A Marketer’s Guide to Identifying & Eliminating Ad Waste [5 Proven Ways]

As more people shop online, businesses have responded by increasing their advertising on digital platforms. In 2021, global digital advertising expenses stood at an estimated $521.02 billion and are expected to increase in the coming years. Unfortunately, much of this advertising expense ends up wasted. 

The vast majority of digital advertising is not viewed at all. Brands waste their digital investments by overbidding in campaigns, targeting the wrong audiences, and failing to drive meaningful conversions. While ad waste is a real problem in marketing, businesses can still take proactive measures to ensure the effectiveness of their ads.

The Waste in Advertising

Ad waste occurs when advertising campaigns fall short of their goals. The most popular campaigns are designed to pique a consumer’s interest or make a sale. The rise of digital advertising increases advertising waste enormously. Furthermore, when more complex purchasing routes arise, businesses have additional hurdles in measuring the performance and effectiveness of their ads.

What Are the Sources of Ad Waste?

The first step to eliminating waste in advertising is understanding its root causes. Here’s a rundown of its top sources:

  • Targeting Mistakes: Incorrect assumptions about your customer profile flush money down the drain. Targeting a broad or wrong audience will result in platform administrators ignoring or blocking your ad.
  • Poor Content & Messaging: Unappealing copy, inauthentic messaging, and poor quality content result in ad waste.
  • Wrong Placement & Medium: Even if you have killer content and copy, choosing the wrong platform can still result in ad waste.
  • Ad-Blocking: Consumers are now taking charge of their purchase journey through ad blocking, creating an additional hurdle for marketers.
  • Ad Fraud: Some service providers misrepresent conversion data and other relevant ad performance metrics to generate revenue without human intervention, contributing to digital advertising waste.

Why Eliminate Waste in Advertising?

You can maximize your investment and shorten the sales cycle by eliminating ad waste. Businesses that run engaging and cost-efficient advertising campaigns enjoy the following benefits:

  • Increased Brand & Product Awareness: Properly-targeted advertisements heighten the market’s awareness of your offerings, allowing you to attract new customers.
  • Higher Sales Volume & Increased Return on Investment: Ads can drive more conversions by successfully targeting customers close to the end of the sales funnel.
  • Better Brand Image & Market Positioning: Successful advertising campaigns help to create a positive perception of your brand or improve your current market positioning.
  • Well-Communicated Competitive Advantage: Tailored advertisements can help communicate your product’s distinct advantages and how they provide value to your clients.

5 Ways to Identify & Eliminate Ad Waste

While eliminating digital advertising waste can seem challenging, businesses can take actionable steps toward this endeavor by following the essential tips below.

1. Use Analytics

Set up the correct analytics tools to track key KPIs before adopting an advertising strategy. Creating and monitoring campaign KPIs allows you to find waste early, decrease it, and improve your marketing strategy.

2. Target a Specific Audience

Marketing methods that are too broad are ineffective and costly. Instead of targeting a wide audience, get to know your target market intimately and segment them based on demographics, psychographics, and behavioral characteristics. When you have a solid understanding of your clients, you can begin to develop advertisements tailored to them.

3. Use Relevant Keywords

Effective keyword selection is crucial in creating a successful digital advertising campaign. To determine the best keywords relevant to your prospects, explore the words your direct competitors are targeting and invest time surveying your existing customer base.

Consider increasing the specificity of your keywords by using long-tail keywords. Although they tend to have lower search volume than short, broad keywords, they increase the chances of your offering matching the user’s intent.

4. Invest in the Right Platforms

While it can be tempting to invest in several channels simultaneously, data-driven businesses understand the importance of assessing the effectiveness of each platform before scaling up. Instead of immediately investing evenly across all channels, evaluate traffic and conversion data first. Then, reduce spending on ineffective channels to eliminate ad waste.

5. Track & Optimize

The real work begins after a successful advertising campaign. Accurate reporting and monitoring are necessary to assess ad results. Set aside time at the end of each campaign to review outcomes and explore potential causes of poor ad performance.

In general, it makes sense to put money into channels that yield the best returns, but that doesn’t mean you can’t branch out and try something new once in a while. You can experiment with various settings to get the optimal configuration for your campaigns. Use split-testing software to compare the performance of different advertising. This approach will help you optimize your ad strategy over time and reduce ad waste on methods that don’t yield results.

Eliminate Ad Waste with the Help of Channel Factory

Waste in advertising is a real problem businesses face; it takes the right tools, strategies, and partners to overcome. Channel Factory helps brands invest in relevant, suitable, and effective advertising content that brings results. We help businesses maximize their advertising budgets through powerful Youtube video content and custom ad optimization that engages their target audience and drives sales. Reach out today to get started!

Using Social Media as a Search Engine [Including TikTok]

The world shook with the announcement that TikTok took the number one spot as the most visited domain in the world. It pushed the titan Google to second place for the first time in fifteen years. 

Even more shocking was when the senior vice president in charge of Google’s Knowledge and Information organization said: “In our studies, something like almost 40 percent of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.”

