Ever since social and streaming time surpassed TV viewing lately, manufacturers have been making an attempt to shift extra of their consideration to paid social to realize advertising targets. Much more lately, there’s been a social media arms race as platforms stockpile completely different advert codecs to remain related and push innovation and engagement. Consequently, manufacturers are dealing with probably the most advanced promoting panorama throughout social media ever.
Making sense of this quickly evolving panorama can show to be a frightening job for social media entrepreneurs, which is why artistic manufacturing company Newfangled Studios is stepping in to supply their recommendation. Teaming as much as sort out the nuances of paid social, tackle the topic of “cutdowns” and counsel proactive options to “survive the skip” is artistic director Cory Fanjoy and senior account director Ale Phares provide their skilled insights on this Q&A to assist manufacturers with paid social.
What are the most typical ache factors that you simply’re seeing from manufacturers who’re making an attempt to supply efficient paid social campaigns?
Phares: Working with numerous completely different purchasers, we see numerous completely different ache factors, however the most typical one we see is the consumer who could not have their media plan solidified but—numerous variables might be happening behind the scenes; However from a manufacturing standpoint the present should go on. So we use our platform experience to ensure now we have them coated.
It’s usually stated {that a} ‘cutdown’ of premium content material isn’t greatest follow for paid social campaigns. Are you able to clarify the way you outline a ‘cutdown’ and why you don’t assume it sometimes performs nicely on social media?
Fanjoy: A cutdown refers to taking a chunk of artistic that has been made for a conventional platform, like a giant shiny 30’ tv advert, and modifying it all the way down to 10’ or 15’ relying on the platform. In relation to cutdowns, there are two sides to contemplate: the strategic aspect and the very massive artistic aspect.
It’s tremendous necessary for advertisers and types to contemplate the setting—the place is their viewers going to be consuming their content material? Should you’re making a giant shiny industrial, these are historically for people who find themselves at residence, snug on their sofa. You’re not talking to the identical viewers on social media, this viewers, for instance, could also be their cellphone for 5 seconds on a subway. Manufacturers have to be thoughtful of the completely different locations you can be reaching audiences so that you don’t have a mismatch of premium content material designed for an viewers that you simply’re by no means actually reaching on social media.
So if cutdowns are usually not working, is there a greater approach to make use of all of the premium content material captured throughout your shoot?
Phares: We encourage purchasers to ask themselves the query, “Does premium content material belong on this area?” As a result of if it doesn’t, that’s when it proves unattainable to outlive the skip.
There are environments inside these platforms that premium content material can survive the skip and is definitely anticipated from a shopper perspective. For instance, if I’m going into YouTube to observe a elegant video, it’s okay if I get served an advert earlier than my video that’s extra cinematic as a result of it’s not disrupting my expertise. I’m about to observe one thing of upper high quality anyway.
However then, there are locations inside platforms the place premium content material doesn’t work as nicely– and that’s why we’re there to decipher.
Fanjoy: There’s nonetheless issues you are able to do with cutdowns, even when it’s not as nice as planning bespoke content material for these channels, it’s nonetheless a very good midway. For instance, you possibly can simply take a premium piece of media and make it work on a Fb feed. Nonetheless, realizing the feed is a “sound-off” platform by nature, and the video isn’t going to have audio, merely including titles and messaging up entrance will assist get your key message throughout to the consumer who’s scrolling rapidly – even when it’s only for 1 / 4 of a second.
There’s a step past merely taking that content material and chopping it down, too. You’ll be able to take that content material you have already got and optimize it to your channels. This would possibly imply making just a few modifications which aren’t an enormous manufacturing raise and can realistically solely take a manufacturing workforce just a few hours. A number of manufacturers can make the most of premium content material and no less than get one thing out of what they have already got.
What’s a standard misperception about constructing artistic for paid social campaigns?
Phares: The commonest misperception from manufacturers who’re making a social marketing campaign is considering there must be uniquely completely different adverts for each deliverable in a media plan, which might typically embrace lots of and appear daunting. To simplify this for our purchasers we use the time period ‘format cousins’ to explain advert models which can be very comparable throughout platforms after which we create hero property that may flex creatively throughout a wide range of advert codecs.
Fanjoy: Our 4 artistic classes to construct hero property are cinematic, consumer generated content material (UGC), stills and interactive. Cinematic models are polished video artistic, your conventional 30’ advert that you simply’d see on tv or a pre-roll for YouTube. UGC is your lo-fi content material which ought to seem like one thing a consumer created, one thing that appears prefer it was shot on an iPhone, or deliberately deliberate to seem like user-generated content material. Stills confer with pictures that may find yourself in print or in conventional banner adverts. And eventually, there may be interactive content material, which might vary from a ballot on an Instagram story to make it really feel extra native to that platform, to a very bespoke AR filter sport for a big activation.
Are you able to clarify extra concerning the concepting course of for the interactive method?
Fanjoy: The interactive parts are in all probability the trickiest of the 4. Some interactive content material could be so simple as including a ballot or slider, or it might be gamifying a component to get the consumer to faucet a display to maintain them engaged. The massive wrestle that advertisers want to beat, and one thing that we spend a number of time on after we’re concepting, is making an attempt to determine the way to pair these interactive parts with the content material that you simply’re making after which additionally with the messaging you’re making an attempt to push for the marketing campaign.
We’ve got to contemplate the way to craft a filter that makes somebody really feel like a model is, for instance, quick and dependable. The opposite factor you have to think about is how does your content material work with these interactive parts? For instance, if you’re capturing the video, are you leaving room to insert an interactive component above the shot? Are you planning your pictures so that you’ve that room for that CTA that’s going to be on the platform?
These are all issues that may be achieved with rigorous planning upfront, and doing all your due diligence by storyboarding your stay motion shoots and ensuring you’ve gotten your self coated on set. Earlier than we really shoot we make sure that we’ve deliberate for the place all of these issues are throughout the platform: we all know we should take care of a CTA button on each platform and on each platform it will be in a special place.
Are there any platforms that lend themselves extra in direction of one of many 4 artistic approaches?
Phares: For certain. Lately now we have seen the growth of TikTok and the recognition of consumer generated, lo-fi content material. Scrolling via the app, you possibly can see it’s a spot the place creators of all types are thriving as a result of anybody can go viral on TikTok. On a regular basis individuals are placing themselves on the market with enjoyable dances, voice overs, AR results, quizzes, and many others. It’s positively one of many platforms the place cinematic content material doesn’t thrive due to the character of the setting and its swipeable design.
What you see is numerous interactivity on TikTok, you see manufacturers creating interactive parts like AR results, dubs, and many others. However, typically talking, TikTok is without doubt one of the platforms that’s extra distinctive and I might say taking a extra UGC, lo-fi or interactive method is suitable.
From a manufacturing perspective, are there methods manufacturers can shoot for all 4 approaches in an environment friendly approach?
Fanjoy: When the finances permits, it’s completely doable. For instance, after we’re on set on a ten hour shoot day we all the time attempt to have three completely different crews with us. One unit will likely be on set with a fantastic ARRI Amira with a pleasant shiny lens and all the bells and whistles capturing that top finish cinematic content material. Then we’ll have a separate unit that’s working round with actually a mobile phone, taking footage for that UGC look as a result of if you’d like it to seem like it was shot on a cellphone, try to be capturing it on a cellphone. After which lastly we’ll all the time have a photographer or two on set that day, taking stills for the marketing campaign in addition to capturing BTS pictures. Should you plan your schedules correctly, capturing every thing on three completely different cameras on the similar time is completely doable.
