Creative Online Video for Small Business

The time Is Now For PR Practioners To Use Online Video Says Graduate School PR Prof.

2012-01-27T10:02:00.005-05:00

Online or Web Video is a Must-Have Tool for PR Professionals Says NYU Prof.

NYU Graduate Professor of Public Relations Don Bates, in a recent article highlighted the growing applicability of online video to communications campaigns, and discussed the tangible benefits this new medium offers to PR professionals. He further notes that curiously "most PR practitioners seem to be avoiding the subject altogether. the following is an excerpt from the article by Don Bates entitled: "Stop Avoiding Video For PR Purposes."

"But one trend that every communicator should be engaging, even as information-only at this juncture, is the growing use online of video, although most PR practitioners seem to be avoiding the subject altogether. At the very least, video should be top-of-mind when you plan client programs, prepare business proposals, and devise strategies and tactics for reaching target audiences.

The biggest reason is we all like it. For example, if we have a choice between video and text when we visit websites, we will look at the video first and the text second (if at all). Advertising professionals understand this. According to recent statistics reported by video blogger and trainer Darren Olander, video will be included in roughly 30 percent of online ads within five years.

When you consider some of video’s key advantages as a communication tool, it becomes clear why PR professionals should begin integrating it more conspicuously in their work:

Video allows you to inform audiences more immediately and engagingly than text does.
Video demonstrates that you’re innovative and ahead of the new media curve.
Video makes websites and events stickier; it attracts more people than text alone and they stay longer to weigh your messages.
Video is more memorable than text.
Video permits you to interact more personally with audiences, consumers in particular.

And videos can be live or animated, it doesn’t seem to matter. They have more cachet with viewers than text, regardless of format.

Video is also more naturally viral than text. It gets linked more often, resulting in serendipitous payoffs among important audiences that you may not have considered or could not have otherwise reached with the budget or resources you had to work with. Witness the popularity of YouTube.

According to Dr. Silvia Pfeiffer, CEO of Vquence and former CSIRO research scientist: “A video is 50 times more likely to rank on the first page of Google search results than any other content. It is therefore imperative for every product, brand, and marketing campaign to have a social video element.” Dr. Pfeiffer says information presented as text is recalled by only 8% of viewers, whereas the same information is recalled by a whopping 65% when presented as graphic animation."

Dr. Bates very clearly lays out the advantage of using online video as part of an integrated PR campaign. Not only is online video an increasingly effective medium, it is also more cost effective to produce and deploy than at any time in the past. The PR professionals who learn about and embrace online video as a viable communications tool, will gain greater credibility with clients and move ahead of their peers. YouTube's success shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that online video is an important and necessary communications tool that should be leveraged by communications pros.

Web Video Offers Some Huge Brand Building Opportunities

2012-01-23T12:18:00.004-05:00

Can a brand be built using nothing more than online video?

After one month, the results from the HoodieBuddie brand lift study conducted by Vizu imply they can. With the help of companies like ScanScout, BBE, and YuMe, HoodieBuddie realized a:

205% increase in brand awareness, which is significantly higher than the average 18.7% seen in comparable Vizu brand lift studies
76% increase in purchase intent, far exceeding the 12.1% lift that Vizu typically sees in campaigns of this nature
62% increase in daily sales (when comparing pre-campaign sales to post-ad campaign sales)

In terms of creative format findings, it was discovered that the 15-second pre-roll ad generally out-performed the 30-second spot in driving brand awareness, but the 30-second spot generally out-performed the 15-second video ad in increasing purchase intent. There also appeared to be minimal ad fatigue among viewers – even after 10+ exposures – as evidenced by an increase in brand awareness as ad frequency increased.

The HoodieBuddie campaign generated tremendous brand lift, showing that these video ad networks are among the best in the game at moving the needle for brand advertisers,” said Dan Beltramo, CEO of Vizu. “Given the wide swath of advertising we measure and help our customers optimize, I’m comfortable saying this campaign was an unmitigated success.”

Source: YUME, Research Study Led by Digital Brand Advertising Effectiveness Firm Vizu Demonstrates How Effectively Video Impacts Brand Awareness and Purchase Intent

StratDV selected to create web video campaign for Maryland Company New Product Launch | PRLog

2012-01-13T18:07:00.000-05:00

StratDV selected to create web video campaign for Maryland Company New Product Launch | PRLog

Online Video and Business in 2012: Predictions.

2011-12-27T17:46:00.002-05:00

From blogger Steve Rosenblum in Fast Company

"The next twelve months are going to be transformative. Web video will become simply "video"--made everywhere and consumed everywhere. And brands and companies, who've contemplated using video to tell their stories or connect with consumers, will find that the train is leaving the station. It's time to get on board the video express, or be left with an unpunched ticket in your hand."

Five Reasons why Online Video is so Persuasive from PHD in User Experience Research

2011-12-19T11:20:00.005-05:00

Applied Psychologist PHD and User Experience Expert Reveals New Study on the Persuasive Power of Online Video.

If you are still "on the fence" as to whether or not online video content about your product or service is worth the expense and effort to produce for your website, youtube, and other online sites, you might want to reconsider in light of this analysis.

1. Movement in peripheral vision grabs attention

2. Speakers and listeners brains sync up.

3. Video compensates (somewhat) for the asynchronous problem.

4. Video can convey emotional info, not just factual.

5. Video testimonials combine all of the powerful elements together.

Research analysis by Dr. Susan Weinschenk

article link: http://www.whatmakesthemclick.net/2011/08/24/why-video-so-persuasive-online/

Online Video Influences C-Suite Business Purchasing Behavior

2011-12-14T09:17:00.006-05:00

Online video is an influencing factor in the sales cycle.

26% of US executives view work related videos daily, 20% view them several times a week and 20% view them several times a month. What’s most interesting is C-Suite behavior after they’ve viewed an online video. 64 – 66% of the time they visit the video vendor’s website and 53% of them conduct a search for more information. Of the executives who view videos daily, 51% of them make a business related purchase after watching a work related video. (from eStrategy after hours Executives and Online Video Charts based on Forbes Insights data.)

Real Estate Online Videos: Selling More Than the Property

2011-12-06T12:26:00.002-05:00

http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/real-estate-agencies-make-videos-to-sell-communities-not-just-properties.html

You Tube: reality is forcing its move towards quality content.

