It’s been said, “If you’re your authentic self, you have no competition.” At Facebook, our research shows that sentiment rings true. During the holidays, authentic content that shares your brand’s values in its unique voice is almost 20 percent1 more important to people than hearing about the latest deals. Authenticity has the power to influence what we see, like and even buy.
However, even with an authentic message, competition for attention makes it harder to meaningfully connect with consumers—especially during the holidays. This year, amid a U.S. election and a global pandemic, advertisers of all shapes and sizes will be doubling down on feel-good campaigns and end-of-year sales.
Should you outshout your competition to reach more people, or outsmart them by forming stronger, more relevant connections with your audience? By building incremental reach in an authentic environment, you could do both.
Creator and publisher videos foster authentic connections
People have always been inspired by moments that define culture, but the way they experience and interact with these moments has changed. The emergence of curated, on-demand access to video content from creators, publishers, artists and brands across the world has given people access to the content they want, whenever, wherever they want.
For example, over 1.25 billion people visit Facebook Watch every month to discover and share videos from the creators and publishers they care about—including live events, original and licensed shows, food, culture, entertainment, sports, news and music videos.
We know that publisher video viewing is fueled by a desire for connection. In a survey conducted recently in partnership with CrowdDNA, eight in 10 people reported watching publisher video content on Facebook to connect over common interests.2 Through a diverse set of content, publishers and creators help people discover the latest things that align with their personal passions, interests and needs.
And brand actions don’t appear to change based on familiarity with the creator. In fact, we discovered that 91 percent3 of those unfamiliar with the creator still reported taking positive brand action as long as the messaging was relatable. When looking at the second quarter of 2020, we found that in-stream videos from influencers resonated even more than those from digital publishers.4 Both were top categories, though, garnering strong views and engagements per video.
Break through this holiday season
This new emphasis on connecting through video appears to be paying off. To date, brands across industries from CPG (e.g., Purina Fancy Feast) to entertainment (e.g., Quibi) have used Facebook’s In-Stream Reserve, our managed video solution with fixed pricing and flexible terms across a curated list of top creators and publishers, to launch and sustain campaigns, realizing double-digit lift in ad recall and incremental reach as well as increased brand awareness.
At the same time, the availability and performance of standard-length TV units5 (15 seconds and longer) online have made it easy for brands to extend their campaigns in a brand-safe environment and reach hard-to-reach, captive audiences through video.
As brands prepare to show their authentic selves in the months ahead, considerable time will be spent on messaging and creative. But winning hearts during the holidays will require reaching consumers in the first place and holding their attention long enough to make a connection. How and where that happens continues to change, but the demand for authenticity in those moments remains.
Brands can leverage Facebook Watch’s In-Stream solutions to tap into the power of creator videos in an authentic environment and build incremental reach with those demanding holiday shoppers.
1 “Facebook Seasonal Holidays Study" by YouGov (Facebook-commissioned online study of 1,541 people aged 18+). US data only. 2 Dec. to 24 Dec., 2019.
2 "Understanding the value of Facebook Watch” by CrowdDNA (Facebook-commissioned survey study of 3,000 people ages 18+ in US who indicated watching publisher videos on Facebook at least once a week), October 2019. Publisher Video is defined as: A video posted publicly to Facebook by a content creator. Does not include video posted by users or live video coverage of an event.
3 “Branded Content Research” by Kantar (Facebook-commissioned online study of 15,003 people ages 18+ across US, GB, DE, KR, BR), Q4 2019.
4 Shareablee Social Analytics, Q2 2020, April 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020.
5 MetrixLab In-Stream Creative Meta-Analysis commissioned by Facebook, August 2020.
