Microsoft Audience network now supports Video Ads

Microsoft announced today on their blog that their Audience Network now supports Video Ads in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

Video Ads can be used to complement your existing image and text ad strategy to reach more potential customers as they move across the online landscape.

How it works. Video Ads are powered by intent-based searches, web activity, and browser behavior to help you reach different audiences in a more immersive format. Microsoft says they are the “only platform with access to all this rich intent data on video assets.”

Connecting to audiences. Microsoft provides the following stats about the power of its Audience-based Video Ads:

• 1 in 3 users stays on MSN and Microsoft Edge to get the content they need.
• 72 minutes is the average time spent by a visitor on Microsoft Edge per month.
• 39% of users watch videos on MSN but not on YouTube.
• 57% of users watch videos on MSN but not on Facebook.

Best practices. Microsoft offers the following best practices for a successful Video Ad campaign:

• Catch your audience’s attention in ten seconds or less. Although your ads can run longer (6-120 seconds), the first 10 seconds are critical to landing your message.
• Feature your product or brand message early on to make sure people remember it.
• Design for sound off. The Video Ads auto-play with the sound off, so use text and graphics whenever possible.
• Adapt your message to the customer journey. To drive action with your customers, use Video Ads to provide more information about a product or service and drive them to sign up or purchase pages.
• Be creative! See what works for you—try different video lengths, intro text copy, headlines, or landing pages to see what resonates best with your audience.

Dig deeper. Read the full announcement on the Microsoft Blog.

Why we care. Microsoft continues to advance and adapt its Ads platform. As Google continues to remove advertiser control in favor of a more automated solution, it will be interesting to see if marketers make the switch.

Either way, if you have access to Microsoft Ads, you should test the new video feature to see if it works for your clients or brand.

Other Microsoft news.

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About The Author

Nicole Farley is an editor for Search Engine Land covering all things PPC. In addition to being a Marine Corps veteran, she has an extensive background in digital marketing, an MBA and a penchant for true crime, podcasts, travel, and snacks.