them to calculate the incremental lift, as an overall percentage, that the test group saw versus the control group. Using this percentage, you can then calculate the incremental cost per acquisition (iCPA), conversion value, and return on ad spend (iROAS). With these figures in hand, you now have an exact read on the value CTV advertising brings to your business.

Finding a Platform that Supports Incrementality Testing

The impact of traditional TV ads has always been difficult for advertisers to pin down. With the arrival of CTV advertising, those days are behind us. Now, advertisers can measure the value of their ads with the kind of precision that had only been possible on digital channels. They no longer need to wonder if their TV ad campaigns are working. All they need to do is run incrementality testing on their CTV advertising platform to find out.

Advertisers looking for a CTV advertising platform that provides a comprehensive testing toolkit should consider AlphaDigital. We have the world’s first CTV advertising and attribution platform We provide a robust, built-in incrementality testing feature. This feature allows advertisers to run ad hoc tests to assess channel value. And will also run continually to adjust for the lack of ad exposure data via walled garden environments. The only platform on the market with this always-on feature. Our platform was designed to ensure advertisers are consistently getting value out of their CTV campaigns. A commitment we also back up with a fraud-free guarantee.

Reach out to the team to learn more, or get started with your first CTV incrementality test!

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How CTV Measurement, Attribution, and Brand Lift Analysis Work in 2022

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A one-to-one model of CTV measurement and attribution shows performance advertisers exactly where to spend their ad budgets.

As the popularity of connected TV continues to grow, CTV measurement is becoming increasingly important for advertisers. TV viewership data shows skyrocketing CTV adoption rates. In the US today, 56% of viewers watch video content through connected TV apps. By 2023, that number is expected to reach 82%. Here’s what advertisers need to know about CTV measurement, CTV attribution, and brand lift analysis in 2022.

What Is CTV Measurement and Attribution?

CTV measurement is the ability to track and analyze the success of performance TV advertising campaigns. CTV attribution is the ability to identify where consumers are coming from when they take an intended action. Whether that’s a specific channel or an individual ad campaign. Assessing effectiveness in CTV advertising usually means tracking metrics. Metrics like cost per completed view (CPCV), cost per acquisition (CPA), average order value (AOV), etc.

The untrackable nature of linear TV advertising means it isn’t a particularly useful channel for brands. With the exception of major corporations with huge budgets and the resources to sustain brand awareness investment. CTV, on the other hand, drives short-term sales with the added benefit of attribution. The ability to know where performance campaign success comes from for smaller brands is now possible.

Consumers might see an ad on linear TV that inspires them to buy. They might search for the brand or product name on Google. Then navigate to the company’s website from the search results. That website click will be attributed to the search engine instead of to the ad spot itself. But in the CTV realm we can track that initial click. The consumer who navigates their attention away from TV to visit the brand’s website on their mobile device, for example, will be attributed to the CTV ad.

How Does CTV Measurement Work?

The ability to measure and attribute CTV ad performance is incredibly powerful. But the process is distinct from other popular channels like digital advertising and linear TV. Here’s how CTV measurement and CTV attribution work, from start to finish:

  1. First, an ad is delivered to the CTV advertising platform being viewed in a specific household. The platform identifies and stores the household’s IP address in an exposure file.
  2. A device graph maps out any other devices that are connected to the same IP address within that household. The devices of multiple people in the household using mobile phones, laptops, etc, are also added to the exposure file.
  3. Someone in the household uses one of those connected devices to complete the action the ad intended. For example, visiting a website or making a purchase. Data about that event is recorded via a pixel and stored in an outcome file.
  4. We compare the data in exposure files and outcome files. This makes it possible to identify matching IP addresses. Those IP matches are attributed and recorded. Indicating that someone in that household completed the intended action specifically as a result of viewing the CTV ad.

In that sense, CTV measurement and attribution follow a one-to-one model. That’s an important tool for performance advertisers adding TV to their playbook. Especially in contrast to the way linear TV ads require complex panels, indexes, and samples in order to measure results.

