As a new father, I recently discovered that baby sensory videos on youtube for my 2-month-old son seem to keep him entertained and captivated and his senses stimulated. As amazing as this is, my only frustration is the amount of sponsored ads that will automatically start every so few minutes and promptly interrupts my son’s vibe and causes him to lose interest which in return makes him cry. I then precede to scramble to press the skip ad button or wait for the unskippable ads to finish so that the video can resume and bring calm and serenity back into the household and to my 2-month-old son. I seem to find that these sponsored ads are becoming more frequent than before and occurring numerous times in a video that is about 20 minutes long. This has made me think, Why are there so many ads? There never used to be so many ads in years gone by or is it a ploy to get me to upgrade to the premium service?
The ads just never end.
As my thoughts start to wonder, I realize that there are no premium offerings from other social media platforms that allow an ad-free experience and they are just as guilty with the sponsored ads that one must endure on their platforms. Luckily, you can just scroll past and not need a skip ad option to pop up. Sponsored ads are the norm on your feed and you have become accustomed to seeing them every 3rd or 4th post as you are scrolling down your timeline or viewing stories. So what has brought on this shift of social media marketing and the need for digital marketing to such an extent that it is integral in everything we do in our daily lives compared to the marketing and ads we become accustomed to while growing up before social media and youtube. As I ponder all these thoughts, the reasons start to become very apparent: the rise of streaming services, social media platforms, and affordability coupled with greater access to internet services and the decline of terrestrial television services. The norm that was terrestrial television is slowing but surely becoming obsolete when it comes to television ads as the viewer numbers are dwindling.
Video streaming subscriptions are more cost-effective than satellite TV subscriptions.
As the variety of VOD services increase with quality content such as Netflix, showmax, or amazon prime video coupled with the low cost of fibre internet that is available which has uncapped, unthrottled packages, streaming is more readily available and popular than before. The pricing of the VOD’s is very enticing as there is value to be found in them rather than your standard satellite television packages. So this is where the need for businesses to expand their advertising channels to reach their target audiences who have made the change from television to streaming services as their channels of advertising that they are used to and have trusted are no longer generating the traffic it once was before the world became digitalized and evolved rapidly in the last few years. It has brought on a whole new target audience and many different channels to target audiences that they might not have reached before. The world is connected via a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or social media account. The ability to reach audiences becomes easier and easier and allows them to be reached 24/7 via content and sponsored ads.
Creating engaging content to captivate audiences.
As everything is so digitalized and targeted with regards to ads and sponsored ads, it is very important to captivate your target audience before they lose interest and skip your ad or just simply scroll past it. If the ad doesn’t capture your attention within 5 seconds, that ad has failed and will be forgotten. There is so much content that an average person absorbs and consumes in a day, there is the need to ensure that the ad that you are targeting for your audience is engaging, captivating and ensures that there is no interest lost from your target audience. This I where digital marketing has come to the forefront and is a necessity in modern businesses, the world is digital, your either embrace it or become obsolete.
In conclusion.
As more and more sponsored ads appear be it on social media or youtube, companies are spending advertising budgets on this to reach their target audiences, they are evolving and adapting to the new demand of digital marketing over the traditional marketing methods.
In conclusion, we will never be able to avoid ads, we must be thankful that companies and businesses are adapting to create content that keeps us engaged.
As my thoughts have come to conclusion on the possible reasons as to why there are so many more sponsored ads on youtube and other social media platforms, it is time for me to get ready to skip ad again to keep my 2-month-old son captivated and engaged and to keep me deep in thought of how something that seems so simple has wider context and has infinite reasons to how it came to this.
About the Author:
My name is Nolan Maurice van Eyssen, I am an intern at the International Institute Of Digital Marketing™ and I am based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Follow me on my LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-van-eyssen-012174106
