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Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) is on the rise as an innovation powerhouse for PPC advertisers.
Forward-thinking is the driving force behind this advertising platform, launching everything from proprietary artificial intelligence to other products that slowly change the landscape for all digital advertisers.
As of 2021, Bing’s market share of search engine traffic in the U.S. is 38.46%. This reach helps you attract more people to your client’s brands, and thanks to core technologies like the Microsoft Graph, you’ll know more about your audience, tailoring your digital efforts to them.
For these reasons, integrating Microsoft Ads is a crucial part of a well-rounded strategy. This post will dive into their latest feature, Video Ads for the Microsoft Audience Network. Let’s start by reviewing the Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN).
What is the Audience Network?
Microsoft Audience Network is a native audience solution powered by Graph AI. It lets you understand and target audiences at a deeper level.
This AI receives more than 20 billion daily first-hand data signals from users worldwide, from services and products such as Windows, Office, Outlook.com, and Azure. This vast amount of data sheds light on user behavior and intent. With it, advertisers can suggest new products and services by targeting their ads effectively, reaching their audiences at the right time with the right message.
The Audience Network expands your reach to potential customers outside the search engine platform. You can connect with consumers on brand-safe websites like MSN, Microsoft News, and top-tier publishers and news outlets.
To learn more about the Microsoft Ads Network and how to use its potential, read our latest blog on it!
Microsoft’s latest innovation: Video Ads in MSAN
Microsoft is rolling out this pilot program feature in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the U.K.
This new feature lets advertisers leverage video assets on their Audience Network campaigns. Use your videos as short as 6 seconds to engage quickly or longer videos that create a more engaging experience across the MSAN’s channels.
It feels like someone’s reading your mind.
Have you ever been craving pizza for days only to see an ad on TV for a cheesy pizza? Hard to resist after that. They showed you exactly what you needed to make the decision. It’s like they read your mind, and it’s time to give in.
Customers feel this way with well-placed and curated video ads. You can entice customers in the same way on Microsoft’s Audience Network, driving deeper connections on the way to converting.
This new feature can shift how marketers think about video ads from an afterthought to the first touchpoint.
Getting started with your video ads
So, how should you go about adding this to your strategy? Follow these simple tips to get started:
- Adjust as you begin getting performance data.
1. Use the bid landscape tool in Microsoft Advertising UI to review suggested ad bids and performance for your video ads.
- Check the technical specs here.
2. The recommendation is to use at least one of the following video formats for your ads: short-form from 6 seconds and up 30 seconds long; these are the ones with the best engagement. Or longer than 1 minute up to 2 minutes to leverage the potential of storytelling.
- Separate your campaigns by audience target (remarketing, In-market Audiences, Similar Audiences, etc.)
3. Set your campaign to target your audience. You can choose various targeting tools, like UET, conversion tracking, and audience targeting; all features work right out of the box to get your video ads started!
- Is the video you chose not working? Try another format, different lengths, copy, headlines. Be creative with your campaigns!
4. Make sure to track how many people watch the whole thing and how much of it they watch. Keep an eye on those interactions.
Conclusion
Every day new features are popping up on your advertising platforms. As helpful as these AI-powered features are, trying each one of them can be daunting.
Though it takes time to understand which feature works when it’s worth the task, you don’t have to go through each one because that’s where White Shark Media comes in. As your white label PPC partner, our team can help you and your client’s identity best strategies and practices to achieve your desired results.