What Does CTV Measurement Mean for Brand Lift Analysis?

Linear TV advertisers typically conduct brand lift studies. And consumer surveys in order to understand how each ad campaign resonates with their audience. That’s because on linear TV, like on most advertising channels, accurately tracking and analyzing brand lift is very difficult. Consumers are likely to interact with countless touchpoints before taking an intended action. The one-to-one nature of measurement and attribution on CTV solves that problem. Resulting in advertisers being able to attribute and analyze brand lift with a high degree of precision. No longer does a brand have to wonder why performance metrics are on the rise. By tying actions directly to ads allows advertisers to see exactly why consumers are showing interest.

Successful CTV measurement, attribution, and brand lift analysis allow advertisers to make better decisions. Knowing where and when to invest their ad budgets. That’s why advertisers work with an experienced partner like Alpha Digital. Our advanced CTV measurement and attribution tools give advertisers full control over their campaigns. Interested in partnering with the first CTV advertising platform to combine the power of television with the performance of digital marketing? Get in touch today to learn more.

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How to Test OTT Without Blowing Your Budget

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Marketers know that ad testing is a critical component of any successful performance campaign. But testing a new channel is a complex process. The good news is it’s entirely possible to test OTT campaigns while driving positive ROAS. Especially if you commit to CTV as your delivery channel. When you’re ready to introduce television advertising to your channel mix, there’s a strategic way to avoid flushing your initial investment down the drain on the off chance that there might be a return. Even if you are new to the world of TV advertising, this approach will help you gather information about its potential effectiveness. And you don’t have to blow your entire advertising budget to find out if it can work for you. Read more to learn how you can test OTT and not waste your budget. 

Here are five tips performance marketers can use to find success from their very first TV ad campaigns:

#1 Don’t Buy Based on CPM

In the world of television advertising, CPM (cost per mille) is a less efficient metric than CPA, or cost per action. Because CTV and OTT advertising unlock such powerful attribution capabilities, CPA is an incredibly effective approach. Viewers taking your desired action is more valuable than the total number of people who see your ad. Regardless of your desired action, a visit to your website or making a purchase.

For example, imagine your desired outcome is for consumers to scan a QR code featured in your OTT ad. With a CPM structure, you would be able to determine that you spent a certain financial sum to expose a certain number of people to your ad. But buying based on CPA instead allows you to see that spending X dollars running your campaign resulted in Y number of individuals scanning the QR code.

With OTT advertising’s 1:1 attribution model, buying based on CPA provides a more clear idea of the causes and effects of your ad’s influence. Performance marketers should work with an established partner that has invested in supply-path optimized media buying designed to hit CPA goals.

#2 Track Multi-Touch Attribution

Single-touch attribution models assign 100% of the credit for each successful conversion to a single marketing interaction (first-click or last-click, e.g.). It’s certainly helpful to know which marketing touchpoint eventually leads a consumer to perform the desired action. It is also important to understand the other touchpoints that contributed to that eventual outcome. That’s why OTT advertisers should use a multi-touch attribution model instead of first- or last-touch models.

Consumers — and OTT video viewers in particular — are highly likely to experience ads for the same brand or product multiple times before they perform the desired action. Performance marketers should choose an advertising solution that tracks and demonstrates the multi-faceted deterministic path from CTV ad exposure to outcome.

#3 Start Small & See ROAS

Many major advertisers make large investments in the hopes of seeing greater ROAS. Not every brand can meet the minimum spend that big-ticket platforms require. By excluding smaller brands from running and testing OTT campaigns, the ad platforms that require a minimum spend of $20,000-$50,000 miss out on the democratizing ethos of CTV advertising. Performance marketers just getting started with television ads should choose a platform with low or no minimum spend requirements. Depending on your vertical, you could see ROAS with an investment as low as $500.

