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YouTube Ad Controversy Doesn’t Trip Up Alphabet

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Sourced from eMarketer.

Strong results despite a wrenching quarter

Google parent Alphabet seems to have survived an advertising controversy basically unscathed, posting strong Q1 results that were driven in large part by advertising on mobile and—you guessed it—YouTube.

On Thursday, Alphabet reported that its first-quarter revenue was up 22% year over year.

So by and large, it seems that YouTube’s ad controversy, where brand ads appeared near extremist content, hasn’t had a material effect on the company’s advertising revenues.

“Given the extent of the YouTube ad boycott in Q1, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see a dent in Google’s revenue for the quarter,” said eMarketer analyst Paul Verna. “However, it’s important to put this in perspective. YouTube accounts for about 10% of Google’s net ad revenues, and only a small portion that YouTube inventory was affected.”

In addition, Verna said, YouTube has taken steps to address advertisers’ concerns, so it’s likely that many companies that took a pause from the platform will eventually return. “Barring a new controversy, the events of the past quarter don’t seem like they’ll have a lasting effect on Google’s business.”

Google has been planning stricter ad safeguards since the incident to prevent it from happening again. And it’s likely the search giant will continue to contain and address YouTube’s issues in order to maintain growth expectations for the year.

Select Over-the-Top (OTT) Video Service Users, by Provider, 2015-2020 (% of total OTT video service users)

eMarketer estimates that YouTube had 180.1 million US users in 2016. The US user base isn’t expected to grow much—growth will be just 3.2% this year, eMarketer estimates—but that reflects the fact that it is at near saturation levels: eMarketer estimates that nearly 85% of digital video viewers are YouTube viewers. And among users of OTT services, YouTube is essentially at true saturation—over 95%.

“We have taken [the ad controversy] pretty seriously and we’re taking significant steps,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai in Thursday’s earnings call. “We’ve brought technical solutions in place, like machine learning. We are in early days, but as machine learning gets better, we can do this even better. Overall, I’m pretty confident in the way we’ve made progress. It’s super important to us that the ecosystem works well, it matters for advertisers and content makers, we take it seriously. Advertisers have seen the improvements we’ve made, our conversations with them has been positive. I’m optimistic.”

—Rimma Kats

Sourced from eMarketer.

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People don’t trust YouTube, but they can’t look away

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There’s no question that YouTube is under public scrutiny after large, global brands recently halted campaigns on the platform because ads were showing up next to offensive content. The boycott prompted YouTube to roll out improved tools for advertisers to help them better control where their ads land and maximize brand protection. But YouTube’s lack of policing hasn’t just alienated brands, it’s put a dent in consumer trust as well.

YouTube ranked dead last for consumer safety in BI Intelligence’s 2017 Digital Trust survey. Only 4% of survey respondents feel that YouTube is the safest platform to participate in or post on, making it by far the least chosen option. Even Twitter, with its sluggish user growth, abusive trolling accounts, and generally lukewarm outlook from analysts, is viewed as safer.

While brands can’t control the nature of trolls or the prevalence of offensive content, they can decide to dedicate ad dollars to environments where users feel safe engaging and sharing content. This is especially true if a brand wants its target audience to actively participate by commenting on a post, which can increase brand affinity and loyalty, encourage positive interactions with customers, and even spark a viral conversation.

Twitter safer than YouTube digital trustBI Intelligence

Even though YouTube has some of the most annoying ads in the industry, and people are unlikely to post comments, it’s still a top destination for consumers to watch videos. Just don’t ask users to do much more than leisurely viewing, since that’s what YouTube is for. The platform isn’t well suited for sharing, which makes sense — it’s a video platform, not a social network. Users are more likely to copy and paste a link from YouTube and share it on Facebook. In fact, social platforms play a tremendous role in helping YouTube’s massively popular videos go viral.

YouTube for Consumption, not sharingBI Intelligence

This means that on YouTube, you’re buying reach, not clicks. Brands looking to drive conversions to sales through clicks, such as e-commerce companies, are likely to do better where users are more inclined to post and share content, like on Facebook. YouTube, with its wide yet passive audience, is best positioned for brand advertisers that want to maximize eyeballs.

BI Intelligence’s Digital Trust survey examines consumers’ perception of major social platforms. It rates Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn on security, community, user experience, and content authenticity and shareability to help brands and marketers make informed decisions about what platforms to spend their marketing and branding dollars on. The full report will be available through BI Intelligence in May.

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Sourced from Business Insider UK

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40% of Households Use Video Sharing Sites like YouTube on a Weekly Basis

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The battle between TV and Online rages on.

By MediaStreet staff.

New research reveals that 39% of U.S. broadband households visit a video sharing site like YouTube at least once a week. In total, 59% of broadband households visit an online video site on a regular basis.

“User-generated video from sites like YouTube skew to young consumers,” said Glenn Hower, Senior Analyst at Parks Associates. “Consumers 18-24 go to a video sharing site 13 days per month on average. They also use a video chat app like Snapchat an average of nearly 11 days in one month. The TV is still the most-used device for watching video content, but increased usage of secondary devices and video apps is making a significant impact on how users, especially younger viewers, consume and perceive content.”

360 View: Digital Media & Connected Consumers shows live streaming on platforms like Periscope and Facebook Live is still in its early days. Currently 26% of households participate in live streaming activities, such as streaming video from their own device or watching video over a live streaming platform.

