Twitter, the world’s most popular microblogging platform, has announced a new ad format to help business owners reach their target audience and generate more conversions. Known as Video Website Cards, it’s an extension of the network’s Website Cards, which it launched it 2014. So, how do Video Website Cards on Twitter work exactly, and should you use them in your business’ digital marketing strategy?
Overview of Video Website Cards
First unveiled October 2017, Video Website Cards are a new ad format offered by Twitter that allows business owners to display video content in their feed. This isn’t just a typical “embedded” video, however. Twitter has allowed users to embed and share videos in their feeds for quite some time. The new Video Website Cards feature a clickable link that takes the user to the advertiser’s website or landing page.
All Video Website Cards are designed to play automatically. This means users aren’t required to click a “play” button to watch them; thus, increasing views and exposure. Users can stop Video Website Cards from playing by clicking the “pause” button, but the Video Cards will begin playing regardless.
In addition to an autoplay video, Video Website Cards also feature a customizable title, destination URL and tap target.
“As users have come to expect more personalized interactions with brands, we’re increasingly hearing from brands that they want to create more seamless user experiences for consumers along various stages of the path to conversion,” wrote Twitter on its blog when announcing the new ad format.
Desktop vs Mobile Video Website Cards
Twitter’s new Video Website Cards behave differently on desktop and mobile devices. When viewed on a desktop computer, Video Website Cards feature a clickable link that takes the user to the advertiser’s website or web page. This occurs in a new browser tab, ensuring the user’s browser still features a Twitter tab.
On mobile devices, however, Video Website Cards are slightly different. Clicking a Video Website card on a smartphone or tablet will automatically open Twitter’s mobile app with the advertiser’s linked website or web page set as the destination. The general idea is to create a more fluid and seamless transition from Twitter to the advertiser’s URL.
Benefits of Video Website Cards
What benefits (if any) does Twitter’s new ad format offer? For starters, they allow business owners and advertisers to use rich media instead of traditional text-only ads. There’s only so much information you can squeeze into a text ad. And if you’re advertising an otherwise complex product or service, this may not suffice. Video ads like Twitter’s new Video Website Cards are the perfect solution, as they allow advertisers to squeeze more content into their ads.
Furthermore, you can repurpose your business’s existing promotional videos for use in Twitter’s Video Website Cards. If you already have video ads running on AdWords/YouTube, for instance, you can take those videos and use them on Twitter.
Twitter also showcases several success stories of brands using Video Website Cards on its website. Bank of America, for instance, used the new ad format to drive app downloads. The national bank chain advertised a video of its mobile app, linking the video to the app’s download page.
The automaker Jaguar also experienced success when using Twitter’s Video Website Cards. Jaguar says the new ad format helped its company drive 25% more engagement when compared to traditional images. These are just a few of the success stories of Video Website Cards cited by Twitter.
How Much Does It Cost?
As explained on Twitter’s advertising portal, there are multiple charging options for video ads, including video views. With this option, advertisers are only charged when someone views their video. Twitter defines a view as being any video that’s watched at least halfway through and for at least two seconds. Alternatively, a video view will trigger if the user clicks to watch the video in full-screen mode. In May 2016, however, Twitter introduced a new bidding option for video ads in which views only trigger when the video is watched in 100% in-view on a user’s device and for at least three seconds.
With that said, advertisers can elect to run their Video Website Cards on website clicks, meaning you are only charged when someone clicks your video and visits your linked website or web page. Regardless of which charging model you prefer, remember to analyze and optimize your Twitter ads for a higher return on investment (ROI).
How to Share Videos on Twitter Without Using Website Cards
Of course, you can always share videos on Twitter without using the platform’s new Video Website Cards. This is done by simply clicking the Tweet button, followed by the “Add photos or videos” button. From here, you can select the video file from your computer or storage device and begin uploading. Once the video has finished uploading, you can share it on Twitter.