#4 Iterate On Creative

Your creative efforts shouldn’t be separated from data-backed strategic thinking. Instead, marketers should design multiple iterations of each creative concept and then test each one in the wild with their intended audience. You could be tracking performance, engagement, or some other kind of metric. The results of the test will reveal which ad creative performs most effectively. In that sense, iterating on creative — and testing every version of your ad — will help marketers get the most out of each campaign flight. Even without huge up-front investment.

#5 Test Incrementality Constantly

Incrementality testing measures the results of a test group exposed to a campaign against a non-exposed control group. It’s an advertising best practice across a variety of channels. But many still treat it as a step in the process as opposed to a constant state. A one-and-done mindset about incrementality testing will deliver a snapshot of results in a static moment. However, conducting incrementality testing on an ongoing basis will show how test results shift over time. OTT advertisers — both new and experienced — should choose a partner that can support an “always-on” approach to incrementality testing.

Our CTV/OTT campaigns empower performance marketers to activate first-party audiences. With the addition of third-party data segments and retarget visitors from the web back to their connected TV. Our premium ad inventory unlocks access to connected TV devices. In addition, we access native apps and platforms, and the most popular OTT streaming services. Our campaigns offer powerful attribution capabilities and real-time reporting. In addition, we have built-in, always-on testing.  This allows marketers to monitor and measure the incremental value of their connected TV advertising efforts. Ready to learn more about how Alpha Media can help you add OTT advertising to your strategy and test OTT without blowing your budget? Get in touch today.

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Find out what your audience wants to see

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When thinking of video strategy, most businesses should be thinking of YouTube as a channel to reach their audience. When it comes to video content, users are very “picky” about the specific content they choose to consume. Therefore, when posting content, know what your audience wants to see. The more you can meet the needs of your audience, the higher the chance that your content will be viewed. 

 

As a business, your social media strategy should be to become a trusted source for content. Getting viewers to see your content can be tricky. So, how do you know exactly “what” video content your audience wants to see? Great question! Keep reading to find out one way.

 

YouTube is launching its new Search Insights feature for content creators. This tool will provide insight into what people are searching for specific to your channel and in general. You can expect a range of data points that will help you refine your content strategy. This article gives a good overview of what you can expect from this new feature: YouTube Launches New ‘Search Insights’ for All Creators

 

Here are a few highlights of the tool:

 

  • You will be able to see information on key topics among your viewers as well as the search volume of each of those topics. 
  • It will also feature ‘Content Gap’, a feature that highlights searches that are not returning a high volume of matches. Exposing potential opportunities for you to focus, when creating content.
  • There’s also a ‘Searches Across YouTube’ feature, which provides insight into common searches related to any keyword. 

 

We know that it can seem daunting to stay on top of the evolving digital media trends. At Alpha Digital we work with clients to customize a strategy that meets their goals. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you grow your presence on social media and across the internet. 

How do consumers use social media

Wondered exactly how long a social media video should be?

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A social media video can run from 1 second to many hours in length. Each social media platform is different. Understanding the differences and best practices for each social media platform is important. Knowing the ideal length for video can be challenging. Master these best practices for the most engagement on all social media platforms.

 

General Best Practices

  • You have to have Video. As published in the Digital 2022 report, watching videos is the fourth most popular reason people use the internet. If you do not already have a video strategy, you should. 
  • The video should be clear. There is a finesse to video. The audio should be crisp and audible. And you should have clear visuals. Design elements should not detract from your images. 
  • Use captions. The Digital 2022 report explains that 30% of users aged 18-34 are watching videos with sound more than ever before. However, captions should be included with your video for the other 70% that are watching. Make sure your captions are accurate and grammatically correct. 
  • Be dynamic. You want to deliver impact in a brief, easy to digest format. To get your messaging across and not lose your viewer, use pop songs as an example. The pop song hovers around the 3-minute mark. Videos that garner more engagement, are brief. Studies show our attention spans are dwindling more and more as a result of the Internet. 

Now that we’ve covered best video practices, let’s take a closer look at the best length and the different video options by platform.