“Emerging content platforms are changing the way content creators tell visual stories,” Hower said. “Services like YouTube have given rise to video bloggers and sketch performers, who can interact with their audiences in a way that traditional media like film and television cannot allow. In addition, live streaming on platforms like Twitter’s Periscope or Facebook Live is raw and impromptu, which can come across as more ‘authentic’ compared to a recorded video that has been edited and perfected.”

360 View: Digital Media & Connected Consumers analyses trends in music and video consumption by platform, source, and content expenditure. It segments consumers based on their consumption habits.

 

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Instagram Closes Gap with YouTube Among Advertisers as Twitter Continues to Fall

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By MediaStreet Staff Writers

Instagram continues its surge in generating advertiser interest while Facebook remains the dominant social platform. This is according to a first quarter survey of advertising agencies conducted by Strata.

The survey also found a continued multi-quarter decline in YouTube’s lead over Instagram, bringing the two within one point of each other in advertiser interest. 54% of agencies report plans to use YouTube against 53% for Instagram. Facebook remains entrenched in first place as 95% of agencies are interested in the platform. Twitter, which historically held third place in agency interest until the second quarter of 2016, continues its slide with interest from 37% of agencies, finding itself just 10% above fifth-placed LinkedIn.

The interest in these social platforms is reflected in agency spending, as well. 93% percent of agencies are currently spending money on Facebook, with 53% planning to spend on YouTube, and 49% planning on Instagram. The current spend lagging behind agency interest could indicate increased spend in the coming quarters.

More than half of agencies now plan to spend more than 5% of their overall advertising budgets on social media, with 22% allocating between 11-25% of their budgets on social, compared to 18% in 4Q16. The increase in budget for paid social coincides with the proliferation of live streaming tools, such as Facebook Live and Snapchat Live as 42% of agencies report that clients were interested in these innovations for their campaigns.

“Though Facebook has remained the dominant player in the social media space, the gradual shifts in focus to other platforms has been interesting to watch. There’s always been a premium on live, so it’s not surprising that agencies have an interest in exploring Facebook Live, Snapchat’s Spectacles, and Instagram’s Stories,” said Judd Rubin, senior vice president at Strata.

When agencies were asked which form of media they prioritised the most, 24% reported that digital video was their primary focus. Although that leaves digital video in second, behind local TV and cable at 36%, the interest in digital video has seen a 351% increase over the past year.

The rise in interest in digital video may be surprising in light of the fact that agencies appear split on the effectiveness of digital video. Twenty-five percent feel that it can be as effective as traditional TV, but 33% feel it isn’t, and 42% are unsure. When asked more broadly about perceived ROI from digital video, over 50% felt fairly confident that they were getting good value for their money. Forty-one percent noted they were unsure, and only 9% of agencies felt they were not getting a strong ROI.

 

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Facebook and YouTube have the most annoying ads by far

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By Robert Elder.

Facebook and YouTube are unquestionably two of the world’s most popular digital platforms. And with such large audiences up for grabs, it’s no wonder that advertisers are pouring funds into both businesses: Facebook generated close to $27 billion in advertising revenue in 2016, and though Google doesn’t break out YouTube sales, it credits the video platform as a crucial driver of its advertising revenue, which topped $79 billion last year.

Unfortunately for brands, Facebook and YouTube serve up the most annoying ads, according to BI Intelligence’s 2017 Digital Trust survey. In a virtual tie, ads on Facebook and YouTube were deemed the most irksome by 45% and 43% of the survey’s 1,740 respondents, respectively. Twitter garnered just 6% of the vote, followed by Instagram and Snapchat at 3%, and LinkedIn at 1%.

bii most annoying ads facebook and youtubeBI Intelligence

It’s not surprising that these two platforms are reputed to have the most annoying ads. Of the platforms included in the survey, Facebook and YouTube are the top two destinations of digital time spent in the US, according to comScore. People may be more sensitive to ads on Facebook and YouTube simply because they spend more time, and therefore see more ads, on these sites. And because Facebook and YouTube are relatively mature social platforms, they likely serve ads with greater and more noticeable frequency.

Millennials and baby boomers are divided on which platform serves the worst ads. Their preferences are inversely related by age group: Older survey respondents like YouTube ads more than Facebook ads, and vice versa for younger respondents. The familiarity that older people have with traditional TV may explain their tolerance for YouTube ads, which consist of pre- and mid-roll ads that resemble ad interruptions in linear programming.

bii most annoying ads ad preferences are inversely related by ageBI Intelligence

These results point to a pressing need to improve advertising on both Facebook and YouTube. For its part, Facebook has said it’s curbing growth in its ad load — or the ratio of ads to organic posts. YouTube was similarly mindful when it scrapped its unskippable 30-second ad format in February. However, the onus to improve the ad experience shouldn’t be entirely on platforms. Brand advertisers also need to create quality ads that provide pleasurable viewing experiences. The reality is, the campaigns they’re running on the most popular platforms — in which they’re investing the most money, to reach the widest audiences — aren’t resonating.

BI Intelligence’s Digital Trust survey examines consumers’ perception of major social platforms. It rates Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn on security, community, user experience, and content authenticity and shareability to help brands and marketers make informed decisions about what platforms to spend their marketing and branding dollars on. The full report will be available through BI Intelligence in May.

By Robert Elder

Sourced from Business Insider UK

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