Keep reading to learn more about why people use social media as a search engine and how it’s changing the virtual marketing and advertising world.

3 Examples of Using Social Media as a Search Engine

The idea of people using social media as a search engine isn’t new. But as pointed out above, Gen Z is developing new search habits not seen before. 

  1. YouTube

YouTube was one of the earliest and most popular examples of a social media platform used as a search engine. It gained a reputation for providing solutions to everyday problems and helping people learn new things. Many people went to YouTube instead of Google to develop new skills, learn how to fix something, or discover the right way to cook a meal.

Even today, people use it for: 

  • News
  • Tutorials
  • In-depth learning of new skills
  • Entertainment

Like TikTok and Instagram, YouTube has introduced “Shorts” that feature short videos by its content creators, although they haven’t seen the same level of popularity experienced by other platforms. 

  1. TikTok

TikTok has taken over the social media space, becoming the fastest-growing social network. As mentioned above, TikTok passed Google as the most popular domain in the first quarter of 2022. 

Over a decade after YouTube’s creation, TikTok has skyrocketed in popularity for reasons similar to the ones that first launched YouTube’s success. The platform revolves around the content of real people who film themselves doing various activities for entertainment and educational purposes.

People search on TikTok for:

  • Recipes
  • Fashion ideas
  • Educational content
  • Beauty tips

The platform recently added “Collections,” which users use to save and organize their favorite videos like a Pinterest board.

  1. Instagram

Instagram has become so much more than a place to post vacation photos and your best selfies. Many people, including Gen Z, use it to find authentic opinions on a variety of subjects. 

People search on Instagram for:

  • Recipes
  • Local attractions 
  • Fashion ideas
  • Interior decorating ideas 

Like TikTok, the platform has “Folders” that let users organize and save their favorite images and videos.

Why Is Everything Changing?

In some ways, what’s happening right now is an evolution of what’s happened before, like YouTube surpassing cable. 

The big factor here is Gen Z. 

Gen Z prefers to use social media as a search engine because they find Google results tiresome to search through. They feel the results aren’t accurate and want more authentic information for opinion-related subjects. 

Gen Z also likes that TikTok and Instagram offer more up-to-date information than Google, which they find particularly useful for restaurant- or travel-related searches. If a restaurant goes out of business, for example, social media will likely show a status update long before the website or Google Map’s listing is updated. 

TikTok and Instagram are popular because their videos are easier to digest. They offer short content, which works well with society’s increasingly short attention spans. 

What Does This Mean for the Future of Marketing?

The future of marketing and advertising is human and authentic. That’s what younger people who use TikTok and Instagram want. They like using these platforms to find local attractions and ideas on fashion, food, and interior design from actual people. 

Your content also has to be short and interesting. It’s not a coincidence that TikTok passed Google thanks to its short-form content. For example, many people say they like getting to recipes quickly versus having to scroll through an entire article to locate the recipe. 

Jump on the Short-Form Video Trend

Now is the time to focus marketing around short videos. Channel Factory can help you find the right videos and content creators to showcase your ads.

Our ViewIQ program finds videos that suit your brand using: 

  • Creator data
  • Performance data
  • Human reviews
  • Audio transcripts

Contact us to learn how to maximize your marketing efforts and get in front of the right audience. 

How to Use YouTube Search Trends to Create Engaging Content

Have you developed your video marketing strategy and determined YouTube is the place to be? If you want to leverage your success, you should be on the lookout for YouTube search trends.

YouTube search trends are the easiest way to determine what topics are popular on the platform at any given moment. But this isn’t just a metric for measuring the success of other video content creators—YouTube trends also help you determine what kind of videos you can create to grow your audience and reach a wider appeal.

In this article, we’ll go over how you can find YouTube trends to follow, how you can leverage them to create your content, and how those trends affect the YouTube advertising space.

How Do You Find YouTube Search Trends?

There are several resources you should consider checking out to discover the latest search trends. Here is how to find the YouTube search trends that can shape your future content strategy.

  • YouTube: Unsurprisingly, YouTube is a great place to look for the latest YouTube trends. The platform conveniently has a “Trending” category under its Explore page, which gives you a direct pulse on what videos are currently trending. This list is updated every 15 minutes, showing which videos rise and fall from the top spots.
  • Social media: For some political and cultural topics, video trends reach far beyond YouTube. Checking popular media platforms can give you a glimpse into current topic trends.
  • SEO Platforms: Most SEO Platforms’ primary purpose is to look for and measure how people search on the internet using keywords and phrases. Still, keywords are not only relevant for search engines, but any widely used website uses SEO basics. Semrush allows you to search for specific topics, and they’ll deliver the latest YouTube keyword search trends. This gives you the exact verbiage people use to look for trending topics.

How Do You Leverage Trends for Your Video Content?

Using YouTube search trends as a springboard toward success is not as simple as chasing those trends. Target the wrong trend, and you may sink hours into a topic that doesn’t give you any traction with viewers. 

We don’t want you to have any wasted effort in growing your YouTube audience. That’s why we’ve gathered the four best tips you can use to properly leverage trends in your favor.

