Video Content that Makes a Difference – Yieldbird’s Publisher Survey

We always want to keep up with what’s in or what’s out. For us, it’s about staying informed on how digital and programmatic advertising makes this world go round. This provided the spark for new research based on Yieldbird’s Publisher Survey.

The publishers who took part in the survey have been challenged with questions about:

• Their perspective on video content,
• Native campaigns,
• Ad blocking strategies,
• Data usage,
• Their business priorities, concerns, and predictions for the direction the industry is heading in.

The intention behind the survey was to explore the upcoming trends that will soon shape the digital market. These trends are monitored by those who keep their fingers on the pulse of the industry, learning every innovation from the inside out.

So we explored all avenues with the surveyed publishers and we’re here to deliver the goods. And by goods, we mean the results on video content trends, among other topics.

We managed to get a grasp on how many publishers are in the video business, why they’re producing video content, and what holds them back from creating their own trending material.

Video – A painkiller or a vitamin

According to Yieldbird’s Publisher Survey, slightly over 52% of reviewed publishers claimed to produce their own video content.

As the majority of publishers admit, the main focus is centered around increasing video output and making it even more profitable.

Producing video content regularly through their own editorial teams across multiple brands is what drives big publisher strategies and long-term plans.

Every time any video content is positioned, publishers can serve multiple audiences at the same time.

Yet it’s always a challenge to make sure that a given video will fit a specific audience.

Once accomplishing that feat, the world’s leading digital publishers are then left with only one option:  increasing their video output and making it even more profitable.

However, producing their own high-end video content is beyond the economic reach of many niches or emerging publishers.

That’s because only publishers with strong brands monetize their ad space without exposing themselves to a potential and significant financial loss.

Why is that? Because at this point, deals as a transaction model between advertisers and such publishers are still something unique. And monetization through open market brings risk of staying below the level of profitability necessary to cover video production expenses.

On the other hand, there are a few ways to grab some low-hanging-fruit from video. The video equipment becomes cheaper year on year and more devices have features letting them be a handy video and sound recorders.

Publishers are cautious about using them, though. Likely because they want to avoid a situation where their video creation falls into the champagne-taste-on-a-beer-budget category.

Therefore, Yieldbird has prepared a brief guide through the most important aspects of creating videos for publishers

Not all publishers are of the same cloth

Here’s where the actual differences start taking charge. The current audience-oriented market opens up many possibilities for designating trends to particular groups of publishers.

Simply put, there is a group of publishers with financial means that allows them to produce high-quality video content.

On the other side of the table, there is a group of publishers (up to 35,3% of Yieldbird’s pollsters) who reported to be video-content aware, yet feel somewhat restrained by it. This stems from its revenue limits and a lack of staff and/or equipment required for producing professional content.

And last but not least, there are some publishers (again ca. 35% of Yieldbird’s pollsters) who find no need for this type of content on their webpages. As simple as that.

And yet, only 11,8% of those surveyed by Yieldbird are unsure whether video content will be a profitable monetization method in their situation.

Surprising as it may be, a considerable number of publishers still hold the opinion that videos are either unnecessary or that producing them is limited in potential profit.

As a result,  they don’t invest in the required equipment or staff.

Yet, the 1/3 of publishers lacking the equipment or trained staff don’t have any video content on their website.

However, this situation might offer up a unique opportunity for third-party video providers who serve only 11% of publishers. Yet, 35% of publishers don’t have their own in-house video teams or specialists.

And what’s more eye-catching is that they don’t see the need to have one at their disposal.

No more than 5% of Yieldird’s pollsters considered producing video content within the next 6 months, proving their awareness of trending content among their audiences.

Looking at video from a new perspective

That being said, it’s not only audiences and their demand that establishes new trends.

Positioning video content allows publishers to meet audience preferences and hold their attention. And that becomes crucial in the overstimulating digital ecosystem.

That’s why Yieldbird asked surveyed publishers about their approach to video content.

With over 52% of reviewed publishers claiming to produce their own video content, the video-centric perspective is back on the road. Even with publishers who have limited budgets. But why this is so?

The answer is buried deep in the underlying reason why this group of publishers produces high-quality video content.

As the big players set the trends in response to audience demand, the smaller fish in the publishing pond become more open to market changes. They search for creative ways to publish their own hand-made video content.

It’s not the quality that matters here, though. It doesn’t need to glitter to be demand-meeting and crowd-pleasing content gold.

Video material doesn’t need to fall in line with budget-killing costs, but instead with the potential to reach a preferred audience and build-up engagement.

Technology nowadays allows publishers to serve video ads without video content.

Whatever path publishers choose, Yieldbird’s experts strongly encourage them to serve video ads while they are more profitable and audience-engaging.