Social Media videos

With the rise of video, you've probably taken another look at how video views are counted and valued. Is a video view simply an impression? Are video "click to play" elements considered as brand engagements? Do auto-play views "count" the same as a "click to play"?

Often, the value of video content is measured by how long a user views a video, or the rate of completion. This study reveals something completely contrary to common sense: that metrics like ad recall, brand awareness, and purchase intent can be impacted even before a video has been watched a full second. This is likely due to the information, context, and brand association included around the video itself in video ads on Facebook.

While ad recall, brand awareness and purchase intent all increased the longer the video was watched, it's clear that users didn't have to watch long for the ad to be considered effective. In the chart below, Nielsen found that the majority of the campaign value for ad recall, brand awareness and purchase intent was generated within just 10 seconds of watching the video.

Marketers should look at this data as proof that the value of video can be found beyond simple view counts or completion rates. Additionally, as marketers look to create more videos in the social space, they should take this research in mind. If Facebook is commissioning Nielsen to look at ad effectiveness within a 30 second time frame, and proving the effectiveness at 10 seconds and less, it is a huge sign that the network is trying to encourage advertisers to create more short-form video content.