Dive Brief:

• Andrew Bosworth, VP of Advertising and Business Platforms at Facebook, discussed how even industry insiders have been caught off guard by digital video’s quick growth during an interview with C Space Studio at the CES show last week. During the interview, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, the executive said that it is still too early to know exactly where things are headed, but predicted that video will be a much bigger part of the news feed going forward. 
• Facebook Live in particular has been a big success for the social platform, with four times as many people broadcasting live since May. At the same time, the quick success of Instagram Stories, where users can blend text, video and photos, suggests that feeds are evolving into more dynamic mixed media streams. 
• “It is early days,” Bosworth said. “For marketers, in particular, they need to experiment. You can’t just think about video as one thing — it is many things.” 

Dive Insight:

Marketers are clearly enamored with digital video, with ad spending related to digital video expected to grow almost 21.8% in 2017, outpacing overall digital ad spending growth, according to eMarketer. 

At the same time, digital video is evolving quickly, with a number of different formats now available, including a variety of standard lengths — under ten seconds, traditional 15-, 30- and 60-second ads and long-form content. Additionally, there is 360-degree video, virtual reality, augmented reality, live streaming and the most recent addition: live 360. Digital video continues to evolve as well, with new formats expected to emerge as platforms and marketers gain a better understanding of what does and does not work.

For marketers, it is necessary to understand that each type of video has its own set of strengths and weaknesses when it comes to engaging consumers. For example, Live video helps connect in an authentic way around a live event, but requires the right promotional activity to attract an audience. Meanwhile, long-form video challenges brands’ storytelling capabilities but, when successful, can have a long shelf life.

The takeaway for marketers from Bosworth’s interview is that video’s recent growth has caught even industry insiders by surprise, suggesting the potential is bigger and more varied than was previously thought. In order to position themselves to take advantage of video, marketers need to be aggressive in experimenting with the different video offerings to see how their audiences relate to each.