Direct Sales Video Best Practices

In the ever-evolving world of video advertising, direct sales have emerged as a secret weapon for publishers, distinguishing them from the competition. By establishing exclusive access between publishers and advertisers, direct sales allow for direct negotiation of terms, bypassing the open marketplace. The benefits of direct sales are numerous, including higher CPMs, which bring more value to publishers. When combined with private marketplace deals and open marketplace deals, direct sales position publishers for success. But what has made direct sales the gold standard of ad tech? Let's explore.

Brand awareness campaigns play a crucial role in increasing advertiser brand visibility, and when it comes to video campaigns, they are a marketer's greatest asset. These campaigns prioritize high viewability rates, extensive reach, impressive completion rates, and favorable ROI. Although video campaigns can be effective for performance marketing, their main target is to effectively connect with specific audiences. Marketers use brand awareness campaigns as top-of-the-funnel marketing to create demand that they can harness through other methods in the future. When measuring the success of direct sales deals, publishers should always keep in mind the wants and needs of their marketers. To get the most out of their video content, publishers should focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that pertain to brand awareness campaigns.

One important KPI to consider is viewability. The proper placement of the video player on web pages ensures maximum visibility, which is crucial for effective video advertising. Strategic positioning, along with high-quality content, keeps users engaged and the video player in their line of sight. Additionally, it's worth noting that short-form videos capture the most attention, with two-thirds of consumers paying more attention to them than long-form videos.

Another critical KPI to track is completion rates. Completion rates reflect the percentage of viewers who watch the entire video, and higher completion rates are achieved when shorter videos captivate and hold viewers' attention. Implementing floating or sticky video units that follow users as they scroll can significantly boost completion rates, ensuring continuous engagement throughout the entire video. Contextual matching, which involves aligning the content of the video with the surrounding context, can also help increase completion rates.

Knowing your audience is essential in video advertising. It is like having a compass that guides you in the right direction. Effective communication of audience characteristics to buyers, also known as signaling, is crucial. By collecting audience information and leveraging first-party data, publishers can create robust contextual plans that capture the right people's attention at the right time. To boost video conversions, it is important to create resonating content that aligns with your target audience. Utilizing customer personas, gathering feedback, and leveraging social media, email, and your website can provide valuable insights into their preferences. Tailoring your videos accordingly will result in increased engagement and better KPIs.

While producing high-quality videos for every page can be challenging, it is important to strike a balance between quantity and quality. Consumers express their desire for more video content from businesses and brands they purchase from. In fact, 91% of consumers state that they want to see more video content from brands.

Publishers can meet this demand by utilizing partnership solutions that offer technology alongside a great content library (drop me a mail [email protected]). Additionally, using a video player to run your existing content on more pages, when relevant, can significantly increase your content's reach, satisfying advertisers' needs for an engaged and captivated audience.

Direct sales offer exclusive access and advantages in video advertising, enabling publishers to increase revenue and efficiency. By going direct, publishers enjoy higher prices and enhanced operations, resulting in less waste, lower carbon emissions, and reduced fraud. Buyers also benefit from a 'first look' advantage, leading to more views and engagement.

In a recent survey, 6.2% of digital video advertising buyers planned to purchase more than 81% of their ads directly, highlighting a rising preference for buyer-to-publisher transactions. These survey results shed light on the dynamic nature of digital video advertising and the varied strategies that advertisers are embracing.

As the video advertising industry continues to evolve, models such as direct sales, open marketplace (OMP), and private marketplace (PMP) have come to the forefront. Each method of creating deals has its place in the industry, and what makes a publisher successful is finding the best combination that works for them.

Publishers who master the power of direct sales position themselves for triumph, establishing stronger connections with advertisers, generating higher revenue, and delivering exceptional video ad experiences.

As factors like supply path optimization (SPO), carbon emissions, and the deprecation of third-party cookies shape the industry's exclusive direction, embracing the potential of direct sales in video advertising secures your place at the forefront. By staying ahead of industry trends and capitalizing on the advantages that direct sales offer, publishers can navigate the ever-changing landscape of video advertising with confidence.

So, I invite you to reflect on your current video advertising strategies. Are you leveraging direct sales to their full potential? Are you keeping a close eye on the key performance indicators that drive success in brand awareness campaigns? And most importantly, are you evolving alongside the industry and embracing the potential of direct sales in video advertising? The path to success is paved with innovation, adaptation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. It's time to master the power of direct sales and secure your place in the constantly evolving world of video advertising.