2011-11-29T15:22:00.005-05:00

You Tube's one size fits all "democratic" openess to any and all video content, regardless of quality, is bumping up against reality and economics.

Fast Company expert blogger Steven Rosenbaum insightfully notes that "YouTube has created a clutter problem in web video simply a result of their stunning success. Today video volume uploaded to YouTube has grown tremendously. Today, estimates put You Tube hourly uploads at 48 hours per minute. The results is that video viewers, looking for quality or contextual content, are finding it harder and harder to get quality content."

Steven then poses the inevitable question:

"But where does that leave YouTube's legacy business of free, consumer, 'long tail' content? Can YouTube both monetize the high-value paid channels, and create reasonable economics around the increasly noisy user-generated uploaded content? While YouTube's server costs and distributed storage certainly don't cost them much, you have to believe that the continued growth of uploads, and the relatively flat value of that inventory has to make for a tough business case."

I believe this speaks as much to the production quality and relevance of most of the content on You Tube, as it does to the clear economics of the situation.

Hopefully this will engage serious business people who want to benefit from the power of online video, and understand that poorly produced user generated video content is really a counterintuitive way to promote their business! (Read the article)

2011-11-27T15:06:00.001-05:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

StratDV spot

2011-11-25T21:22:00.000-05:00

StratDV spot

StratDV Video: Web Video Production for Annapolis and Baltimore

2011-11-21T17:23:00.002-05:00

StratDV spot

2011-11-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

StratDV spot

A little creativity and social media tools can win business

2011-11-16T17:51:00.000-05:00

http://socialtimes.com/orabrush_b79111

Using Creativity and Social Media "tools" to Win Business

2011-11-16T17:50:00.001-05:00

http://socialtimes.com/orabrush_b79111

Check out this video created with the new Viewbix service!

2011-11-16T15:37:00.001-05:00

Social Media Spend to Exceed 5% of Digital Marketing Budgets within 3 Years

2011-11-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

Social Media Spend to Exceed 5% of Digital Marketing Budgets within 3 Years

Some thoughts on selecting a video producer for your business

2011-11-02T08:29:00.000-04:00

Beet.TV: WSJ's Alan Murray: The iPad Has Driven the Paper's Video Programming Expansion

2011-11-01T13:19:00.000-04:00

Beet.TV: WSJ's Alan Murray: The iPad Has Driven the Paper's Video Programming Expansion

Google Panda gives new emphasis to sites with video content

2011-10-25T09:21:00.003-04:00

Was the new update a move to improve rankings for sites that use video?

Maybe Google has seen the web users' move to wanting more video and the change is a reflection of that. MetaCafe was a new winner - the site hosts free videos - and has over 1,250 Google +1s. MySpace is not showing any +1s in my search results. Wikipedia which has no video content does have more than 5,600 +1s.

Most losers seem to have less video content - and a few have had their run-ins with Google (though this is not to say it was a direct reason they were on the list). Both Comcast and NBC were on the other side of net neutrality, but NBC gained (they have video content). Verizon, on the other hand supported Google's position on net neutrality and still dropped.

2011-10-22T16:29:00.001-04:00

StratDV Media Produces New Cable Show On the world of Youth Sports

2011-09-09T11:16:00.004-04:00

New Show Created to Highlight the Best in Youth Sports Programs, Airing on Comcast SportsNet

Joe Stephens Senior Producer with StratDV Media LLC, and 10 time Emmy Winner Robert Heck, have developed a new weekly show for cable highlighting the very best in youth sports programs throughout the Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia region.

SportsKids with Coach Bob is a new 1/2 hour sports variety program created and produced by Joe Stephens of StratDV Media LLC and Bob Heck an Emmy award winning show creator and on-air personality, formerly with Maryland Public TV. The weekly 30 minute show with showcase youth sports throughout the DC/Baltimore region. The show is fun, lively and face paced, featuring young athletes, coaches and parents and the sports they love. The program will also cover areas such as sports nutrition, coaching, sports injury prevention, and at-risk youth.

SportsKids with Coach Bob promo spot

2011-08-03T12:17:00.000-04:00

Over 85% of Businesses That Deployed Online Video Rate it a Success

2011-07-21T16:06:00.007-04:00

Business View On The Success of Their Social Media Campaign

Social Media strategies are increasingly viewed by businesses both large and small as a successful and cost effective alternative to traditional media. The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth found that businesses hold an overwhelmingly positive few of many of the different social media tools, and strategies.

In 2009 43% of business respondents found a social media strategy to be essential to their business, compared to only 26% in 2007.

Online Videos Increase Sales Conversion at Zappos

2011-06-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

Reasons For an Agency to Produce a Video Outlined,

2011-06-28T08:49:00.000-04:00

Reasons For an Agency to Produce a Video Outlined,

StratDV spot

2011-06-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

StratDV spot

Online Video AD's Are Fastest Growing Online AD Medium

2011-05-04T09:36:00.003-04:00

A Recent Survey By BrightRoll Reveals That:

Ad agencies are finding more and more that their clients value online video's ability to target very specific audiences, with more than 40% saying it was the feature that clients found most valuable, an increase of 9% over last year. Unfortunately, 10% of those same clients ranked "ability to reuse creative" as the most important feature, the same number as last year. It's a small percentage, relative to the other features, but still disheartening that a tenth of ad clients see online video advertising as nothing more than a way to repurpose what they've done for TV.

Notably, respondents are also moving search, social media, and direct response dollars to video, at numbers of 28%, 27%, and 26%, respectively. More than 60% of respondents said they felt online video advertising was at least as effective or more effective than TV.

US Execs Take Action After Viewing Work Related Online Video About A Product or Service

2011-05-03T16:40:00.005-04:00

Online Video is increasingly being searched out by US Executives in all industries, as part of the vetting process with respect to a new product or service.

Online Video as a marketing tool - New York times

2011-03-21T10:03:00.001-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/business/smallbusiness/17sbiz.html?_r=1&ref=smallbusinessemail&nl=business&emc=sba1

One companies new marketing strategy centered around online video

2011-03-09T08:35:00.005-05:00

"We're surprised because (online) video really is the gift that keeps on giving."