1. Start With Goals

Before creating content, think of your long-term goal for content creation. Are you doing it to grow an audience? To become an expert in a niche category? 

Whatever your goals may be, don’t let a trend dissuade you from them. This will help ensure you follow trends that are relevant to your usual content. However, it can inspire how you create your content around the trending topic.

2. Capitalize on Google Keyword Trends

If something is a trending topic on Google and other search engines, chances are people will be looking for video content as well. This is particularly true for question-based searches. 

For example, say you specialize in automotive content. If you find a trending topic about how often you should flush your brake fluid, consider creating content that addresses that question and teaches people how to flush their brake fluid.

3. Optimize/Reutilize Previous Content

Maybe you’ve already created a video that covers the trending topics. If this is the case, don’t start from scratch—video creation is time-consuming and costly. Instead, you can repost your old content or splice it with updated information to make it more timely.

4. Take Advantage of Seasonal Trends

Just because a trend isn’t evergreen does not mean you should ignore it entirely. Take the search term “how to make a Christmas wreath.” Sure, it is likely only ever searched during the holiday season, but it will get searched every holiday season.

Creating seasonal content ahead of time is a great strategy that will help prepare you for the future, ensuring your content will be in front of the right audience at the right time.

Of course, don’t follow a trend just because it’s seasonal. Ensure the content always aligns with your goals and regular content, so it’s not a jarring departure from what you usually produce.

Can Search Trends Improve Your Video Advertising?

Examining trends can help you craft your YouTube advertising strategy. Many users are searching the web for a product you offer. They go onto YouTube and are greeted by an ad for your product. Because of relevancy, that user is more likely to click on your ad.

If a product or service you offer is part of a popular trend, advertise it as soon as possible.

Perfect Your Video Ads with Channel Factory

Want to learn more about aligning your video content with YouTube search trends? Work with Channel Factory. Our experts build customized YouTube advertising solutions for optimal brand and content alignment. Contact us today!

5 Do’s and Don’ts of Successful Video Marketing

Videos play a crucial role in a business’s content marketing strategy and can boost sales. With that said, trends and best practices are constantly evolving. Keeping up with how the video marketing industry changes yearly and monthly is essential, or your brand will get left behind. To help, we have broken down the top trends of video marketing in 2022, along with current video marketing tips you should be following.

2022 Trends in Video Advertising

While creative ideas have their place in marketing, it’s also important to follow the trends in your industry. Using trends to generate strategy can increase your brand’s visibility, engagement, credibility, and more. 

Here are some of the top mobile video advertising trends to add to your content marketing calendar:

  • User-Generated Content (UGC): UGC is just like it sounds—consumers create the content instead of a marketing team. USG videos inspire more trust for your brand and can take many forms, including product reviews, demos, tutorials, unboxing videos, etc. 
  • Interactive Videos: These videos encourage viewers to engage with links and content while watching. Examples of interactive videos can include polls, landing pages, questions, other content from your brand, and more.
  • TikTok: TikTok is not new in 2022. However, it is an increasingly relevant space to include in your video marketing. Plus, these types of videos are quick and easy to make. 

5 Do’s and Don’ts Video Marketing in 2022

Perhaps the biggest change between video marketing in 2022 versus video marketing best practices in 2021 is the increasing emphasis on short video content. With social media channels pushing reels, and consumers’ attention spans hovering around eight seconds, 2022 is shaping up to become the year of short content. 

The following are four more tips for video marketing in 2022 and beyond.

1. Do Optimize Videos for Search

Video marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) go hand in hand in any good digital marketing ecosystem. Before filming, know your target search intent, then create high-value, relevant videos. 

Answer important questions, educate, and engage your audience. Like with standard website SEO best practices, you need to do keyword research and use them both in the video and the description. 

Once you have created strong content, optimize on the back end with meta titles, video descriptions, captions, hashtags, thumbnails, etc. This process will look different across platforms. One video marketing SEO tip many overlook is inserting a video transcript. This will help search engines know what the video is about and will allow the video to appear more widely and accurately in searches.

2. Don’t Chase Going Viral

It’s very easy to get caught up in trying to produce content that will go viral. This is a waste of time and money. Virality can risk a company’s brand suitability model and give you a disingenuous reputation. In general, it’s best to focus on quality content. 

3. Do Caption Your Videos

Captioning the videos you create has been very popular in 2022 across all platforms. Why? It is a more inclusive practice and allows your audience to watch your video anytime—even when they cannot use sound. According to a poll, 69% of people watch videos with the sound off in public places. Using captions will allow people to understand the information in your video without the sound, which will help you get your message across to more people. 

4. Don’t Produce Lengthy Videos

The concept of keeping content short has been around for a while, but in 2022, videos need to be even shorter. Short videos became more popular with the rise of TikTok, and you can see that shift with the addition of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. If your brand doesn’t start favoring short videos that make the most of every second, you may notice a decline in your views and engagement. 

5. Do Consider Investing in Software

Every platform is complex, and brands can struggle to keep up with algorithm changes and best practices in video marketing. 

