There are many reasons to turn the sound off on social video. Perhaps you’re in a public place, at work, or just want some peace and quiet. Maybe the video is in a language you don’t understand or you have a hearing impairment. Whatever the reason, you’re not alone. In 2016, Facebook created default settings where newsfeed ads would play silently. During that time, 85% of Facebook users watched video with the sound off. Facebook has since reversed the setting, …
Author: Anton Eliasson
Just a few years ago, testing in marketing was not the norm. In 2013, Steve Ebin, head of growth at Optimizely, assumed that A/B tests were not effective for low-traffic websites, and so he didn’t run them. When they decided to change their pricing, however, he stumbled upon an insight in a customer interview. The customer hated the language in their pricing page call to action. It said “Contact sales.” Through this anecdote, they decided to set up a test …
A little video design can go a long way. Just ask bakery owner Matt Lewis, who used DIY design to sell a record number of Thanksgiving pies at his Brooklyn shop Baked. Before Lewis started designing video ads, Baked’s Facebook page was “largely comprised of static photos of swirly cake tops and colorfully iced cookies.” After, the page featured playful, colorful videos like the one below. Baked’s product videos produced much better results than the static images. That Thanksgiving, Baked …
For brilliant video creators, time has never limited creativity. Look at Vine. Vine’s 6-second limit and looping feature created a format people thrived in. Its users experimented with physical comedy, stop-motion effects, daring stunts, animation, and music. True Viners maxed out every moment. Their efforts paid off. The most popular videos racked up billions of views, and its stars went on to sign lucrative contracts with brands, talent agencies, music studios, and entertainment companies. Vine proved that shortform video can …