28 May New Social Ad Formats for Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and YouTube
Within the last week or so it seems like every social platform has announced a new ad product offering. The main focus for these ad types, and a hot topic for the social industry overall, is video. The new YouTube, Snapchat, and Pinterest ads focus on video, and the Twitter Objective-Based Ads have the option to concentrate on video views. Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these new ad types and what they mean for your business.
Twitter Objective-Based Ads
Twitter Objective-Based ads have been around since last August to select users in Beta, but they are now available to all users globally. There are 6 objectives available: website clicks/conversions, app install/engagements, video views, followers, lead generation, and tweet engagements. When you select an objective, you only pay for the engagements they target. For example, if your objective is website clicks, you only pay when someone clicks on the link, and are not charged for any other action (i.e. a RT or favorite). Objective-based ads are a great way for your business to drive and pay only for the engagements you care about, and boost the efficiency of your ad spend.
Pinterest Motion-Based Ads
Last Tuesday, Pinterest announced the launch of their Motion-Based Ads on their mobile app. The functionality of these ads are different than the auto-play format that many of the other networks use. When you scroll, the ad moves, but when you stop, so does the ad. Pinterest believes these ‘Cinematic Pins’ will give the user more control and therefore better experience with the content they are seeing. With this announcement, Pinterest also teased other advancements to come for their ad platform. They will be rolling out a cost-per-engagement (CPE) pricing model and more specific pin targeting. The new targeting will allow of marketers to target pins based on life stages and interests. Pinterest has really stepped up their ad offerings over the past year. New pricing models and advanced targeting will also help marketers spend more efficiently on the platform.
Snapchat Two Cent Video Ads
In an effort to drive more engagement and value for Publishers within the Discover platform, Snapchat announced a new ad product called ‘Two Pennies’. Snapchat has opened up video advertising charging two cents per view for a 10-second ad. If you are interested in purchasing these ads, you will need to get in contact with the Publishers on Discover (ESPN, CNN, People, etc.). They are responsible for selling ads to appear between their articles. If your brand reaches similar target audiences as the Publishers on Discover, than these ad formats could be a good investment. If not, your advertising budget is likely better used elsewhere, even though $0.02 per view sounds enticing.
YouTube Click-to-Shop Video Ads
YouTube announced that over the next few months it would be rolling out a new video ad with click-to-shop functionality. The ad will be available on both desktop and mobile. Five seconds after the video starts, the products will appear in a vertical pane on the right-side of the video. On mobile, the products will be listed below the ad if users hold their phones vertically. Clicking on the listed products links to the specific page on the retailer’s website. This new ad formats is a really smart move by YouTube in an effort to connect social video to direct sales. If your brand is producing video content and has e-commerce, I would recommend testing this out when it becomes available.
Overall, the announcement of these new ad formats is exciting for social media marketers looking to gain efficiencies in their media spending. It also further supports the movement and emphasis that each network is placing on social media. Which ad types are you planning on incorporating in your media strategy?