To combat this challenge, consider leaning on software for support. Channel Factory offers custom YouTube advertising solutions, including easy-to-use self-service software. This takes the guessing out of the equation and assists you with optimizing your video content for maximum results. 

Contact Channel Factory today to elevate your video marketing strategy.

What Does Contextual Advertising Mean? And Why It’s Important

Today’s digital landscape makes it easy to reach a wide audience. But serving ads to the wrong audience won’t deliver the best ROI. In some cases, it can actively hurt your brand.

Contextual advertising can drive powerful results when done correctly. But to do that, we need to define contextual advertising and detail its uses and benefits.

What Is Contextual Advertising?

Contextual advertising is the practice of placing targeted advertisements with relevant content. In digital marketing, that means advertising on the right websites, videos, and other online content. By doing so, you’ll reach an audience that’s more likely to click the ad and interact with it meaningfully.

How It Works in Digital Marketing

Many advertisers employ machine-learning programs to identify suitable content for their ads. At Channel Factory, we use contextual video targeting on YouTube to deliver ads where they’ll perform best.

Why Is Contextual Advertising Important?

Placing ads in the proper context helps provide the most return possible from your ad spend. In a recent study, we’ve found that 73% of consumers are more likely to buy something from an ad if it applies to the content they’re consuming. 

Contextual advertising also helps avoid negative connotations with your brand. In that same study, we discovered that 64% of users would develop negative views of a brand if it appears next to unsuitable content.

Mobile Contextual Advertising, Privacy, and Cookies

Similar to contextual advertising, many brands use browser cookies to track user behavior and deliver relevant ads. This is sometimes called behavioral advertising.

But privacy concerns continue to rise as more people adopt mobile devices. World governments are cracking down on data sharing. And with companies like Apple and Google changing their cookie policies, it’s more critical than ever to run ads based on context rather than behavior.

5 Notable Benefits of Contextual Advertising

Contextual advertising offers many benefits for advertisers.

1. More Relevant to the Target Audience 

Instead of wide-sweeping ads like billboards or print ads, contextual advertising reaches an audience already primed to interact with your brand.

2. More Reliable Than Behavioral Advertising

Personalization is a powerful tool in advertising. But past behavior isn’t always the best indicator of user intent. So even though a customer plays guitar, they probably won’t click a guitar shop’s ad on a recipe blog. In that context, they’re more likely to click ads for ingredients or cookware.

3. Easy and Affordable to Implement

Behavioral advertising requires a lot of data, which takes time and resources to collect and analyze. Contextual advertising uses different tech that doesn’t rely on sourcing data from users.

4. Not Limited By Policies and Legislation

Contextual advertising doesn’t rely on collecting data. As such, it doesn’t violate any policies set by governments, agencies, and platforms like Google or Apple.

5. Safer for Your Brand

You can avoid misaligning your ads with inappropriate content by using contextual advertising. That way, you can avoid negative associations made with your brand.

Contextual Advertising Examples

There are many ways advertisers align themselves to the right context. Here are several examples of contextual advertising:

  • Running shoe ads in a video about fitness and exercise
  • Ads for productivity software in an article about school tips for success
  • Ads for pool care products in an article about cleaning swimming pools
  • Pizza chains offering discount codes in family-friendly content
  • Ads for reading glasses on a book review website
  • Copywriting agencies sponsoring a YouTube channel about building websites
  • Ads for sugar-free cereal in a podcast about health and wellness
  • Wireless earbud ads during long-form video essays

Once you define your ideal customer, you can contextualize your marketing toward them.

How Effective Is Contextual Advertising?

Contextual advertising simply works. Here are some stats to consider:

Contextualize Your Ads for Optimized Revenue

Contextual advertising on a large scale requires specific tools and expert knowledge. If you need help to get started, reach out to Channel Factory for a custom YouTube advertising plan that positions your brand with the perfect audience and maximizes returns.

The Social Effect: How Video Consumption Trends Have Changed

The pandemic changed a lot about how we consume media. Web traffic blew up, and content consumption saw dramatic changes. But we wanted to know: Is video content on the rise?

We surveyed thousands of people across the globe to find out. And in our recent study The Social Effect, we uncover how video consumption trends and habits have changed from 2020 to 2022.

How Has the Pandemic Changed Video Content?

Before the pandemic, video made up roughly 73% of all internet traffic. That number is expected to increase to 82% in 2022. Video traffic comes from paid on-demand services (like Netflix, HBO Max, etc.) and user-generated content (YouTube, TikTok, etc.).

Content Quality

There’s a wider acceptance of “lower-quality” content, especially among younger audiences. A study published by YouTube noted that “traditional, TV-era markers of quality are less important to viewers than they once were.” Factors like high production values or famous actors don’t impact viewers’ preferences like they once did.

Blurring Lines Between Social Media and Traditional Entertainment

As we observed in our CES 2021 Advertising Takeaways, more people turned to social video content for entertainment. That trend continues today. We found that globally, 56% of consumers turn to YouTube to relax and watch entertaining videos. Other users stated they watch video content to boost their mood.

Do Consumers Prefer Video Content?