In 2008, Intergraph a company that sells engineering and geospatial software, had a website, and that was the extent of its interactive marketing. “We had no YouTube, no Facebook, no LinkedIn, RSS feed or Twitter,” Holcomb Executive VP for Business Development said. “We didn't think our ultra-conservative customer base would be looking at any of those spaces. If you searched "Intergraph' on YouTube, there were two videos. One was a partner's and one was from our competitor.”

However, after careful analysis and research, the company decided that it needed a video strategy “The three most popular and commonly accepted sources of information on the Web are Google, YouTube and Wikipedia,” Holcomb said. “Our decision to increase video has resulted in increased search engine optimization, so that's the first reason: increasing our presence on two of the most popular Web research tools—Google (or search engines in general) and YouTube.” In March 2009 Intergraph introduced its first YouTube channel. A blog debuted in September 2009, and last May the company added online test drives, microsites and an interactive e-document series, all of which were supported by the YouTube videos, Holcomb said, which were “planted” wherever Intergraph could find additional “synergies.”

The videos are between three and four minutes long, and are linked directly to a microsite where you can get more information about Intergraph's software as well as product demos, a list of upcoming webinars and downloadable white papers. Topics of the videos include a discussion of how to use your software more effectively as well as customer case studies and product overviews.

The plan was to get as many videos up as possible, setting an aggressive goal to add videos based on a 2008 Forrester report, “Video and Image Optimization,” that said videos are 53 times more likely to show up in search engine results than nonvideo content, Holcomb said. In 2009, Intergraph added 13 videos, which resulted in 17,600 views. Last year, the company managed to accumulate 35 videos that received more than 54,000 views.

Cross-channel promotion has made the biggest impact when it comes to increasing views, Holcomb said. For instance, Intergraph publicizes the videos alongside webinars and polling questions from the webinars to pique interest. “We've made a special effort to link [YouTube] videos and email videos. We also embedded the videos on our own website and promoted them on the blog. We marketed our marketing,” he said. “We're surprised because video is really the gift that keeps on giving.”

First and Main Business Advisors

2011-02-22T12:04:00.000-05:00

Annapolis Seafood Markets Valentines Day Giveaway 2011 with 103.1 FM WRN...

2011-02-22T11:32:00.000-05:00

Q4 2010 Brightcove and TubeMogul Online Video & the Media Industry Report | Brightcove Blog

2011-02-17T10:22:00.000-05:00

Q4 2010 Brightcove and TubeMogul Online Video & the Media Industry Report | Brightcove Blog

The Dynamic Reality of Online Video

2011-01-23T10:00:00.002-05:00

A report released by Pingdom, a company that offers services to monitor Website and server uptime and performance on the Internet, shows these figures for 2010, which point to the dynamic reality of online video:

2 billion – The number of videos watched per day on YouTube
35 – Hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute
186 – The number of online videos the average Internet user watches in a month (USA)
84% – Share of Internet users that view videos online (USA)
14% – Share of Internet users that have uploaded videos online (USA)
2+ billion – The number of videos watched per month on Facebook
20 million – Videos uploaded to Facebook per month

Online video is rapidly supplanting the more or less traditional forms of online communication, (such as testimonials, white papers, case studies) because it is cost effective to create and deploy, and because more and more consumers are getting their information from mobile devices.

B2B Mobile Marketing Best Practices: Marketers, Your (Mobile) Audiences Need "More Show, Less Tell." - CK's Blog

2011-01-23T09:22:00.000-05:00

B2B Mobile Marketing Best Practices: Marketers, Your (Mobile) Audiences Need "More Show, Less Tell." - CK's Blog

New Video shot for AOL's You've Got Channel by StratDV

2011-01-20T07:45:00.001-05:00

75% of U.S. Executives View Work Related Online Video Content at Least Once a Week!

2011-01-05T09:27:00.004-05:00

A majority of businesspeople surveyed by Forbes in October 2010 said they watched more online video than a year earlier.

Nearly 60% of all respondents said they would watch video before reading text on the same webpage, and 22% said they generally liked watching video more than reading text for reviewing business information. Three-quarters of all executives said they watched work-related videos on business websites at least once a week, and more than half did the same on YouTube.

2010 Digital Trends, Ideas and Technologies (Part 1)

2010-12-30T12:47:00.001-05:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

2010 Digital Trends, Ideas and Technologies (Part 1)

View more presentations from David Carr.

Todd's Dirt Video

2010-12-29T14:44:00.000-05:00

Todd's dirt dec 29th

Todd's dirt

2010-12-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

Todd's dirt

StratDV spot

2010-11-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

StratDV spot

First and Main Client Brian Bays of Brian Bays Insurance

2010-11-12T11:01:00.000-05:00

Business Executives Speak Out On Their Plan For Increasing Use of Online Video in 2011

2010-11-11T09:13:00.003-05:00

Effective Uses for Online Video in 2011!

Tom Nightingale, VP-communications and CMO, Con-way

“Con-way will continue to grow our use of online video in 2011. As we follow our current trajectory in social media we continue to increase uses for online video, ranging from commercial marketing, to recruitment marketing, to internal communications. Our target markets have come to expect richer content, and they increasingly have the bandwidth to match their appetite for online video as a more dynamic form of communication.”

Matt Johnston, VP-marketing and community, uTest

“We're already using video and animation to help tell the story of uTest's crowd-sourced software testing services. We've used video for customer testimonials, product tours, to share presentations and in our blog. But we're just scratching the surface. In the coming quarters, we'll experiment with new and diverse uses of multimedia. When it's done well, video is a more flexible, higher-potential medium for communicating with a b-to-b audience than static text, flow charts or imagery. That said, video is not in and of itself a good idea. Like any other media, it has to serve a purpose, has to be aligned with the audience and it has to be authentic and informative. Ultimately, video is simply another form of content, and the same rules apply.”

Mike Evans, VP-marketing, Approva

“We plan to significantly increase the amount we're spending on video. The stories you used to tell in static images are clearly moving toward video. What we're going to be using it for are ways to tell our story. One example this year is that we created a virtual world called Oneopolis, which is a 3-D city and office, and the people there represent our customers and the people who use our products. We had them tell stories of how they were using our products and how it was helping. We're also continuing with our Control Freak Moment videos. These are 90-second videos that capture things that went wrong that could have been solved with our products.”

Mark Wilson, VP-corporate marketing, Sybase Inc.

