People are said to remember 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see and a stunning 70% of what they hear and see. Those numbers might be start in explaining why video advertising is so successful. Digital video ads have the highest click-through rate (1.84%) and engagement of any digital format.

There has been a large shift in how media and advertising is consumed: The <21 generation retrieves information, news and content from social media, in a much shorter, more digest- and sharable format than older generations might have done. This shift in preferences is also reflected in investments: while TV ads were the most costly and relevant format for decades now, media giants have been focusing on online video advertisement for some time now. Numbers have been rising constantly and reached almost $7.7 bn. in 2015. So what can you do to make the most of this trend?

First of all, its essential to find out, how to invest your money wisely – there is no point in simply raising the spending on video advertising, if you don’t know where your audience is. Conduct solid research to narrow down your target audience to find out where they spend their time! You might want to invest in social media campaigns on mobile devices or consider display advertising with Google. Just as with any other campaign, many factors play into the development of new ads, depending on where you place them.

Mobile Video

Video is popular on mobile devices, but how users watch it, differs from clips they see on a desktop computer: For example, you should make sure that your mobile videos also work without sound. Add subtitles to create a captivating story even when users decide not to turn on the sound. Another trend that created a bit of buzz in the digital community were vertical videos – frowned upon at first and now widely used, this new format gives you new options to show your content.

Create sharable content

In the end, it boils down to this: The times of classic commercials are over – no one is willing anymore to sit through a 15minute commercial break, when they can watch videos on demand; nobody will allow annoying advertisement, when they can use an ad blocker. The only way to make Internet users watch advertisements, is to make them want to watch them. Create unique, fascinating and entertainment content that users are willing to watch and share with their online communities.  That way, you don’t only get your message across, you also make your audience your biggest asset.