As Facebook Watch nears its one-year anniversary, IGTV breaks down influencer video barriers, and Twitter and Snapchat make waves with video during events like the World Cup, the benefits of in-stream advertising in social media are front and center. Billy Boulia, vice president and group director of social strategy at Digitas, spoke with eMarketer’s Tricia Carr about the value of social in-stream and the challenges ahead. Boulia was interviewed as part of eMarketer’s August report, "Video Ads in Social Media 2018: Shows Are Everywhere on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter—But Are People Watching?"
eMarketer:
The four largest social platforms all have hubs for long-form content, which means more in-stream advertising opportunities are likely on the way. What has your experience been like with in-stream advertising on social platforms?
Billy Boulia:
What I love, but what has also been a challenge, is the fact that we’re held to online video metrics—CPMs and the "costs per" metrics—which are competing with traditional metrics and which a traditional online video buy usually does very efficiently.
The "cost pers" for social shows on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat usually have a higher premium because of the targeting available and the engagement on the platforms. My experience with this has been challenging, because it has been about educating our clients on how to get over the premium or the "cost per" that social pre-roll or mid-roll give us, as opposed to online video networks.