“We've seen good success with our video program over the last few years. What started with a makeshift studio has turned into a full blown HD video production facility with a full-time dedicated employee turning out a new video each week. In 2011, we're planning on producing intricate videos that include B-roll, music and motion graphics to illustrate customer testimonials. We want to tell stories in a more engaging fashion, with longer narrative pieces that viewers can relate to rather than watching a talking head. We will also be moving away from Flash to HTML5 to broaden our reach to mobile devices—including the iPhone. Sybase videos will now also be integrated on our Facebook page to leverage social media in addition to the YouTube channel. Finally, we're planning on creating a bumper video to help drive awareness/attendance to our various events.”

No Glasses Needed with New 3D Technology,

2010-11-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

No Glasses Needed with New 3D Technology,

Chesapeake Academy Ahead With Confidence Video by Joe Stephens of StratDV Video Production

2010-11-01T15:54:00.001-04:00

Chesapeake Academy Ahead With Confidence Video

2010-11-01T15:53:00.000-04:00

Miller Dodson Associates, Capitol Reserve Specialists

2010-10-19T12:43:00.000-04:00

Online Video Tops All But Facebook In Social Media Marketing Usage

2010-10-13T09:54:00.000-04:00

Online Video Tops All But Facebook In Social Media Marketing Usage

Synthetic Turf Sports Field Use, Coaches and AD's Speak, Sunny Acres Spo...

2010-10-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

Does it Feel Like a Media Renaissance?

2010-06-17T12:40:00.000-04:00

Does it Feel Like a Media Renaissance?

Corporate viral video

2010-04-14T07:24:00.001-04:00

New Router Technology to Allow Downloads Of Movies In Seconds!

2010-03-17T11:54:00.002-04:00

What Does This New Technology Mean For The Way Small Businesses Will Communicate?

The Terminator it's not, but Cisco's recently announced super router, the CRS-3, may end up playing a bigger role in the future of online video and Hollywood's bottom line than the fictitious cyborg played in the evolution of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career.

Time magazine today said the router, which seemingly got more pre-release hype than Avatar, might in fact be more trouble for Tinseltown than video piracy and offshore P2P sites, and could hasten the end of the DVD.

The problem? It could be too fast, allowing downloads of movies in seconds instead of the hours it currently takes. The router, Cisco said when it was released, could stream every film ever made in less than four minutes. Add to that Google's stated intent to trial 1 Gbps Internet and, Time, says, we could see a disaster flick in terms of the movie business that rivals 28 Days Later, and watch as Hollywood's painstakingly constructed pay wall cracks.

The Motion Picture Association of America has been mum so far on both developments, but Time points out that it fought tooth and nail to kill the VCR and block the evolution of the DVD because both allowed for copying and sharing of movies without the studios getting their cut.

So, perhaps Cisco's claim that the CSR-3 would "forever change the Internet" is less far-fetched than pundits who criticized the hoopla surrounding its announcement knew.

Comment: Even though current broadband speeds are a fraction of what will occur once these Cisco Routers are deployed, they are still fast enough to view full frame rate video. Will small businesses adapt their communications efforts in time to take advantage of this technology?

Base Construction for Synthetic Turf Sports Fields By Sunny Acres Sports Systems

2010-03-17T10:14:00.001-04:00

Online video campaign created for my client SASS to showcase their construction capabilities.

Impact of Video in Online Ad's

2010-03-10T10:06:00.003-05:00

Video In Online Ad's Increases Brand Favoring and Purchase Intent!

Data is continuing to confirm the emerging role and impact of short online video Ad's for advertisers and businesses, as is evidenced from a recent study by the firm Dynamic Logic Data.

Reporter Laurie Simpson notes the follow:

"Rich media ads containing video on average appear to increase purchase intent by 1.16%, compared with a controlled group that did not see an ad. Compare that with simple Flash at 0.26%, and there's a huge difference, says Ari Paparo, group product manager at Google."

Similarly, on the issue of "brand favoring," Laurie notes the following from the study commissioned by Doubleclick:
"
Interestingly, people who see rich media ads on average seem to favor the brand with the video, according to the study. Exposing audiences to one rich media ad with video seem to result in a 2.30% increase in favoring a brand. In contrast, simple Flash shows the poorest results -- 0.15% -- at driving favor for the brand."

Brand metrics were compared for more than 4,000 campaigns across a wide variety of industry verticals through 2008, as tracked via Dynamic Logic's MarketNorms marketing effectiveness database. Campaigns were included in the study if they met two criteria. The first: the assets included at least one of four ad formats: simple Flash, JPG/GIF, rich media with video, and rich media without video. The second: the questionnaire used standard MarketNorms branding questions.

Online Video and Brand Guidelines – Challenges and Tips

2010-03-01T09:41:00.001-05:00

Online Video and Brand Guidelines – Challenges and Tips

Posted using ShareThis

All Signs Indicate Large Growth In Online Video Use In 2010

2010-01-26T14:01:00.005-05:00

Small Businesses And Non-Profits Are Embracing Online Video!

We've followed the growth of online video adoption since early 2008, tracking the usage trends and technology issues, and we believe that 2010 will be the year for online video.

Early adopters of online video are already beginning to note its effectiveness as a tool to increase audience "stickiness" to a website. We previously documented on this blog a research study the found that online video "testimonials" increased response rate by over 200%.

On The Technology Front

Google and other companies are deploying new search technologies and tools that are helping to place video in the forefront of organic search. Online videos that are properly site mapped, indexed, and linked, are showing up with tiny 80x60 pixel thumbnails in a Google search. Usage studies are showing that searchers are much more likely to click on a video thumbnail, then a text string when conducting a search. Finally, 3rd party video hosting sites are providing all manner of sophisticated analytics and metrics designed to help companies what video content is effective and what messages are working.

More To Come

As we move along into 2010, we will continue to show more samples of our online video work as well as the good work of others, and we will continue to parse through the data and trends of online video and supply information specifically relevant to small businesses. So stay tuned!

Web Video Publishing Best Practices and Website Video Tips - How to Add Video to Your Website.

2010-01-25T11:42:00.001-05:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Web Video Publishing Best Practices and Website Video Tips - How to Add Video to Your Website.

View more presentations from Mark Robertson.

New Chesapeake Academy Video Introduction

2010-01-20T10:46:00.001-05:00

A new online video initiative we have created for The Chesapeake Academy of Maryland, that will be part of a social marketing campaign. This is first in a series of videos that will highlight the unique facets of a Chesapeake Academy education.