Digital video consumption continues growing at an incredible rate. You can see this reflected in how much social video platforms have grown:

According to Hubspot, people are more likely to pay attention to videos. With other forms of content (like blogs, ebooks, and podcasts), they’re more likely to skim through it or multitask.

3 Video Consumption Trends Among Millennials and Gen Zers

Video consumption trends are rapidly shifting. In The Social Effect, we’ve uncovered some interesting details about digital video consumption, which you can learn more about by downloading the full overview.

1. Increased Desire for Variety and Discovery

One of the top reasons people turn to social is to discover something new, unusual, and surprising. In what we call “The TikTok Effect,” users crave an element of discovery with the content they watch. Platforms like YouTube, Meta, and Snapchat cater to this by feeding users new content based on behavior algorithms.

2. More Product Research and Shopping

More consumers use social videos to research a brand or product. Often, they make buying decisions based on reviews and demonstrations they’ve watched.

26% of users we surveyed use social video to learn about a product. What’s more, 22% have shopped for products via social video ads in the past three years and that number is expected to continue growing.

3. Improved Moods After Digital Video Consumption

Some people associate social media and online videos with laziness, regret, or lack of productivity. But as Google points out, “In times of uncertainty, digital video can be a wellspring of positivity.”

At the height of the pandemic, people watched YouTube videos to boost their mood. That trend continues, with 35% of adults saying they feel better after watching video content online.

How You Can Capitalize On Video Consumption Trends

Advertisers can take advantage of these video consumption trends by doing these two things:

You can work with a partner like Channel Factory to ensure your video ads are surrounding suitable content. Contact us today to learn more and get your best-performing ad campaign yet.

And if you want to know more about video consumption trends, download our complete overview of The Social Effect.

3 Lessons We Can Learn from Early Social Media Platforms

 

It wasn’t that long ago when sites like MySpace and Friendster were just seen as fun distractions. Nowadays, you probably open your phone multiple times a day to check notifications on Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok. 

Early social media platforms can teach us a lot about consumer behavior. By studying the evolution of social media, we can gain valuable insights into how it’s changed—and how it’s stayed the same. 

And by studying this behavior, we uncover ways brands can effectively use social media to grow their business.

Social Media through the Years

In a few short decades, social media has evolved from nonexistence to an essential communication tool that more than half the world’s population uses every day. But how did we get here? And how can businesses leverage social media to boost their brand?

When Did Social Media Begin?

While free website builders like Geocities came and went, the first major social media site showed up in 1997 with the short-lived Six Degrees. At its height, the site boasted around 3.5 million users before shutting down in 2000. After that, social media gained momentum in the early 2000s with sites like Friendster and MySpace.

How Social Media Has Changed

In their most basic forms, early social media platforms let users create profiles, connect with friends, post photos, and keep tabs on users within their network. That said, they were mostly restricted to a desktop experience, with growth limited to the number of people with internet access.

Today, roughly 85% of Americans own a smartphone, giving them nearly unrestricted access to the internet. Platforms that adopt a mobile-first approach see rapid growth while others fall by the wayside.

Video is increasingly important to users. Social platforms have evolved to reflect this trend. YouTube currently has over two billion monthly users, with TikTok coming in at one billion. Other platforms like Facebook and Instagram have picked up the video trend and now heavily incorporate video elements into the experience. 

What We Can Learn from Early Social Media Platforms

Brands can learn some valuable lessons by studying social media evolution and how users interacted with these early platforms:

1. Don’t Be Everything for Everyone All at Once

One possible factor in Friendster’s downfall was what Gizmodo called  “conceptual vastness”— its attempts to connect everyone in the world together, Friendster was bogged down with fake profiles and superfluous features that detracted from the experience. 

Eventually, users jumped ship to other sites. 

In contrast, Facebook started life as a networking site for Ivy League college students with school email verifications. Then it expanded permissions to other schools and eventually opened to the public.

2. Maintain a Suitable Image

MySpace was the undisputed ruler of the social media space during the mid-2000s. But cracks started forming when they were caught up in controversies regarding cyberbullying and sexual abuse. As a result, users and advertisers started moving away from the platform altogether.

Brand perception is crucial. Consumers can draw negative conclusions about a brand if placed with unsuitable content, innocent or otherwise. In this case, users no longer felt safe on MySpace, and wouldn’t support a platform fostering that type of activity.

3. Adapt to Rapidly Changes in Consumer Behavior

This may seem like a no-brainer, but failing to adapt in time is part of why some early social media platforms failed, while others took off.

Facebook has maintained itself as a leader since 2008 thanks to some strategic choices. It addressed the safety concerns that plagued MySpace while adding features it lacked. As video and photos became a priority for users, it invested into new features for Instagram and Facebook Watch.

YouTube has adapted to changing demand and behavior. It’s added features such as live streaming and community posts, allowing users to monetize their videos in numerous ways. All these additions have helped it maintain relevance and longevity.

Boost Your Social Strategy with Channel Factory

Maintaining positive momentum and positioning in social media is critical to your digital marketing ecosystem. By studying the evolution of media and learning from the mistakes and successes of early social media platforms, your brand can see incredible success.

