Social video advertising is now capable of driving benefits throughout the funnel. Advertisers expect to prioritize a few key paid social strategies in 2022, including developing more native video ad creative, promoting creator videos as paid ads, investing more in Facebook In-Stream Reserve (ISR), and supporting efforts around still-emerging shopping livestreams on social platforms.
Brands are adapting to produce more informal video creative. They’re mimicking what appears natively on platforms in user-generated or creator content. According to Rumpler, these ads tend to perform well because users want the less formal feel.
For some brands, that’s a shift in mindset versus past approaches that tended to prioritize polished video creative with high production values on social, more akin to a TV spot.
TikTok has likely accelerated that shift over the past year. Advertisers noted seeing more brands adopt “lo-fi” or “selfie” styles in their video ads. Brands are even borrowing some popular uses of audio, dance, and unique angles in TikTok videos for ads on other social placements, like Reels.
“I see that even bleeding into brands’ advertising in Facebook feeds, a style very pioneered in TikTok,” Horizon Media's Gerber said.
Also likely due to the influence of TikTok, advertisers are playing more with native elements and effects—like text overlays, stickers, and fly-ins—to activate the natural feel and energy of organic video in their ads. That’s become a stronger priority specifically on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram Stories.