Sunny Acres Sports Systems goes in depth on Synthetic Turf Sports Field Construction

2009-12-17T11:46:00.001-05:00

Imagine if Television of the 1950's Evolved the Way The Internet Has!

2009-12-09T12:04:00.002-05:00

Excerpt's from an article entitled

"Web Video Production Will Have a Profound Effect On How Businesses Evolve" by Jim Fox of One Market Media.

Imagine if television in the 1950’s evolved the same way that the internet has. What if TV in its infancy was little more than radio with text – much like the early stages of the web. What if television started with many, many channels but they all offered slow text, perhaps a few graphics. Over time, maybe ten years or more the television broadcast networks evolved to allow some blinking graphics, then motion graphics via flash files that allowed you to see moving images accompanied with text. How powerful a medium would TV have been up to that point. Would it have consumed our lives the way it has? Would it become the focal point of our entertainment, our advertising, our news consumption?

With the Internet today we are close (but not quite there) to where television started over fifty years ago. Video is widely viewable today online around the world but the experience varies considerably. That will change over the next few years as good or great quality video will be delivered to any screen you want it on (tv, computer, mobile devise). When that happens this will have a profound effect on how business communicate and evolve. Like the frog in the slowly warming pot of water, many businesses won’t even notice the change.

What makes the impact that much more significant is that all of the televisions are connected, everyone is creating their own television shows and you can watch what you want, wherever and whenever you want. Context is everything and the companies that win in this game will be the companies that can produce contextually relevant video products for their audiences. Content that has real value (not commercials), content that people want to share and content that changes how people see and do things.

Jim's Key Point:

No, text isn’t going away (in spite of the recent pain in the print industry) in our lifetime but we are entering a time where new visual languages, graphic interfaces and video content will change how businesses communicate.

YouTube Automated Captioning and Online Video Strategies

2009-11-23T08:42:00.002-05:00

Automated Captioning Of YouTube Videos Is A Potential Boon To Small Business SEO

New internet technologies in addition to widespread consumer acceptance, are continuing to position online video as a potent and effective marketing tool for all types of businesses and non-profits.

The idea of video captioning is not new at YouTube, but the automatic feature could help to further optimize videos for people searching for content across engines and on YouTube. In theory, video scripts should become more optimized by the keywords in the captions. And while it's a great feature to make content more accessible for the deaf, other benefits exist for companies who are looking to boost their search rankings.

According to Andrew Shotland, owner of Local SEO Guide, a SEO in Pleasanton, Calif. "Having a transcript in the video is huge for SEO," Andrew says "Having targeted text on a page helps the video rank in search engines for specific searches."

Shotland says if the video transcripts work similar to the embeds, the tag that lets people add the video to their Web site, anyone pulling the YouTube video onto their site can also rank for the text.

This may offer another compelling rationale to companies that are evaluating the cost and impact of creating and posting online videos to YouTube for marketing purposes, as text string searches are still the predominant way that sites are ranked.

Additionally, Google announced a feature called Automatic Timing to help video owners add manually created captions to YouTube videos by automatically determining when the words are spoken in the video. Text transcripts are required -- no time codes required -- and Google does the rest.

The Government Online Video Boom

2009-11-11T10:27:00.004-05:00

“It (online video) went from a novelty to kind of a commodity,”

The success of sites such as YouTube has helped online video catch fire in the government sector. According to a report recently posted on Streaming Media.com, the site played a large part in improving people’s perceptions of online video, lending the medium some credibility and soothing government agencies’ fears over adopting it.

So what is driving this streaming explosion?

The economy is one answer. Dave Gardy, CEO of TV Worldwide, Inc., says many government agencies are jumping on the streaming bandwagon to cut travel, elearning, training, and marketing costs. He also says many of his customers that were previously apprehensive about e-conferences have come around to the idea because it helps them save money while increasing their events’ visibility.

“It went from a novelty to kind of a commodity,” he says. “So it’s good enough quality, and the infrastructure’s there, and the IT administrators have opened up the ports and allocated the bandwidth for it, and people are using it more.”

According to the report, streaming video is almost a necessity on every government website. People expect an agency’s website to contain all the information they need, including any forms they may need to fill out. Now, as the web becomes more visual, they are also demanding video of meetings, messages from government officials, and more.

The article notes that online video has improved the DOD’s training and learning capabilities in several ways. First, the agency has introduced web-based tool demonstrations that take viewers from an introductory level to advanced use of a tool, improving productivity. Training videos are also available at any time, so if an employee needs a quick refresher course on how to use a specific tool, he or she could simply watch a video, reducing wasted time and improving efficiency.

Online video has also expanded the DOD’s reach. Because the agency works globally, it must deal with time zone differences and travel concerns, and online video helps to solve these problems.

The article concludes with observations from a broadcast facilitator for online video operations for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Darrell Norton.

“Rather than sending someone a DVD copy of material or a VHS copy or any other format, we can actually point to a direct link in the web stream and send that as a hyperlink, which means there’s no web traffic,” Norton says. “In sending material, there’s no physical material transferred. It allows people to see just the clip that they want.”

All in all, Norton says online video has been a tremendous help to the assembly, and he encouraged parliaments, agencies, and other organizations worldwide to get into the game before it’s too late.

“Having that presence, I think it’s expected now,” he says. “To be working and doing business in the modern world, you do have to have that.”

Distributing Video To The Masses

2009-09-22T11:14:00.001-04:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Distributing Video To The Masses

View more documents from Richard Harrington.

Google's "Caffeine" Moves Online Video To The Top

2009-09-02T11:44:00.002-04:00

Recent proposed refinements in Google's search engine capability, reveals the increasing importance of online video for companies looking to "organically" improve their search listing.

Google, in an attempt to improve the quality of it's search offerings, recently gave the world a preview of what it calls its "next-generation infrastructure," code-named Caffeine.

Multi-variate A/B testing of the the new search offering versus Google's current search production engine, have revealed some tactical tips for webmasters seeking to maximize visibility on the new system, among the most significant findings is how Google moves online video to the fore.

