Just over five years ago (in 2003), there were almost no online video sites. But now Internet video is rocketing in popularity with sites like YouTube, FaceBook and MySpace leading the charge. And as more and more people get faster Internet broadband speeds the opportunities available for online video marketing will increase. In this article we’ll examine some of the reasons for the growth of online video and look at possible future trends from a marketer’s perspective.
Why Is Online Video Becoming So Popular?
One of the key drivers behind the growth of Internet video is that people like being able to choose - what to watch, where to watch, how to watch and when to watch. These are choices that inflexible TV and radio schedules were never designed to cater for.
In addition, online viewers are able to interact with the video content - whether by leaving comments, sharing with friends by email or social media (think FaceBook or the more recent Twitter). One popular video sharing site, viddler.com, even has a player that allows viewers to leave a timeline of comments.
Another major development has been the ease and cheapness with which ordinary people can shoot videos and upload them to not only sites like Yahoo Video, Google Video and MSN Video - but also have them automatically distributed among the many hundreds of video file sharing sites.
The Statistics Behind Online Video Marketing
Some fascinating statistics about the growth of online video advertising spending in the US comes via the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Pricewaterhouse Coopers historical data.
(Source: http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-033009)
Two important trends leap out from their report:
a) Spending on online video advertising increased from $324 Million in 2007 to $734 Million in 2008.
b) Spending is forecast to increase rapidly until 2012 with the US Presidential Elections and the summer (London) Olympics being key drivers.
However, although internet video advertising spend is growing rapidly remember that it will still account for only 10% of total online spending - behind paid search, display ads and classifieds. One ‘wild card’ that could upset these forecasts is the groundbreaking transition from traditional to online advertising - with Internet media advertising (at $23.4 Billion annually) in the US now being ranked third behind TV distribution ($28.8 Billion) and Newspapers ($34.4 Billion.)
Internet Video Marketing Techniques
So how are individuals and organizations using video marketing online? Some production techniques from the offline world are being successfully applied - such as late night TV infomercials.
Social proof on the Internet is also an important part of the marketing mix and testimonial videos are becoming popular. And with cheap, portable flip-cameras it’s now possible to capture genuine testimonials almost anywhere.
For example, if you go to a conference or event and meet up with customers or fellow enthusiasts in your market, you can record the conversation and have it on your website the same day (with their permission, of course.) No special studios or rehearsals required - in fact, the ‘rawness’ of the video can add to its attractiveness in some business-to-consumer markets. (Market expectations do of course play a part - and many business-to-business Internet video promotions will require a high level of professionalism and technology.)
Other production techniques include ‘screencasts’ and ‘viral videos’.
Screencasts are useful to demonstrate how to get the best out of a software application by recording the screen as you use the application. You can add a soundtrack during or after the recording so that people can watch and listen. At the end of the screencast you can automatically transfer the viewer to another web page (perhaps a sales page or a request for more information). Some videos even have an interactive final screen where the viewer can directly enter their email address details.)
Viral videos are often launched more by accident than by design. By ‘viral’ we mean that the video is passed quickly through email links or social media discussions and recommendations.
One word of caution to those video marketers moving into the world of mobile video: ergonomics! People often tire of holding and peering (with cramped necks) into small screens for extended periods of time - so the video segments need to be much shorter than desktop PC video users are comfortable with. Also, the jury is still out on how responsive mobile users are to pre-roll or post-roll video ads. Most likely their tolerance times are much lower than when watching on a 42 inch wide screen television. Think in the order of seconds, not minutes!
Regards,
Mark ‘Technical Ghostwriter’ McClure