Channel Factory helps brands succeed by leveraging video content on YouTube. Get the most out of your next ad campaign with custom ad optimization, performance improvement, and more. Contact us today to get started. 

3 Popular Media Consumption Habits of Millennials and Gen Z

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed peoples’ relationships with brands and media. With everyone in lockdown away from work and school, nearly every platform saw boosts in traffic, offering new insights on media consumption habits.

The media consumption habits of millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2021) should interest brands and agencies. What’s changed? What stayed the same? Come along with us as we explore some popular media trends.

1. Social Media Consumption Habits

There are more choices than ever for digital entertainment. While movies and TV remain a staple across the globe, younger generations are turning to alternative sources forentertainment.

Thanks to powerful algorithms, social media platforms have evolved to deliver more personalized content, feeding users a steady stream of videos, articles, and even shopping opportunities. 

In a recent Channel Factory survey, we determined that many millennials and Gen Zers access platforms like YouTube and Facebook/Meta to find more information about topics of interest. Others specifically turn to YouTube to boost their mood and relax.

Users often become brand ambassadors on social media. In that same survey, we found that 52% of users would share ads if they thought their friends or family would be interested in the product. We also learned that 50% of Generation Z would share ads if they thought the ads were creative and cool.

That said, context matters. Advertisers n must be conscious in targeting the right audience to avoid negative associations.Gen Z media consumption habits show a higher standard for brand suitability, and associate brands with the content they appear with—whether it be an article, TV show, or YouTube video— if the brand misaligns with the content, Gen Z consumers will be more likely to skip the ad. In other words, putting ads next to pimple-popping videos might damage your brand image.

2. The Rise of Gaming

Gen Z and millennial media consumption habits include a heavy dose of gaming. In 2020, the video game industry’s revenue grew to $57 billion—more than the movie and music industries combined. Tech companies have taken note, with Microsoft set to acquire publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.

For younger generations, gaming is as much a valid entertainment form as movies, television, music, and social media. Deloitte’s digital media trend survey suggests that both millennials and Generation Z spend an average of 11 hours per week playing video games. The survey also suggests that 26% of Gen Zers would rather invest their time playing games than consuming other media.

Deloitte found that games are appealing because they’re easily accessible thanks to smartphones, game consoles, and PCs. They also offer social experiences for players to interact with friends and other users.

3. Subscription Churn

As more studios and tech companies launch their own streaming services, people continue to grow frustrated by content fragmentation. Millennials and Generation Z have little patience for sifting through multiple platforms to find their favorite content. 

Consequently, users are more likely to add and cancel subscriptions based on content availability. In their 2022 digital media trends survey, Deloitte found that on average, 33% of people added and canceled at least one streaming subscription. But when you specifically look at millennials and Gen Z, the average is higher—between 46-49%.

Cost is another factor for subscription churning, and younger generations are particularly sensitive to rising prices. That said, they’re far more willing than older generations to come back to a service after canceling. Platforms can win users back by offering discounted or free ad-supported subscription plans.

Understanding Leads to Greater Rewards

Brands that take time to understand the media consumption habits of millennials and Gen Zers will experience significant growth. When positioned correctly, brands can improve their perception among younger audiences and develop strong brand loyalty.

Refer to Channel Factory’s newest research, The Social Effect, for more on consumer shopping habits in 2022. Contact Channel Factory today and learn how you can target the right audience and leverage your brand.

How Video Consumption Has Evolved and Changed the Digital Landscape

 

Media consumption trends have drastically changed over the past few years. From Netflix binges to YouTube tutorials and TikTok dances, video consumption has seeped into almost every aspect of peoples’ lives.

Gen Z and Millennials essentially grew up with the internet. As such, they prefer to watch online videos over traditional television. And when the pandemic shut people indoors, their media consumption habits rapidly changed.

How Has Video Consumption Changed over Time?

There are three notable ways that video consumption has changed over the recent years:

1. Video as the Dominant Form of Entertainment

What once was a novelty in the early days of the internet is now the driving force behind the most popular apps and websites. It’s estimated that video now makes up over 82% of all internet traffic. A good chunk of that traffic includes paid streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and others.

Streaming certainly disrupted the digital landscape, and the pandemic only accelerated this growth. In a report by Deloitte Insights, average consumers now pay for an average of four streaming services. In addition, about 24% of those people added a new paid streaming service to get the content they wanted.

It’s not just paid streaming services that are seeing growth. User-generated video on social platforms is also exploding.

YouTube reports over 2 billion monthly logged-in users with over 500 hours of content uploaded every minute. Then there’s TikTok, which already has over 1 billion active users on the platform since its launch in 2017.

Even other social media sites, which traditionally weren’t video-heavy platforms, are pushing video interaction into their infrastructure, like Facebook Watch or Instagram’s IGTV and Reels. From 2020 to 2022, Instagram saw a video viewership increase of over 23%, and in the same time frame, Snapchat rose 31.2% in viewership. Social apps are now pivoting to capture more of the demand for video content, even setting aside their traditional features in favor of more engaging short-form video clips.

