Audience Engagement
3 mins read

Top tips on how publishers can engage through video personalisation

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There’s no getting around it, Martech has become the principal form of marketing across the board. The question is not just whether publishers should be prioritising digital strategy, but rather, how to surpass competition on existing digital channels from rivalling entertainment options such as cinema, TV and gaming. The answer lies in making digital marketing work smarter not harder, and the most overlooked way to accomplish this is through video personalisation.

In 2017, IAB research found video advertising spend grew 50.7% to £711 million, whilst video spend on mobile alone increased by 98% to £353 million. This research also found that four times as many consumers now prefer video advertising surrounding a product over text advertising.

Despite this, many publishers still consider video advertising to be a bolt-on in their marketing strategy rather than utilising it from the outset. When compared with other more affluent entertainment avenues such as TV and Film, publishers generally have limited budgetary capacity for marketing. However, publishers are increasingly investing in advertising spaces and traditional creative in order to keep up with current methods of product consumption; ignoring the reality that these methods are always going to belong to the bigger budgeted entertainment industries.

Many publishers mistakenly believe that because their product is read rather than watched, video is not an appropriate medium for a smaller marketing campaign aimed at a reader demographic. However, as social media engagement increasingly becomes an essential for every brand, this line of thought is now outdated and irrelevant. There is a whole new generation of Netflix viewers and video game players who are less likely to consider reading above these activities unless there is a relatable link in how content is presented to them.

Video content puts publishers’ marketing campaigns in a position to trend, or enjoy high engagement rates, at a much lower cost than advertising space in a multitude of titles. As literature tends not to visibly feature on social channels, personalised video can put books on the digital map in a way that is not regularly seen from traditionally marketed posts and links. However, if this content is merely an add on, then there is unlikely to be enough budget or resource left available to create an engaging video campaign – and in today’s crowded digital landscape, a unique approach is essential.

Central to perfecting a unique personalisation campaign is a creative idea designed specifically with personalisation in mind, from which a wider strategy can develop. When developing your videos, remember that personalising early will catch your audience’s’ attention in a matter of seconds, and in a way that reviews and synopses will not be able to. The average attention span of a consumer is just eight seconds, so despite Twitter allowing 140 second videos and Facebook 45 minutes, it’s important to capture engagement within the first couple of seconds.

Video personalisation gives publishers the chance to cut through the noise and speak directly to their target market.  Of course, campaigns and media should be targeted towards key demographics and users who have previously engaged with the publisher and its content, but in delivering 1-2-1 responses to users – and engaging with those campaigns – publishers are able to amplify their message through an army of qualified advocates. The result will be excellent share rates, positive responses from the recipients and increased organic reach and sentiment. With intent-driven marketing the key demographic can be reached with greater precision.

This is particularly crucial for newspaper and magazine publishers, who are increasingly reaching the crossroad of transitioning from print to online. With the current competition for readership, it’s important to cut through the crowd to focus on the demographic who are most interested in your title’s content. The advantage with online platforms, is the ability to incorporate video and to speak directly with this audience. Additionally, for e-book publishers, each e-book is effectively its own brand (particularly with newer authors), and therefore faces the challenge of building brand trust from scratch with each release. This is an important factor for publishers as media titles carry a very specific attraction for each sector, e-book narrative, or reporting style.

EchoMany’s campaigns have helped to drive on average 354% increased engagement and 542% impression amplification; while also encouraging an additional average 67% click through rate. These engagement figures show that a personalised video will lead to greater shares over its non-personalised alternative, meaning that publishers can benefit from individual recommendations on a much larger and more rapid scale. This will also allow for a successful and uninterrupted buzz campaign, as engagement videos can consistently sit on social media in the run up to launch dates rather than statically popping up in print and online adverts.

Tim Redgate, co-founder of EchoMany