 

Instagram

Video: 1 minute

Try to stay at 1 minute if you can help it. If you must create a longer video, stay in the 2-to-5-minute range. Keep it brief and dynamic, with interesting imaging that can’t be missed. 

Stories: 15 seconds 

The maximum length for Instagram stories is 15 seconds per slide. Do not exceed 7 slides if your messaging needs multiple slides. Ideally, 3 slides per story is the sweet spot. Again, keep it brief and be sure to include a call to action. 

Reels: 15 – 60 seconds 

The secret to having your audience watch your reels to entirety is to capture the viewer’s attention within the first few seconds. Unlike the other Instagram video formats, Reels are meant to create viral moments and instant impact videos. Before you start a Reel, you select between 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds or 60 seconds video. 

 

Facebook

Video length: less than 1 minute 

To create content to go viral, keep your videos at less than one minute or stories that are less than 20 seconds. Long form videos can also perform well on Facebook. The Facebook algorithm is geared toward native video content.  For the best performance, upload your videos directly to make the most of the algorithm.

 

TikTok

Video length: 7 – 15 seconds 

TikTok of course, is a quick video platform. Here, you’ll want to get as much information, in short, attention-grabbing content. And the sweet spot with TikTok is 15 second bites. Enough time to get a viewer’s attention before you see drop off due to length.  Then there is TikTok’s 7-second challenge. This short content on TikTok also performs quite well. 

 

Twitter

Video length: 44 seconds 

The sweet spot on this Twitter is 44 seconds. Grab your viewer’s attention as a prelude to a YouTube or Vimeo link which can showcase a longer format video. 

 

YouTube

Video length: 2 minutes 

With this platform the length of your video will be dictated by what you are looking to achieve. If you are looking to monetize your YouTube videos, the minimum requirement is 10 minutes. This aligns well with longer vlog content. But, if your goal is to create viral moments, then you should stick to the 2-minute mark. 

 

Snapchat

Video length: 7 seconds 

Snapchat was created to be a quick moment. A snap, if you will. The maximum length of a normal post is 10 seconds, aim for 7 second posts for the best results on Snapchat.

 

Now that we have a better understanding of best practices for social media video by platform. What will you create? Need some inspiration? We can help you achieve your social media goals. Contact us to learn how we can help. 

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OTT vs. VOD – Understanding Streaming & On-Demand

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Knowing the differences between OTT vs. VOD — and the opportunities they present — is crucial for performance marketers

Though television consumption increased during the pandemic, how people opted to watch TV changed. The pandemic saw the appeal of linear TV wane greatly and increased adoption of on-demand and streaming services. This shift means that the way consumers access advertising content has changed, and thus, it is crucial that brands focus their attention on the different streaming and on-demand models. We will focus specifically on two models, OTT vs. VOD to show why differentiating between the two is crucial for modern-day advertisers.

OTT vs. VOD: What’s the Difference?

Though the terms OTT (over-the-top) and VOD (video on demand) are often used interchangeably, they are not identical services.

OTT stands for “over-the-top” and it means any media content delivered to consumers over the internet instead of via traditional cable or satellite. OTT advertising, therefore, refers to marketing messaging placed in OTT content. These ads allow advertisers to reach audiences en masse due to the shift from traditional cable and live TV to streaming video content.

VOD stands for “video on demand” and refers to any video content that starts simply by pushing “Play.” In contrast, cable and satellite TV run programming on pre-determined schedules that viewers must observe should they want to view the content.

While OTT is used to describe the way the content is distributed, VOD is used to describe the way in which the content is consumed. That said, there is some overlap between the two.

What’s an Example of OTT vs. VOD?

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Some of the biggest names in OTT include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Disney+. These are all channels through which content is distributed. Consumers can view the content via a streaming device such as a Roku or directly through their connected TV (CTV).

VOD

This is where the overlap occurs. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, and other on-demand streaming platforms are considered VOD. YouTube and Facebook are as well since they contain video content. Three different models fall under the category of video on demand.

What are the different types of VOD?

