Outstream vs. Native Video: What Is the Difference?

Online video content — educational and entertaining — has expanded its presence in social networks and various platforms. Videos of these types count over 48% of views. The marketers share video ads in the most popular social media platforms like YouTube (88%), Facebook (76%), LinkedIn (66%), and Instagram (65%).

93% of marketers consider video an integral part of marketing strategy. It has revealed a range of benefits for advertisers and customers. People choose video content to learn more about a brand. On the other hand, video ads help businesses generate solid revenues and boost conversions and sales.

Both video ads formats seem to be challenging to understand. They have a lot in common, but you should consider some distinctive features of each one. So, let’s look at the detailed description of these two video ad models.

What Is Outstream Video Ad?

When dealing with outstream video, we cannot help but mention in-stream video ads. Let’s find out the difference between them.

Outstream video focuses on providing a less disruptive user experience. It is based on integration rather than an interruption. When visitors open a target web page, they can easily skip ads by scrolling down or up the page. Outstream video ads are seamlessly built-in within the web page, so they create an organic placement out of the video player. The video content and page content do not always coincide. That is why it is essential to find an appropriate content placement for outstream video to reach the target audience.

Depending on the platform where outstream video is placed, it is categorized into:

• in-banner — played inside of a typical banner on websites or in mobile apps;
• in-article — inserted between article paragraphs and launched automatically with 50% of visibility;
• in-feed — usually inserted in social media content feeds;

Plus, there are interstitial videos that serve as a break in the content.

In-stream video is an ad we often face when watching videos. It can be placed within the content and its duration time depends on the placement within the video content. Typically, an in-stream video ad lasts from 6 to 60 seconds and can be skipped by the customer in 5 seconds. In-stream ad works better when its content coincides with the message of the video content.

Both in-stream and outstream video ads are used by the company to achieve its marketing objectives, as they provide access to a multimillion audience watching videos every day. Outstream video ads are applicable to enhance the online presence of the brand. Meanwhile, in-stream video ads are a good choice to expand the reach on popular media platforms like Facebook or YouTube.

What is Native Video Ad?

The native video refers to content uploaded right to a social network. Any video developed on a social network is considered a native one too. Native content is played in-feed on the social media platform. For instance, if the video from YouTube is shared on Instagram, it is not a native one. However, if the video is directly uploaded on Instagram, it is native content.

Native video advertising is almost the same as outstream video. It is also hosted outside the video player and well-integrated in the web page content or an app. It pops up mute and has an auto-start as soon as it comes to the visitor’s view.

What is the main advantage of native content? Such videos do not interrupt the watcher experience with pop-ups and additional clicks. Thus, many viewers prefer watching native videos. Nothing annoys and disturbs them during the process.

What distinguishes native video from outstream content is that the primary one is also known as branded content that does not always look much like an advertisement.

• Native videos aim to imitate the style and voice of the publisher’s website.
• Such videos provide a message in the form of storytelling.

Native ads are a fast-growing video ad format. For example, Facebook users watch over 8 million such video ads daily. This social media is well-aware that a video is “the king of content,” focusing on providing a smooth user experience. Native videos allow users to control their online experience and enjoy highly authentic content.

Instagram also realizes the power of native videos. Their stories command a whopping 500 million content views daily.

Social media and other platforms prefer to offer this video ad to get a better user experience and conversion boost. According to eMarketer’s prediction, this type of video is expected to gain significant momentum in the forthcoming years, and it made up to 31.2% of US native ad spend in 2020.

Why Are Outstream And Native Videos Gaining More Recognition?

Video ads have been gaining popularity in the advertising world. Outstream video ads, as well as native ones, are developing fast as a must-have ad model to improve the business outcomes. 2021 State of Marketing Report determines video as the top content marketing strategy. It also admits that social media is the top marketing channel. According to the report by Amazon and eBay, a video ad increases sales by up to 35%. Now let’s go through the benefits and drawbacks of native and outstream videos.

Pros

Which model should you use to expand brand awareness of your company: native video vs outstream video? It depends on business goals and products that have to be delivered to the target audience. In the case of familiarizing the audience with the brand and highlighting its unique selling proposition (USP), a native video ad is the suitable option. Outstream video is a useful advertising instrument to insert in the publisher’s content for more user engagement.

In general, they both are worth being used to get such advantages as:

1. Compatibility with any device, including tablets and mobile phones.
2. Simple to manage, as marketers can easily come up with a campaign, target the audience appropriately, choose content, and decide on a logo.
3. It is less distracting and annoying. Therefore, many people are willing to watch it to the end.
4. Enhanced brand awareness – getting more eyes on advertisements.
5. Engaging advertising content that will fit users’ interests and queries.
6. Consumers are charged for outstream advertisements based on vCPM. It stands for viewable cost-per-thousand-impressions which brings greater value.

For advertisers, placing native video ads allows covering a larger target audience. They can circumvent some ad-blocking software. About 70% of advertisers and 77% of agencies define outstream and native video ads as crucial strategies to include in their advertising portfolios.

For a publisher, both native and outstream videos are great monetization strategies. They help obtain a positive ROI, higher traffic, and more leads. These video ads can increase conversion rates by 80%. According to a MarketLand study, click-through rates (CTRs) for outstream video placement are 2.5% higher than CTRs for in-stream placement.

Cons

There are some downsides to consider when dealing with native and outstream videos.

When it comes to producing any video ad, it might take some time to set the goals, create the plot, and add special effects. Companies need to consider it.

Another downside is the lack of certain technical features. For example, if customers decide to watch video content with a weak or obstructive Internet connection, they will face issues with uploading the video. This is the point the company can’t foresee or avoid when choosing the type of video ad.

In addition, marketers may need to modify some parts of the video when it becomes irrelevant, which is way more complicated than changing anything in a graphic or a text ad. Often, it will be better to create a new video from scratch. That’s why it is important to thoroughly plan the content by considering various alterable aspects.

Takeaways

Each company strives to let the outside world know about its brand by using various advertising tools and marketing strategies. Outstream and native video ads remain some of the most valuable and promising instruments to reach the larger audience and increase revenue significantly.

A well build-in content video message and its proper placement on digital platforms can entice higher customers’ engagement and encourage watchers to click the ad every time it pops up, leading to increased CTRs. Video marketing expansion rate has been growing gradually and steadily. It ensures the market to be pretty imbued with relevant, insightful video ads. The way you implement native or outstream video for your advertising campaign depends on your marketing objectives.

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