- By Camila Ante
Consumers always carry their smartphones with them and are always connected. This fact has almost become one of those truism truths, always repeated and shared as a kind of total affirmation.
You could say, what it is: the growth in penetration of mobile devices and the fact that mobile connection speeds are higher and better has achieved this.
But that consumers are always connected with their mobile devices has had a ripple effect on many things. It is often talked about how it makes us always looking for information and socializing in the purchase processes (who has not asked for an opinion of others on WhatsApp before buying something ?, for example), but it should not be forgotten that this reality has also changed how we perceive the ads.
In addition to the doors it has opened to new advertising formats, such as ads targeted by geolocation or those related to local searches, the attention we pay to campaigns or the way we 'see' these brand actions has also changed.
It is not only that we are more clueless by all the information that surrounds us, but also that the way in which we see information when we navigate from the mobile and especially on the go is different.
And one of the scenarios in which things change a lot is in how we process video ads or even brand videos. It is not the same to see a video ad at home, sitting in front of the smart TV before the content you want to see starts, than how an ad looks when you are watching content from your smartphone.
Therefore, it is not surprising that a behavior that a few years ago seemed emergent, with videos buried in social media feeds (and that already made most Facebook videos look without sound), is now the majority and apply everywhere. Consumers are watching most of this content without sound.
This is what a recent study by Sharethrough points out: we are watching more and more videos without sound and, although this trend dominates notably on mobile phones, it is beginning to spread how content is viewed in other areas, such as the TV.
As one of the people in charge of the study explains, and Advanced Television collects, the growth in mobile video consumption and the fact that Internet users have become accustomed to consuming content on sites organized around a feed (as is the case with social networks) In turn, he has accustomed them to see the videos in a different way. You have connected them to the idea of seeing them without sound.
How many videos are seen without sound
The answer to how many videos are watched without sound on the internet changes depending on the environment in which it operates. In all of them, it is a high enough percentage to be noticeable.
Thus, mobiles have become an eminently silent environment. 75% of those surveyed say that they keep their mobile silent when they are accessing sites that serve the content in feeds (the most popular: social media), even when they are watching videos. In fact, 72% say they are more likely to watch a video if it has subtitles. After all, if you don't want to activate the sound, you do want to know what it says differently.
The change is beginning to spread what happens in other media. 66% of those surveyed say that they now watch videos on their computer more likely if they have subtitles. 55% say the same about TV. The number of people who watch TV with subtitles, they say, has grown in general.
This study is neither the only nor the first that already points, in one way or another, in this direction. Another analysis, British and from a few months ago, already indicated that consumers were beginning to feel that all videos should have subtitles.
What this means for brands and their digital marketing strategy
All this implies changes for brands, which must be very attentive to what they do and how to continue connecting with consumers. If they want all the information that they release in their videos within their digital marketing strategy to reach consumers, they will have to take great care what they do and how they present the information.
As much as your design team likes the idea of your viewers having a full experience and hearing that voice, they need to be aware that they will most likely watch that video without sound and that they work within that framework.
