Social Media Ad Length

Looking for validation to support shorter video ads on social?

Twitter and OMD commissioned a study of 4K respondents (note – pax were in the UK, France, Canada and Mexico) which, as you might expect, found that shorter ads that are tailor-made for a social media feed are more effective and efficient than longer ad units. The threshold is 6 seconds – with attention diminishing beyond 6 seconds.

Ads that were 6, 10 and 15 seconds ALL earned the same level of active attention as a 4 second ad, whereas a 30-second ad only increased active attention by two seconds. Meaning…there is diminishing marginal utility. In feed formats, longer ads don’t translate to more attention.

They also go on to say that “these individual platforms are big enough now that they actually justify thinking about individually…optimizing for the specific human experiences that happen on each platform.” AKA…don’t automatically use the same creative across all channels and platforms if you can help it.

The most interesting finding was around passive vs. active attention

• Active social media usage refers to online behaviors that facilitate “direct exchanges” among users. Such behaviors include liking, commenting, sending messages, and otherwise engaging with other users. In contrast, the passive use is the monitoring of others without direct engagement.
• From an attention perspective
  • Active attention = eyes on ad
  • Passive attention = eyes on screen

Specifically…the study found that “interplay between active AND passive attention in feed environments can deliver a positive impact on brand choice and brand preference.” Twitter’s head of agency research said, “until now, ‘passive attention’ seemed like it [was] not desirable or positive, but when you’ve got this type of attention you can keep people longer.”

So, while measured views and engagements are still something to strive for, we may be getting a lift even when we aren’t earning those specific metrics.

Article available for download.