Viewers Are More Likely To Share Videos With Less Branding

This is an article published by ReelSEO yesterday on the effects of heavy branding in terms of engagement, sharing and conversion rates. There’s a great click through slideshow filled with interesting stats and suggestions created by Josh Warner at Feed Company.

There is a pretty good piece over at Ad Age by Josh Warner—he’s the President and Founder of Feed Company, which is an online video promotions and distribution firm. He has some interesting insight into how viral videos are spread through social media, and what brands need to do to maximize their potential.

The thrust of Warner’s article centers around something called “engagement capital,” which can loosely be translated as the credit you build with audiences based on their level of engagement to your video. It is the quid pro quo between a content creator and the viewer—“You show me a great video, and I’ll do something for you.” The audience member’s end of the bargain might be to make some kind of donation or fill out a form. It might be to vote in an online contest, or any other conversion you can think of.

Different kinds of videos build different levels of engagement capital. But many brands don’t understand this concept, and end up wasting the audience’s goodwill by over-branding or by seeking the wrong kind of conversion for your audience. The more businesses understand engagement capital—and how social media drives popularity—the greater the chance they can leverage the tools they have for success.