It is important to know the differences between the three VOD models: SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand), TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand), and AVOD (Advertising-Based Video on Demand).

SVOD

This type of video on demand allows consumers to pay a flat rate for access to a catalog of content. Netflix is a well-known example of the SVOD model. Subscribers pay a monthly fee, and in exchange have unlimited access to Netflix’s entire content library.

TVOD

If SVOD is at one end of VOD, TVOD is at the opposite. The transactional approach to video on demand allows consumers to pay a one-time fee to watch a single piece of content. Commonly referred to as “pay-per-view,” this model is often used for things like major sports events or a hot new movie release. YouTube, Amazon, and Redbox all offer content through the TVOD model. Each episode or movie that someone wants to view requires a pay-per-view transaction.

AVOD

While SVOD and TVOD are both paid models, AVOD is not. Advertising-based video on demand allows consumers to gain free access to streaming content that features ads.

OTT or VOD monetization strategies

There are several avenues to monetization of OTT and VOD, many of which complement each other. Indeed, most successful OTT channels merge several different payment structures into their overall monetization plans to ensure not only consistent revenue but also that they’re appealing to as broad a selection of consumers as possible. SVOD, AVOD, and TVOD can all be mixed and matched to provide the best possible options for a service’s audience.

Hulu is perhaps the best example of this. Its ad-supported service is free while viewers who want to skip the commercials can pay a monthly subscription to do so. In addition, Hulu offers add-on services such as premium channels for consumers who access content the core platform doesn’t provide itself. Movie lovers might tack a premium channel like Showtime onto their Hulu subscription, for example. Amazon Prime takes this one step further by including VOD content for rental or purchase.

The TVOD market is continuing to grow and is expected to reach in excess of $10 million in 2022. This model brings money in by allowing consumers to buy permanent access to a single piece of content or by renting a piece of content for a set period of time.

Advertising-based video on demand is seeing media companies profit a large amount of money. The interspersing of ads with free content is something consumers are more than willing to participate in; in fact, more than half of viewers (56%) are happy to watch ads in return for free streaming services.

We can help you determine the best strategy

As you can see, television advertising looks much different today with over-the-top and video on demand options. This means greater opportunity for brands to reach consumers, and in a new way that results in greater success. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the idea of connected TV advertising, contact us today to learn more about how we can help with your television advertising strategy.

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OTT Attribution is Changing the Future of TV – for Brands, Publishers, and Viewers

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If TV is no longer linear and is now a digital medium, what’s keeping those millions of digital-first brands from taking advantage of the power of TV advertising? The issue has been OTT attribution. And now that it’s solved, TV advertising won’t be the same – for brands, publishers, and consumers. Here’s how. ​​The TV advertising landscape has changed a lot since Don Draper’s heyday. But one constant has been the relatively small number of companies that use the medium. Today, a full 80% of US households have connected TVs (CTV) and a whopping 60% of viewing is now delivered via streaming services and apps. But more than 80% of the $72B US television advertising market is dominated by only 300-500 national advertisers. Compare that to the more than 9M active advertisers on search and social. And you can see a massive disconnect. And opportunity.

The TV Advertising Accountability Barrier

TV has always been a broad reach medium. Historically, advertisers needed BIG budgets to reach mass audiences. That priced out most advertisers.

But even brands that could afford to be on TV struggled to understand how effectively the TV spend was working. Or if it was working at all. Intuitively, smart marketers knew that (most) TV campaigns were meeting core goals and KPIs. But could they prove it to their bosses? That’s where things sometimes got tricky.

You created a great ad and executed a smart media plan. Your target saw the ad and remembered it. Or maybe even made a mental note to circle back. So, the next day, they type the brand name into a Google search and navigate to your website. The website click gets attributed to Google and your TV ad gets zero credit. Then your boss asks why you wasted all that money on the TV ad.

But what if TV attribution methodology evolved to allow you to track the full customer journey? It’s not future talk anymore.