One of the most striking things about Caffeine's SERPs is the increased prominence of video listings, which float into areas of the SERP once populated by image listings (image listings still appear on News Results, however). Why Caffeine has downgraded images in favor of video listings is anybody's guess (results from Google Books also seem to be suppressed); while it's possible that Google is interested in driving more traffic to Youtube, it should be noted that the video listings also link to Veoh, Dailymotion, and other non-Google sources. Obviously, if you have video assets that you haven't brought to the Web, now is the time to do so, because Caffeine is giving them higher billing than ever.

80% of U.S. Online Population Viewed Online Video in July!

2009-09-01T08:00:00.003-04:00

21.4 Billion Online Video's Viewed World Wide in July 2009!

Comscore Video Metrix, a firm that has been following the emerging trends in online video noted that 80% or 158 million Americans viewed online video in July.

The duration of the average online video was 3.7 minutes, while the average online video viewer watched about 500 minutes of video, or 8.3 hours, according to the research company.

In July, Google Sites continued to rank as the top U.S. video property with a record 8.9 billion videos viewed, making up 42% of all videos viewed online. YouTube.com accounted for more than 99% of all videos viewed at the property.

This data shows that the overwhelming majority of internet users, when offered the option prefer to get their information from video. Additionally, the majority of internet users now have broadband internet access that facilitates the viewing of online video.

Further, this data would point to the importance of having a plan for the development and deployment of online video as a business communications strategy!

More thoughts on this subject in the next post!

Baby Boom Generation Shifting Away From Traditional TV, Favoring Online Media.

2009-07-29T11:23:00.003-04:00

New Study Highlights Dramatic Changes Wrought By Internet And Online Video!

As we continue to monitor the changes and developments in the growth and impact of online video, we continue to be surprised at the rapid adoption of this "relatively new" communications medium. A new study just recently conducted seems to indicate that traditional TV viewing is soon to be overtaken by internet video. The implications of this are huge for advertisers and for the entertainment industry as well.

The survey was conducted by polling members of the ChangeWave Alliance Research Network, a group of 20,000 business, technology and medical professionals and early-adopters. ChangeWave surveys this network of members weekly on a range of business and consumer topics, and converts the information into a series of proprietary quantitative and qualitative reports.

ChangeWave said that the vulnerability of TV subscription services is a direct result of the growth of internet video, which is providing a direct threat to traditional TV. More than two-thirds of Boomers (69%) say they’ve watched video content on their computer over the past 90 days and 48% say they’d be willing to pay a monthly fee for a subscription to an internet video service if it provided the same programming currently available on TV.

It would seem premature to suggest that traditional TV subscription services are done, however the more important question might be: "why is internet video viewing becoming more appealing to consumers?" Is it because of the growth of video on mobile devices? Or is it because internet video viewers can "multi-task", watch a video and type out an email? Or is it because the video currently residing on the internet is more directly relevant, and useful than traditional TV?

These are all important questions to ask in the next ChangeWave survey!

New Study Shows Measureable Impact Of Video On Company Website

2009-07-16T11:18:00.003-04:00

Results of A Study By Columbia University

A recent study by Columbia University regarding the impact of website interactivity, and specifically well designed and crafted video observed the following:

1. People were 5 times more likely to review a site when provided with video, over a static text only site.
2. People were 80% more likely to purchase a product or service, when presented with video, over text and pictures.
3. People retained up to 150% more information when presented with video, versus sight and sound alone.

Super Fast Video File Transfer Technology And What It Means For Online Video

2009-06-23T12:30:00.003-04:00

The structural and technological changes that are presenting opportunities for the use and deployment of online video are becoming all most too numerous to mention. Recently a Pew Research Center study noted an explosion in the adoption of broadband usage (now in use by 63% of American adults). Additionally, some 84% of home broadband users see their fast connection as "somewhat important" or "very important."

Now comes word of a new file transfer technology that dramatically increases that speed at which video files can be transferred and downloaded. This new transfer technology is the work of a company called Aspera. Aspera's co-founders' premise is that the traditional approach for moving files, primarily by using FTP ("File Transfer Protocol"), is inherently inefficient because it was optimized for text and used TCP, the underlying protocol that most Internet traffic relies on. Rather than trying to improve FTP or TCP as others have done, they instead designed their own protocol called "fasp" (Fast and Secure Access Protocol). By installing Aspera's fasp software at the file's send and receive points, large files can be sent over existing network infrastructure. fasp can send files 10 to 100s of times faster than FTP (there are charts here that show Aspera's tests).

Aspera has already had a significant impact on powering high-quality video transfers and distribution, but what may still be ahead for the company could be even more interesting. Aspera software could make its way into consumer devices like set-top boxes, gaming consoles, smartphones, etc. The company is in discussions with device manufacturers and service providers, but it is clearly still very early.

Bottomline, the rapid "adoption" of broadband, and technologies like Aspera's super fast "fasp" video transfer protocol, continue to point towards the increasing neccesity of businesses to plan for and develop an online video strategy!

Web Users Dramatically Increase Video Streaming

2009-06-18T07:57:00.003-04:00

Though the audience for Web video is no longer growing at a meteoric rate, Internet users are spending nearly 50% more time each month streaming video content online, according to a new report issued by Nielsen Online.

The new report found that in May nearly 134 million users watched some form of video on the Web, an increase of close to 13% versus the same month in 2009. However, that audience -- representing a majority of the total U.S. Internet universe -- is consuming far more video than a year ago. In May users averaged 188.7 minutes streaming video online, a surge of 48.9% versus last year. The trend that I will attempt to evaluate more closely is to what extent video that drives business is being consumed.

Jungle Medic Guatemala

2009-06-11T13:21:00.003-04:00

This video is part of a planned series and shows the dramatic benefits of networked video technologies in the health profession. The particular application is a remote jungle clinic in Guatemala.

What is the optimal length for your online video message?

2009-06-05T09:57:00.004-04:00

Recent statistics have emerged from a major online video content aggregation site that reveal how long videos of various length are viewed from start to finish. Tube Mogul, a site that automates the posting of video to a number of popular online video sites, conducted comprehensive research recently in an attempt to determine the optimal length of online video content. Given most web content consumers short attention spans it is no surprise that in this case "shorter is better." However instructive this may be for marketing departments, there are still a lot of unanswered questions such as, where does longer form content fit in the sales cycle?

Video In Email--ISP's Are Coming On Board!

2009-05-06T11:23:00.004-04:00

In yet another sign of the growing value of online video as a powerful marketing and communications tool, video's are now being inserted into email messages, and can be opened and viewed within the message.

