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Video advertising has changed more in the past five years than in the 20 prior. Almost every consumer now has access to near-professional level video capture and editing in their pocket. Platforms like TikTok—which recently hit 1 billion monthly active users—are nurturing this creative potential while driving a transformation in consumption habits, as snackable, short-form video becomes the dominant choice for consumers.
Video’s importance is only likely to grow given its popularity amongst younger people with 1 in 2 millennial and Gen Z consumers saying they “don’t know how they’d get through life without” video, according to a study from YouTube.
As always, advertisers and publishers must adapt to the changing landscape. Short-form video presents a huge potential growth area for the whole ecosystem. However, to unlock the opportunity, we need to learn from the past to build stronger, more transparent relationships between social platforms and both traditional media such as newspapers and digital-only media publishers.
Learning from two decades of social media
The rise of social media over the past two decades has caused ongoing disruption to the publishing industry. But despite a sometimes antagonistic relationship, today, social media is a central pillar of almost every content creator (whether that’s The BBC or The Times), as well as every advertiser’s strategy.
The relationship between social platforms and legacy media outlets is a two-way street – while legacy media and news outlets have the opportunity to reach new audiences, the platforms gain legitimacy by distributing trusted news. In an era in which the risks of fake news and conspiracy are increasingly stark, the credibility and trust that established media can provide social platforms with is vital.
But that’s not all. Media outlets have not simply followed audiences onto new platforms. In fact, they’ve done more than respond to changes in consumption or shifts in demographic preferences—they’ve helped to shape the types of content social media platforms can offer. Take Group Nine Media’s Seeker as an example of this in action when earlier this year it agreed a deal with TikTok to provide the platform with original science-focused video content for young people.
Protecting and nurturing this value exchange into the era of short-form video will be critical to making the most of the opportunity short-form video presents across the advertising ecosystem and building a mutually beneficial relationship between content generators and social media platforms.
Just as traditional social media began as a home for casual interactions between friends and has since become a hub of news, business and brand activity, so too will high-growth short-form video platforms become the leaders of the next generation of social media. Merging viral content with informative insights as part of an expansion strategy, however, requires the support of established news and content outlets which can bring credibility to the platform. At the same time, in order to embrace the short-form video revolution, those media outlets (as well as advertisers) need assurances over the safety of social platforms.
Building transparency and trust around video
Whether a content creator or a brand, monetisation of content and effective advertising relies on many of the same levers. To monetise content, or to ensure an ad is performing well, there must be full transparency into the safety of the media environment, for example by having data collected in this area by social media platforms validated by a third-party.
For content creators, we may see programs like Facebook’s Instant Articles take root on video platforms. These enable content creators to publish and monetise content directly on Facebook, with, crucially, third-party partnerships helping to ensure brand safety, fraud protection and transparency over performance of inventory appearing alongside those Instant Articles.
However, video will also require new insights to be validated and shared with content creators and advertisers alike, particularly as the dynamic nature of video makes it more challenging to classify at scale than written content.
As the budget put toward short-form video grows in coming years, social platforms must proactively work with brands and media creators to understand how to scale safety alongside video. Partnering with third-party solutions providers to gain an objective lens and proven controls on video safety can help boost both individual brand’s or media publication’s suitability needs and the overall safety of the platform environment.
That’s because a third-party’s objectivity (as well as industry standards like those from the 4As and GARM) can help different stakeholders come to a mutual agreement over safety baselines. On top of this, it can enable brands to create bespoke suitability and safety controls when needed (for example around a specific video campaign).
In short, we need brands, social platforms, media publications and third-party safety solutions working collaboratively and transparently together to build an environment that will tap the full potential of social video for every stakeholder.
Nick Reid
Senior Vice President and Managing Director EMEA, DoubleVerify
Headquartered in New York, DoubleVerify is a leading software platform for digital media measurement, data and analytics. Its technology platform provides advertisers with consistent and unbiased data and analytics that can be used to optimize the quality and return on digital ad investments. TikTok is the latest addition to DV’s large and growing social media partner offerings and joins Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Twitter.