Introducing Precise OTT Attribution

Our partner tvScientific, is the only CTV platform offering optimized media buying. And comprehensive measurement plus 1:1 attribution on a direct, self-managed basis. tvScientific is a performance advertising platform for connected TV. For the first time any business can use TV with ease, precision, and measurability to reach consumers and generate growth. To fully appreciate OTT attribution and how it will change the TV landscape, it’s important to understand how it works.  

How Does the tvScientific OTT Attribution Method Work?

How did we solve OTT attribution? With the tvScientific Method, we deliver your ad to a household’s CTV and identify the IP, which is stored in an exposure file. We then append that exposure file with any additional devices tied to the household IP. If and when the ad-exposed consumer completes your desired action. Whether it’s a website visit, download, form completion, purchase, etc. on a smartphone, laptop, or tablet, we see that action and collect the data. Without OTT attribution, the attribution for the action would have gone to Google. With the tvScientific Method, we know the CTV ad deserves credit.

What Does OTT Attribution Mean for the Future of TV?

The impact of CTV and reliable OTT attribution can’t be overstated. For starters, more than two-thirds of CTV consumers are “ok” with ads. And they prefer ad-supported content rather than an ad-free subscription. In fact, the study revealed that a full 60 percent of consumers who were served relevant ads actually enjoyed the viewing experience. Of course, consumer engagement in ad content while involved in an opt-in activity like TV viewing will be significantly higher than having a digital ad pop into your feed while you’re in line at a coffee shop.  This shift to engaged viewers being targeted (and re-targeted) with relevant ads will undoubtedly lead to significant jumps in ROAS.

Quite simply, TV advertising will never be the same again – for marketers, consumers, and publishers. This article has already noted how the future of TV will be different.   No one can predict everything the future will bring. But here are some other implications  we’re thinking about:

For Publishers:

Already, 60% of content is delivered via streaming services and apps. With the world’s population stuck at home during the global pandemic, consumer adoption of these services accelerated. This trend will only continue, with cord-cutters expected to outpace linear TV viewers by 2024.

Publishers will increase revenue by selling ad inventory directly to brands and retain consumers by delivering improved viewing experiences. Streaming services and CTV platforms will continue to invest billions in more and better content, to the delight of consumers and marketers. And more inventory will equal a more affordable way for companies of any size to get on TV.

For Companies and Brands:

First and foremost, the opportunity for millions of companies who never dreamed of getting their message on TV is there for the taking. That in itself will be a game-changer in the TV viewing experience of the future. It won’t just be huge insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, car companies, and beer sold back-to-back-to-back.

A different, but related point is that this will change a company’s ability to scale and grow quickly. Being able to capitalize on the power of television with the precision of digital marketing will be a major accelerant to the growth of countless small companies.

Unlike linear TV, OTT attribution will allow advertisers to target and retarget specific audience segments, increasing the efficiency of ad spends. Traditionally, with linear TV advertising, a marketer may want to send a message and hope for a 3x frequency. And then moving on to a secondary campaign goal. But with OTT attribution, a new ad can be served to a customer as soon as that 3x threshold is met. Rather than relying on a handoff to search or social to pull the consumer through the funnel, marketers can use OTT retargeting. And they can continue to use the power of the big screen to achieve those goals.

With linear TV, creative testing is still sometimes done via storyboards and online panels. CTV allows incremental testing against smaller specific audiences and campaign objectives. The test and learn playbook of today’s social media will become the playbook of tomorrow’s TV advertising.

For Consumers:

Let’s get the most obvious change out of the way — with so many more companies using TV, consumers will be exposed to an explosion of new brands, products, and messages.

But when brands marry the precision of digital with their TV advertising, they will be able to find and deliver the right audience and the right message, as well as track those outcomes. For consumers, this means more appropriate ads will be delivered to your screen. Maybe you’ll no longer have to shake your head and wonder why you’re getting a steady stream of Rogaine, Medicare benefits, and random prescription drug ads when you’re a healthy 35-year-old woman. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Finally, is it possible that the combination of an ocean of new brands on TV with dramatically better targeting might even lead some consumers to stick around for ads and not skip them? Skeptics might say that’s too ambitious. But we’ll be watching.