The technology for video embedded in an email message has been around for some time, but ISP's typically shutdown the capability due to concerns about spyware and viruses. Now however as online video accelerates in use and importance, and ISP's search for additional sources of revenue, video emails have become more palatable.

Turner Broadcasting and Target have begun using a new service that allows them to insert video directly into promotional emails. When consumers click on a link, the video is simply ready to watch.

The system, branded as CertifiedVideo comes from Silicon Valley's Goodmail Systems and has obvious value to media companies -- a la Turner with their appealing video. Turner is using the service for its NBA TV network, while concert promoter Live Nation is expected to also be an early adopter to plug its acts.

Peter Horan CEO of Goodmail Systems observed at a conference recently that: "with streaming video exploding online, CertifiedVideo looks to bring "the best of the Web" to email.

Here's how it works: when an email is opened, the video's sound is off and doesn't start until a consumer opts to view it. A Daily Candy-type outlet can insert video strategically in an email newsletter, while a network may opt to have an email with just video.

Marketers pay Goodmail either on a CPM basis per email sent out, or via a revenue share that could be based on sales of pre-roll ads.

CertifiedVideo is offered via AOL, but Horan said other ISPs will come on board soon. Five-year-old Goodmail, which specializes in email security, is based in Silicon Valley.

Marketers had the ability to embed video in emails several years ago, but ISPs effectively shut it down to avoid spyware and viruses.

Major UK Company abandons TV AD's and move exclusively to Online Video!

2009-03-31T19:01:00.003-04:00

In a stunning move a UK company, Reckitt-Benckiser, the U.K.'s fourth-largest advertiser, plans to shift an estimated $20 million in advertising away from TV, investing instead in online advertising, online video, and leveraging the power of "Social Networks."

The company, whose brands include Lysol, Clearasil, French's and Mucinex, spent less than $1 million in measured spending online in 2008, according to TNS Media Intelligence, AdAge reports. About 90% of its measured media budget has traditionally been spent on television.

Now is the time to focus on online video, because there has been a fundamental shift in consumer consumption and media habits migrating to digital video, according to Marc Fonzsetti, R-B's media manager and internet specialist. "The integration of traditional and digital media is here now," he says. While YouTube started the revolution, R-B wants to be aligned with professional content.
R-B will measure the campaign by combining TV's gross rating points with the web, along with elements like online coupons and click-throughs at some of the brands' microsites. Each brand's audience metrics will then be paired with data from Nielsen's Homescan panel.

Online Video Consumption Behavior: "Snacking."

2009-02-24T20:34:00.002-05:00

A fast growing appetite for Online Video!

In a recent article Dave Jackson Senior Vice President of Grab Networks a company that monitors internet usage, describes internet users consumption of online video as akin to "snacking."

According to Dave: "Video snacking" describes how millions of people are creating viewing habits around quick & consistent consumption of online video. I see evidence of this trend everyday in my work with Grab Networks, based on our server data. And, last month somScore published highlights of its video reporting for November 2008 that support this trend:

146 million people, or 77% of the U.S. Internet audience, viewed online video.
Those viewers watched 34% more online videos than they did last year.
The average online viewer watched 273 minutes of video, up over 40% vs. the previous year.
The average duration of online video is fairly short, at 3.1 minutes per video.
And, the audience viewed 87 videos per month on average, 18 more videos per month than last year.

Dave then goes on to highlight an apparent trend that is emerging among the "fairer sex."

"What is particularly interesting, though, is how women are using video vs. last year. According to the same comScore study as above:

Women watch 41% more online videos than they did last year.
They now watch 79 videos per month on average, up 33%.
They spend 227 minutes watching online video, up 46%.
The average video length for women is 2.9 minutes, vs. 3.4 for men.

Dave believes the explosive growth in online video consumption is more than a passing fad:

"Video snacking is a real trend because online video meets a content need for viewers and is easily accessible to those viewers throughout their day. Marketers and agencies, particularly those that are trying to reach women, would be well served to look for ways to build on this trend to help achieve their goals."

Yahoo to introduce Video Search

2009-02-23T09:47:00.003-05:00

In yet another sign that online video is increasing in its context and applications, Yahoo the number 2 search engine behind Google, has introduced video in its sponsored search section.

According to a recent report by MarketingVox: Yahoo tested Rich Ads in Search for a year with clients like dog food vendor Pedigree. A query for "Pedigree" on Yahoo brings up a pale blue box atop the search results page, where users can click to watch a Pedigree ad.

Other participants in the pilot included Sobe, Pepsi and Home Depot. Yahoo claims some advertisers saw click-through rates rise by as much as 25%, according to The New York Times.

Early last year, a JupiterResearch study found users prefer to have relevant content — such as maps, images, reviews and videos — blended into search results. It stands to reason that a similar media-blending method may increase ad relevance to users within sponsored results.

Cisco Study: Nearly 64% Of The World's Mobile Traffic Will Be Video By 2013!

2009-02-13T15:35:00.002-05:00

New data is surfacing daily regarding the significance, and impact of online video, perhaps no pronouncement is more stunning and thought-provoking then the results of a forward looking analysis by Cisco Systems Inc. the World Leader in Networking, regarding world-wide mobile data growth.

The report entitled: The Visual Networking Index (VNI) Mobile Forecast for 2008-2013, provides key findings on a variety of Internet Protocol (IP) networking trends driven largely by the increased use of mobile broadband applications.

The Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast projects global mobile traffic to increase 66-fold between 2008 and 2013 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 131 percent over that same period.

But perhaps the most revealing prediction in the report is the following:

Nearly 64 percent of the world's mobile traffic will be video by 2013.

According to the report, "The projections reflect a transformation in the fourth-generation, or 4G, mobile Internet that will enable consumers to view more mobile video and access a variety of mobile broadband services."

It's becoming more apparent that small businesses will need to dramatically re-access how they allocate their marketing dollars, and how they plan to prepare for communicating to potential customers searching their website over a tiny mobile handheld device.

2013 is just 4 years away!

Click this link to read the full release

Leading Merchants Are Optimizing And Retooling Online Presence, Video is Largest New Addition

2009-02-13T15:02:00.003-05:00

Further evidence that online video is viewed as a powerful tool for moving online browsers to buyers is seen in a recent release of the 11th Annual Merchant Survey by the e-tailing group, a group that monitors developments in e-commerce.

