As a business owner in today’s rapidly evolving digital world, you probably hear new advertising terms on what feels like a daily basis. A slew of acronyms are commonplace, and understanding what these terms mean — as well as how they can benefit your business — is vital for staying on top of your marketing game.
Take over-the-top (OTT) advertisements as an example. An OTT advertising platform can revolutionize how you market your business to brand-new audiences. Below, we’ll discuss how OTT ad platforms work and how you can use them to enhance your brand’s reach and customer engagement to boost sales.
OTT advertising refers to the delivery of ads via streaming media services. It is a marketing method that bypasses traditional TV advertising, targeting users who consume the majority of their chosen media on smart TVs, computers, and mobile devices.
Cable TV has lost about 25 million subscribers since 2012, and millions continue to cut the cord each year. Meanwhile, the number of families with smart TVs is rapidly increasing — by 2026, it’s projected that 1.1 billion households will include one. As such, OTT advertising is the future of marketing for businesses looking to reach and effectively engage with their target audiences.
The method involves the following steps:
● Planning ads with target audiences in mind
● Creating engaging and relevant content
● Selecting a streaming platform (Hulu, Roku, etc.)
● Determining a budget and purchasing ad space
● Segmenting the audience based on first- and third-party data
● Launching the ad campaign
● Optimizing the campaign based on real-time performance metrics
● Reporting how the campaign performed once it runs its course
OTT advertising platforms, like those offered by MNTN, allow you to complete these steps in one designated place, saving time and providing you with the convenience you need without sacrificing the quality of your marketing campaigns.
How OTT Advertising Benefits Businesses
Embracing OTT advertising via appropriate platforms can help take your marketing strategy to the next level. Some of the various benefits include the following:
Traditional television consumers are served multiple commercials at a time and will either change the channel or fast forward through them. OTT ads, on the other hand, offer seamless integration with a user’s watching experience. They aren’t skippable, but they’re shorter and less disruptive, making them more engaging to users.
OTT marketing grants business owners access to valuable data, which allows them to find and reach their ideal audience with ease. OTT ads are able to target consumers wherever they are, no matter what they’re viewing or what platform they’re watching it on.
Furthermore, OTT ads empower advertisers to target users precisely as opposed to employing a general TV ad strategy that, while broad, may be ineffective at connecting with specific consumers.
OTT advertising platforms like MNTN also provide real-time reports and analytics regarding campaign performance, allowing business owners to adjust their content on the fly.
Metrics you can track on OTT advertising platforms include things such as:
● The number of users who saw your ad
● How many of those viewers visited your website after seeing your ad
● The particular OTT device that is driving more view-through conversions
● What the typical user journey looks like across OTT (including other OTT-supported devices and digital marketing channels featured in your campaign)
These metrics are extremely valuable for optimizing your ad campaigns and ensuring they perform their best.
The Most Common Types of OTT Ads
Business owners have various forms of OTT ads to choose from, all of which offer opportunities to reach users throughout all stages of their viewing experience. These include the following:
These 15-to-30-second ads appear before the main content begins.
Mid-roll ads appear in the middle of the content and can range from 30 seconds to a few minutes.
These ads appear once the main content ends and can be as short as a few seconds to as long as multiple minutes.
Banner ads are small advertisements that appear at the bottom or top of the screen as content plays.
These ads show at the top of the content without interrupting it. They are usually clickable — therefore only served on certain devices — and lead to a landing page.
An OTT Advertising Platform Will Benefit Your Brand
OTT marketing is becoming increasingly popular, and that’s for a good reason. OTT advertising platforms help business owners reach brand-new audiences and boost engagement. Engaging and building connections with potential clients is vital to converting them into loyal customers, and OTT marketing makes that goal more achievable than ever.