How Can We Help You?

Our partner tvScientific is the only CTV platform offering optimized media buying, comprehensive measurement, and 1:1 OTT attribution on a direct, self-managed basis. Whether you’re a big brand or a small company wondering what CTV advertising could do for you, tvScientific enables any business to use TV advertising with ease, precision, and measurable performance to reach consumers and drive growth. Contact us today to get started. 

 

Online movie stream with smartphone. Woman watching film on mobile phone with imaginary video player service.

Lights… Video…. Action?

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Let’s talk about one of the many things that can boost engagement on your socials. Video. and, how easy it is to create short, snackable videos that you can use just about anywhere. 

  

Why video?

According to Dreamgrow.com Youtube videos reach more 18-34 and 18-39 year olds than any cable network in the US. There are over 1.8 Billion logged in Youtube monthly active users and with over 40 minutes of viewing per session on mobile… this means, more than likely, your listeners are on Youtube.

 

How?

Futuri POST has the ability to create really awesome audio based visual video snippets.

 

1. Sign into All New Post and go through the steps to create audio. The only difference there is if you want custom audio that is not in your timeline, you will need to upload the audio in the Audio Builder step.

 

2. Instead of publishing the audio right away, click on the Advanced Video option only and click publish or schedule. This option will take you to the aspect ratio prompt.

 

3. After choosing your ratio (Mobile is best for… mobile viewing) Hit next and you will be taken to the Audio Trim step. (If I were you, I would keep it under 30 seconds for those short attention spanned folks…) If you have voice in your audio, you can choose to add a closed caption which you will need to scan to make sure there are no misspellings for those who are hearing impared. 

 

4. Choose your template, create your template and pretty it up and add some color and logos and whatever you want! You also have the ability to add footage into your background to really shine. 

 

5. You can publish right away or, you can download to send to other platforms. 

 

For a More indepth How-To on POST Advanced Video, you can click here while you are signed into Futuri POST.

 

Let’s talk about other resources we have available and how we can help you promote and grow your business. Contact us to set up a strategy call to discuss your goals and how we can help you get there.  

Hand of man opening rope barrier

That is a lot of Clout!

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Have you gotten to a point where you think the content you are creating is just good enough or you think that typing out a few paragraphs for your site will suffice? Sure, a few people will read it… But why though? Why should your audience bother engaging with your site to begin with? What value does your word hold? Well, think about this, according to a Starcom MediaVest Group Study, when you crack the mic, a listener is 93% likely to consider purchasing an item and 77% likely to purchase based on what you say. That’s a lot of clout! 

Why is it important to create great content? When you do converse with your listeners, influencing them to go to the sites or socials, would you want them to go to a clapped out site with old posts or do you want them to visit a site that offers them value and entertainment. 

When you offer your listener/fan something of value, they will come back time and time again. That return engagement is valuable.

 

These same strategies apply to brands who want to increase brand awareness. When you talk to your audience, make sure the user experience is positive.

 

Tips to help clean up your site and socials:

1. Is it broken? Take some time to go through the site and see if there’s anything broken.i.e. links and ads. Broken links not only hurt your SEO, they hurt user experience.

 

2. Is it old? When going through the sites and you see a graphic that has been staring at you for weeks, create fresh ones. Also, update older timestamps to keep that content fresh too.

 

3. Is it tired?  Could some of the posts on your socials use a pick me up? Try to refresh them with new verbiage and new images. 

 

4. Is it weak?  Is the message you are trying to express lack luster? Test different messages to learn what resonates with your audience. Testing tone and language will help you understand what works and what doesn’t.

 

Bonus:

Message is key. Analyze the what and how are you telling your audience to go to the website and socials. Maybe it’s time to refresh that message. 

Alpha has the ear of the local audiences. Let’s talk about how we can help you reach these audiences through our local influence and goal driven digital strategies. 

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