CTV, short for connected TV, is quickly supplanting cable TV as consumers’ go-to source for entertainment. If you own or manage a business, it is in your financial interest to take note of the rise of CTV and act accordingly. Though connected TV advertising isn’t completely infallible, its pros outweigh its cons.
Why Your Business Should Advertise on CTV
CTV provides businesses with a direct pipeline into consumers’ homes through video streamed through the internet. From Roku to Apple TV, Chromecast boxes, and beyond, TVs are now connected to internet-based streaming video of all types. Seize the opportunity to present your value offering to your target customers through connected TVs and you’ll gain invaluable access to potential buyers who use a litany of devices.
Part of CTV’s appeal is in its tracking and metrics. CTV ads are trackable, empowering business owners to analyze each commercial’s unique return on investment. Continue to evaluate the responses to your CTV ads, strategically modify your approach and you’ll strengthen connections with your target audience.
Narrowly Target Buyer Personas
Business owners who genuinely understand their target audience are willing to admit some people do not need or desire their product or service. It is not logical to advertise to the masses through an expensive cable or network TV commercial even if it airs during peak viewing hours.
Enter CTV. CTV ads empower business owners to connect to specific audience members, be it those in a certain demographic or those in a particular geographic location. Take full advantage of this granular targeting opportunity based on your selected criteria and you’ll establish an invaluable conduit with your target audience.
Advertisers are now empowered to connect with specific target customers through:
- Specific CTV devices
- Lifestyle nuances
- Online searches
- Web browsing
- Location
Analyze your current consumer base to get a sense of which demographics and other criteria are relevant to your value offering and target those individuals through CTV ads accordingly.
Forced Ad Viewing
Perhaps the most intriguing element of CTV advertising is that these ads cannot be skipped through the click of a mouse button as possible with YouTube ads. Nor can CTV ads be skipped through fast forwarding. The audience is locked into the viewing experience and forced to watch or at least listen to the entirety of the CTV ad before the streaming program resumes.
Advertise When Desired
CTV ads are streamed before, during, or after the content. The industry terms that refer to these opportunities for audience exposure are pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll. The most effective CTV ads are streamed mid-roll as they engage the viewing audience during the program as opposed to before the content airs or after it ends.
Are there any Cons to Using CTV for Advertising?
Indeed, there are a couple of challenges business owners must overcome in connecting with target audiences through CTV. In particular, converting viewers into paying customers is a legitimate hurdle.
Though most TV users are willing to watch an ad presented through an online video stream, some such ads cannot be clicked, meaning it is that much more difficult to bridge the gap between ad exposure and customer education that moves those targets through to the bottom of the sales funnel for conversion.
However, this hurdle can be overcome with creativity. Provide consumers with follow-up incentives ranging from referrals to perks, discounted rates, and more, make that value clear in ads and you’ll guide many more people through to the end of your sales funnel for conversion.
CTV has some ad format limits. CTV ads cannot be skipped, meaning there is the potential for viewers to tune them out. Though the inability to skip through an ad heightens immersion, there is also the chance that such ads will annoy members of the audience, especially if they have become accustomed to skipping ads through DVR fast forwarding or clicking a “Skip” button such as that provided to YouTube users.
Master the Learning Curve
We would be remiss not to mention that maximizing customer connections through connected TV viewership requires considerable effort on behalf of the business owner, manager, or advertiser. CTV streams function through several platforms, each with its own unique requirements. These platforms have all sorts of idiosyncrasies, meaning they have their own respective learning curves in terms of ad formatting details and other nuances.
Some Viewers Still Prefer Cable and Network TV
Finally, CTV content does not reach audiences who are primarily interested in current events such as the news and sports. Most CTV content is not geared toward local news or athletic competitions, meaning connecting with demographics interested in such content will prove challenging.
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