From cat videos to Ted Talks, YouTube has become the internet’s top repository for video content.

And that includes branded videos—in many cases, they’ve become just as popular as their organic competition. Today’s Social Media Roundup explores what you can learn from 2014’s top branded videos to make 2015 a banner year for your video team.

The Top YouTube Ads of 2014

See the top ads people chose to watch this year in our annual @YouTube Ads Rewind: http://t.co/206lnd8Xhe https://t.co/AtXeQ5cBZP

— Think with Google (@ThinkwithGoogle) December 9, 2014

The year is coming to a close, and the 2014 roundups are starting to pour in. Google has released its list of the most popular ads on YouTube over the past year, and you’ll notice that the rankings aren’t solely determined by views. Google took other engagement and retention into consideration when compiling its list. There are plenty of World Cup- and beer-related ads that associations can learn from them, as well as advocacy-focused videos, such as “#LikeAGirl.”

Here are some of the key takeaways Google mentioned in its post announcing the honorees:

• “The top 10 ads on YouTube in 2014 averaged three minutes in length. That’s 47 percent longer than the videos on the Leaderboard in 2013.”
• “Seventy-five percent of those hours were earned before or after the day of the Super Bowl or the month of the World Cup. Whether your brand’s event is the World Cup or a World of Warcraft convention, consider engaging the community with event-centric content.”
• “When brands build on an existing storyline on YouTube, fans rally behind plots or characters they recognize and relate to. Evian, for example, continued its 2013 ‘Baby & Me’ story in 2014 with ‘The Amazing Baby & Me’ video. When the sequel launched, the brand saw a 4x week-over-week increase in views of the original ‘Baby & Me.'” (ht @ThinkwithGoogle)

the Fundamentals of Intellectual Property

#Associations that lack strong intellectual property protections stand to lose more than assets: http://t.co/Wu301H9HqQ

— Association TRENDS (@TRENDStweets) December 10, 2014

How much do you really know about intellectual property laws and their impact on your association? Association Trends is tackling this complicated topic in a webinar, “Protecting Your Association’s Intellectual Property,” on December 11 at 2 p.m. ET. It will address four key questions:

• How do you protect original content?
• How do you prevent the devaluation or defamation of your organization?
• What protections can you put into place to prevent improper distribution of your content?
• Who actually owns all of the content and ideas your association publishes?

Discover the answers to those questions by registering for the 90-minute webinar here. (ht @TRENDStweets)

(Google)