2. Increasing Reliance on Video

An increasing number of users place more value on video content beyond its pure entertainment value.

In our recently published Channel Factory report, over 56% of those surveyed use YouTube to relax and watch entertaining videos. In the same survey, 41% of Gen Zers specified using video to boost their mood.

In a separate survey sent out by Google (who owns YouTube), they discovered that 1 in 2 Gen Zers and Millennials “don’t know how they’d get through life without video.” Among the reasons given, the number one response was that it helps them “relax and unwind.”

Other respondents stated that they use video to help them solve problems, learn new skills, or dig deeper into their passions and interests.

Another video consumption trend is information gathering, particularly with products. People are turning more and more to video content to learn about a brand or product, watch product demos, or get reviews and recommendations from actual users who have experience with the products in question. Channel Factory recently found that 26% of consumers rely on social video platforms to find information about a product, and 22% have even shopped video ads.

Many brands, manufacturers, and retailers have caught on to this and now leverage video to their advantage. Video can help establish themselves as an authority in their space and communicate their message more effectively than written content. It can also provide a higher ROI than other forms of advertising

3. High Production Values and Celebrity Names Are Less Important

It turns out you don’t need a huge budget or A-list celebrities to get attention. What you do need is relatable content that speaks to the viewer. 

Gen Z and millennial media consumption is more accepting of low-budget productions. In a survey sent out by Google (who owns YouTube), they noted that “traditional TV-era quality markers are less important to viewers than they once were.” 

These markers include “high production quality” and “having famous actors,” which all ranked toward the bottom of peoples’ reasons for watching video content. 

“Being on a network or platform they like” also ranked low. With so many free and paid streaming services available, users can be more platform-agnostic than ever—they’ll go wherever their favorite content is available and cancel subscriptions that no longer provide them value.

And as evidenced by the incredible growth of platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch, many users gravitate more toward platforms that allow them to dive deeper into their passions. 

Viewers now chase content exploration, with more creators and influencers outside their core interests. In 2022 over 34% of Youtube users and 32.5% of TikTok users said they like to “mix it up” when watching videos. Instead of finding a new show or movie, they’re more likely to learn a new hobby or find info on a new topic. 

Take Advantage of Video Consumption Trends

Video consumption is constantly changing, so video creators and advertisers need to take advantage of these trends. Channel Factory can help you optimize your next ad campaign for the best performance. Reach out to us today and drive meaningful results with your videos.

10 Video Streaming Trends for 2023 and Beyond

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It’s safe to say that streaming has become the dominant form of entertainment in many households. Netflix reigns supreme with over 220 million subscribers while competing services like Disney+ and HBO Max continue to amass sizable audiences.

Meanwhile, user-generated video is seeing unprecedented growth. Currently, YouTube has over two billion monthly logged-in users, with TikTok closing in at one billion.

As more people turn to the convenience of streaming services, new opportunities emerge for advertisers to reach more households. How can your brand capitalize on this? Read about 2022’s top ten streaming industry trends to find out.

MORE TIME SPENT WATCHING VIDEO

According to Nielsen’s State of Play report, Americans increased their average weekly video consumption from “143.2 billion streamed minutes to 169.4 billion between February 2021 and February 2022.” 

93% of Americans predict they will either keep their current number of streaming services or add on additional streaming channels in the next year, according to the report. 

YouTube and other video streaming apps saw similar growth with long-form content. Since 2020, there has been 6% growth, with over 38% of American viewers regularly consuming 10 minutes or longer content. 

More people prefer streaming over other forms of video entertainment. In the same report, Nielsen estimated subscription video on demand now accounts for over 53% of all time spent watching content.

Takeaway: Video should be a core part of your advertising strategy. Learn more in our article,  The Future of Video Ads.

MORE MEDIA CONSUMPTION ON MOBILE DEVICES

Smartphones and tablets continue to dominate in 2022. People now spend more time on their personal devices than they do watching TV. To that end, streaming providers are optimizing their platforms for the hand-held experience.

Mobile apps are available for every major streaming service. These apps have optimizations to keep viewers engaged for longer periods. As a result, users now watch more video content than ever before.

Streaming services are now being bundled with new phone plans, highlighting mobile’s importance to future streaming service trends. For example, Verizon plans come with a 6-month subscription to Disney+, and Apple offers their Apple TV+ service with the purchase of a new iPhone.

Takeaway: Make your video ads mobile-friendly, and take advantage of the ad platforms provided by these streaming services.

LIVE STREAMING AND INTERACTION

Creator-centric entertainment live streaming is continuing to grow popular in 2022 and into 2023, mainly through TikTok LIVE, Instagram Live, YouTube, and Twitch. 

Twitch is currently the most-watched live-streaming platform in the US, with over 140 million unique visitors. On the other hand, TikTok LIVE is looking to its Chinese counterpart Douyin as it rolls out live-streaming shopping.

YouTube Live has been signing exclusive contracts with big streamers and also recently released its “Go Live Together” feature, which negates the need to use a third-party communication platform like Discord.

