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33870 What Makes Youtube Videos a Hit? Best Practices From Let's Stop HIV Together

Julie Straw, MPH, Prevention Communications Branch, DHAP, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, Elizabeth Mallalieu, MPH, CPH, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Prevention Communication Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, Jackie Rosenthal, MPA, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Prevention Communication Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jo Ellen Stryker, PhD, NCHHSTP/Division HIV/AIDS Prevention/Prevention Communication Branch, CDC, Atlanta, GA, Jessica Lacy, BA, Prevention Communication Branch, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Division of HIV/Prevention (DHAP), Atlanta, GA and Nick DeLuca, PhD, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Background: For Let’s Stop HIV Together/Detengamos Juntos el VIH, a multi-faceted campaign featuring real-life stories of HIV positive individuals, CDC created videos to expand the campaign’s reach and direct people to the Act Against AIDS (AAA) website and resources. At the time of the campaign launch in July 2012, seven videos were created and uploaded to CDC’s YouTube Station, Streaming Health.  In March 2013, four additional videos featuring Hispanic/Latino participants were uploaded to YouTube. Videos ranged in length from :30 to 3:30. 

Program background: Videos were promoted on the Act Against AIDS website, Facebook page, and Twitter handle. YouTube’s True View In-Stream paid advertising was also used from July- August 2012 and March- April 2013, driving millions of views across all of the campaign’s videos. In-stream ads play before or during another YouTube video. Viewers watch 5 seconds and choose if they want to keep watching or skip, with advertisers only being charged if the viewer chooses to watch videos for at least 30 seconds.

Evaluation Methods and Results: YouTube also provides click-through rates (CTR), cost per click (CPC), impressions, viewer engagement, and additional insights. Nearly 2.5 million (2,472,328) impressions were generated in July and August from True View In-Stream alone. During the initial buy in July- August, the videos had a 22.05% CTR and $0.08 CPC. Together online banners featured the same people as the video, had a typical CTR (from .06% to .18%); video CTR (viewers who watched at least 30 seconds of the video) ranged from 18% to 25%.

Conclusions: The viewers’ retention ranged, but overall shorter videos had better retention. Video views during the advertising buy were 867,592 (July), 258,623 (August) and AAA homepage views were 58,984(July), 63,314 (August).  Fridays had higher video views, and males ages 45-54 years old were the most common audience segment.

Implications for research and/or practice: Overall, YouTube advertising greatly contributed to the campaign’s reach through video views, but analysis of video views and use of free tools such as annotations can increase views at no cost. A coded analysis of viral components of each video (i.e. celebrity presence, emotions, call to action) will be completed once data is available from the second round of campaign videos in Spring 2013.

See more of: Act Against AIDS Digital and Social Media Lessons Learned
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