Six takeaways from Twitter #VideoNOW

Friday, 16 October 2015

Last week, Twitter hosted #VideoNOW, an hour-long event in New York jam-packed with the latest news about our suite of video products.

CEO Jack Dorsey inspired the crowd by talking about Twitter’s global impact, video product director Baljeet Singh announced that Twitter Amplify now offers video monetization at scale, and COO Adam Bain spoke about the upcoming launch of Promoted Moments. Digital leaders from the @NFL and @beatsbydre also joined the conversation, sharing how video on Twitter has impacted their brands.

And those were just a few of the afternoon’s highlights. If you missed our Periscopes, don’t worry. We also captured the best of #VideoNOW using @SnappyTV. Here are six takeaways from the event:

1. Twitter shows what’s going on in the world — fast.

Dorsey began by emphasizing that Twitter offers a way for people and brands to instantly share what’s going on in words, images, and videos. “Today, Twitter can show everything that’s happening in the world 10 to 15 minutes faster than any other service,” he said.

This speed and cultural relevance matters to brands, according to Jason White, vice president of marketing at @beatsbydre. Beats By Dre is a division of Apple that sells audio electronics products. “We’re a business that lives in sports, music, and fashion, and that is culture,” White said. “Being 15 minutes faster is everything.”

2. Mobile video consumption on Twitter is skyrocketing.

Consumers crave mobile video. Video views on Twitter have increased by 150X in the past year, and 90% of these views happen on a mobile device.

The popularity of live mobile video on Twitter makes it easy for the @NFL to reach millions of fans in the moment. According to Vishal Shah, the @NFL’s vice president of media strategy and business development, Twitter is now one of the @NFL’s top five content distributors.

3. Advertisers can now run pre-roll ads at scale on premium live video content.

Singh announced that publishers and creators can now monetize their video content on Twitter with pre-roll video ads as long as six seconds. The new offering from Twitter Amplify will make it easier for advertisers to reach massive audiences and sponsor great content.

4. Marketers and agencies will soon be able to curate Promoted Moments.

Moments are clusters of curated Tweets that show how stories are unfolding on Twitter. They’re live, public, and the ultimate way to discover content on the platform, Bain said.

“We think that’s terrific for Twitter users, and certainly great for content partners, but there’s one more thing,” he added. “It’s great for marketers and agencies.” Starting this quarter, marketers will be able to add their stories to the Moments Guide using Promoted Moments.

5. Periscope can connect brands to millions of consumers in the moment.

Periscope is just eight months old, but there are already more than 10M accounts, and users watch more than 40 years’ worth of live content every day.

The app is continuing to evolve, says Periscope CEO and co-founder Kayvon Beykpour. Periscopes now have a home on the web, and brands can let users know when they’re live by adding a special widget to their websites.

To learn more about how businesses are using Periscope, check out our six plays for brands on Periscope, and our special features on @Visa (here) and @StGermainDrinks (here).

6. Niche content creators can help brands with reach and relevance.

Brands can ensure their content reaches their target audience and feels relevant by partnering with Niche, a network of 17,000 content creators who offer a global audience of 2.7B.

Stacy Minero, Twitter’s director of content planning, sat down with White, Niche co-founder Darren Lachtman, and two Niche content creators (Robby Ayala and Cody Johns) to talk about what makes brand content on Twitter compelling.

Want to learn more about video on Twitter? Follow @TwitterAds and check out our video site.