As Facebook Watch nears its one-year anniversary, IGTV breaks down influencer video barriers, and Twitter and Snapchat make waves with video during events like the World Cup, the benefits of in-stream advertising in social media are front and center. Billy Boulia, vice president and group director of social strategy at Digitas, spoke with eMarketer’s Tricia Carr about the value of social in-stream and the challenges ahead. Boulia was interviewed as part of eMarketer’s August report, "Video Ads in Social Media 2018: Shows Are Everywhere on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter—But Are People Watching?"

The "cost pers" for social shows on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat usually have a higher premium because of the targeting available and the engagement on the platforms. My experience with this has been challenging, because it has been about educating our clients on how to get over the premium or the "cost per" that social pre-roll or mid-roll give us, as opposed to online video networks.