Takeaway: Use live streaming trends to your advantage—partner with active streamers who have a following or who will host live-streamed events for your brand.

INCREASED VIDEO QUALITY

Every year, streaming technology improves while the costs associated with it go down, making it easier to create a professional streaming setup.

This also means consumers both expect and demand higher video quality. Long gone are the days of the 720p norm. Marketers should produce content in at least 1080p and keep platform specifications in mind when purchasing video equipment.

Improved video quality also means keeping up with and trailblazing new trends. Getting top-of-the-line equipment doesn’t mean much if you aren’t recording anything that engages people.

Takeaway: Make 2023 the year your brand invests in high-quality video equipment, if you haven’t already.

DISCOVERING NEW AND INFORMATIONAL CONTENT

In our own research from 2022, we found consumers often crave an element of discovery. It’s what we called the “TikTok Effect.”

People want platforms to serve them new and unexpected content outside their core interests. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube use complex user algorithms to make recommendations, delivering new content to their users. 

Between 2020 and 2022, there was an increase in users getting onto social and video platforms to learn new skills or information outside of their core interests. 

Because algorithms are improving, people are getting more niche content catered to their likes. Work on branding, because the people viewing your content may not be familiar with your business.

Takeaway: Make sure your brand has a presence on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook/Meta, and others. These platforms will automatically serve your content to users who are already interested in your brand.

SHORT-FORM VIDEO CONTENT

As millennials and Gen Z become a more dominant cohort in the American economy, it’s integral to reach them where they are active—short-form video platforms.

Businesses are finding success in recycling content from past live streams and publishing it on YouTube Shorts, Instagram Clips, and TikTok. Not only do you save time by not having to create original posts, but you can also draw in new viewers.

Short-form video posts are great for promoting streams, products, collaborations, merchandise, products, and events. You can even promote or preview your short-form video content on your stream through pop-up notifications in chat or on an overlay.

Takeaway: Use a multichannel approach to draw people from all backgrounds.

NOSTALGIA-DRIVEN CONTENT

While discovering new content is important to many users, nostalgia remains a significant driving force behind much of today’s media, and that trend isn’t likely to disappear soon. 

People who grew up in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s are spending the most time and money on streaming right now. So naturally, reboots, sequels, and big franchises based on the pop culture they grew up with dominate the streaming waves right now. 

Comic book movies continue to draw audiences. Reboots like Cobra Kai and Fuller House were hits. And revivals of beloved shows like Futurama and King of the Hill are currently in development. Even original content like Stranger Things uses 80s nostalgia to great success.

Takeaway: Capitalize on nostalgia in your advertising wherever it makes sense to do so.

FREE ALTERNATIVES FOR LIVE NEWS AND SPORTS

While the growth of on-demand services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube have gotten a lot of attention recently, media platforms that cater to live events such as local and national news, sports, and traditional television channels remain popular as well.

Free ad-supported services like Pluto TV and Tubi, in particular, have been quietly gaining a following. Since its launch, Pluto TV reportedly has 64 million monthly active users, while Tubi currently stands at 51 million.

Takeaway: Don’t ignore these free, ad-supported platforms. Traditional television programming still has a place in modern media.

AD-SUPPORT VERSUS SUBSCRIPTION MODELS

Nowadays, few people want to pay directly to watch live video content or stream shows and movies. 

An August 2022 study from Infillon revealed that 67% of consumers prefer ad-supported streaming options over ad-free. Findings from that study also show that most people find ads repetitive and multitask while viewing ads. 

The debate between ad-supported and subscription-based streaming boils down to a few key factors: price, convenience, and content variety. As long as a streaming service has two of these factors, it can maintain a steady base of subscribers.

Takeaway: Consumers prefer ad-supported streaming options, but that doesn’t mean they’ll pay attention to the ads.

Spend more on highly targeted ads that’ll keep people’s attention.

IOT STREAMING

Thanks to the development of the most recent iteration of the internet–Web 3.0–IoT (Internet of Things) technology has continued to develop. IoT technology has great potential for using streaming to make people’s lives more convenient and enjoyable.

Companies have implemented streaming into their IoT devices in many ways, from smart security systems that give live broadcasts from all angles of your home to medical monitoring devices that gather, analyze, and share metrics.

The market for IoT technology is expected to grow by over 500% from 2022 to 2029, with an anticipated value of almost two and a half trillion dollars. In the coming years, look to see how it will be implemented in the automobile industry with live cameras, the industrial sector, and the home sector due to 5G integration.

Takeaway: IoT technology has high growth potential and future demand, so be bullish when implementing it in your ad campaigns.

USE THESE STREAMING TRENDS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Incorporate these streaming industry trends into your next ad campaign by creating nostalgia-driven content geared toward mobile devices, and by brainstorming ways to partner with live streaming platforms. 

If you’re struggling with where to begin, Channel Factory can help maximize the effectiveness of your next ad campaign with custom ad optimization, performance improvement, and more. Contact us today to get started. 

Want more insights on the streaming industry? View our list of predictions for digital video advertising.