Lauren Freedman, President of the e-tailing group, said "... we observed merchants pulling out all the stops to rethink promotions, refine search, retool content/information, and reinvent community."

Refining search with the goal of getting shoppers to the right product is a priority, as 100% of the sites surveyed have the feature. Beyond this:

85% of merchants are implementing an in-depth refined search
63% are implementing guided navigation
77% providing landing page sorts

Retooling content augments category, product, and multi-channel efforts via rich and robust enhancements, says the report.

Ms. Freedman then goes on to note the following:

"Detailed product information coupled with rich media gives consumers the confidence to buy."

"Video adds a dimension, in addition to creative treatment with imagery coupled with category-specific capabilities."

The chart referenced above shows the various strategies merchants are using for retooling the landing page for a product. Video represents one of the more prominent changes merchants are making to their sites.

For a more detailed review of this survey click here.

Ok, so what should my video content be about?

2009-02-09T16:28:00.005-05:00

72% of IT buyers utilize online video in their search for technology solutions!

Recently corporate consulting firm TechTarget, and search powerhouse Google teamed up to research the "online behaviors of IT professionals", and in particular corporate purchasers of IT products and services. The results showed an overwhelming trend on the part of IT buyers, towards seeking out video in their search for technology solutions.

The report also found that while 72% of IT buyers search for explanatory video about a particular IT product of solution, only 40% of IT marketers currently offer video on their sites. Clearly demand for explanatory video information on the Internet exceeds supply, the opportunity is rich for savvy marketers to draw more potential IT purchasers to their site with video.

89% of respondents indicated that a 3 to 5 minute demo or product showcase are useful during their search, the #1 response. Given that a product demo content has a longer shelf life than, say, a conference presentation, the potential ROI for putting a product demo video on your website is huge. Truly, this is a situation where you can "set it, and forget it." Other content topics included:

6 to 9 minute Case Studies, 84%
10 to 19 minute Video White papers, 84%
10 to 19 minute Conference Presentations, 82%
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The study also recommended that you focus on comparisons, and to specifically use video with a "comparison" content focus to capture leads on landing pages.

In Summary

Those that are not using video in their marketing efforts today are losing out on an opportunity to distribute their message to buyers who want to consume it. There are several types of video content that IT buyers are looking for on your site, but if you're looking for a place to start - create an online product demo video.

Television versus Online Video: "Lean Back versus Lean Forward."

2009-01-15T10:39:00.005-05:00

Different Medium Different Message!

David Rich writing in a MediaPost article this past tuesday, successfully describes the key factors differentiating video content on television and video content online. He writes:

"The Internet and television deliver two completely different types of user experiences, so it makes sense that marketers continue to search for a video implementation that engages viewers and drives action. Television is a "lean back" medium where people engage when something of interest appears and disengage when they lose interest. Conversely, the Internet is a "lean forward" medium where people are actively seeking out information and don't waste time on irrelevant items. This requires marketers to deliver information in a way that engages and meets users' needs, all on their terms."

David further drives home the inherent value of online video, when he describes what he terms as the "democratization of video production."

"To meet these needs, interactive marketers have turned to a new format of video production. This new revolution in video production is removing traditional barriers that stood in the way of mass video use in online campaigns. Driven by the dramatic decrease in the cost of filmmaking equipment, professional filmmakers around the world now have the equipment, technical and creative ability to produce high-quality video made for the Web. These filmmakers bring an authentic, realistic video style that meets the transparent, information needs of the skeptical online audience. And by reducing the reliance on sets, actors and large production crews, they can create high-quality video quickly and at a fraction of the cost of traditional production. Madison Avenue's expensive budgets are no longer a prerequisite to create engaging, relevant content."

What are the benefits to marketers of this new production model?

"Branding and Direct Response - Online video combines the emotional branding aspects of television and the direct-response attributes of the Web. A recent Kelsey Group study found 55% of people who view a video visit the company's Web site; 30% visit a physical store; and 24% make a purchase as a result of watching."

"Affordability Doesn't Impact Quality - This new production model doesn't mean compromising brand standards. High production values free marketers from the worry of poor-quality content that compromises the brand. Marketers can provide overall direction and creative input while these production network managers handle details like releases and quality control."

"Testing and Targeting - Affordable production costs allow for testing video content and targeting different audiences. Marketers aren't forced to target the biggest pool of eyeballs with generic brand messages. Instead, they can highlight multiple brand attributes that resonate with smaller niche audiences found online."

Point:

"This new production model for Web video presents opportunities to incorporate video in to online campaigns in ways that simply were not feasible before. Marketers can leverage the synergy of rising demand, and video's positive attributes to maximize the effectiveness of their online campaigns."

Online Video Viewing Crowds Out Other Internet Usage Catagories For 2008!

2009-01-09T10:25:00.006-05:00

Respected Internet Survey Shows Online Video Usage Increase By 35% since 2007!

Over 77% of Internet Users watched Online Video in November for an average of 3.1 minutes per session.
Comscore Survey 2008

Just as the economy has gone through rapid transition over the last year, internet usage appears also to be breaking new ground. We continue to follow and report on patterns and trends in the rapidly growing field of online video, as a service to help small businesses, non-profits, (and larger businesses for that matter), prepare for this new and potentially exciting medium for marketing.

While its clear that we are still in the "early adoption" phases of this technology, it seems apparent that consumers are embracing online video, and using in ways that far exceed how standard TV is consumed. As mentioned previously in this blog, its important to understand that online video is no longer the purview of adolescent boys viewing user generated video clips on YouTube. Online video has become a major internal communications tool for much of the corporate world, heavily embraced by the news world, and is becoming a fixture in the world of ecommerce.

If online video follows the trend path of its "technological predecessors" on the internet, its only logical to assume that it will be embraced and used by small businesses in the same way they use email and websites today. Stay tuned for more posts that examine the technology and the utility of online video for small businesses.
Joe

Cable Modem Technology and The Future of Online Video DOCSIS 3.0

2008-12-02T12:22:00.004-05:00

Dramatic Increase In Video Transmission Capabilities with Advances in Cable Modem Technology!

Proposed advances in cable modem technology stands to vastly increase the market for online video. As mentioned in previous posts, we are taking a strong look at the viability of online video as an affordable and effective tool for communications and marketing for enterprises both small and large. Part of our examination has focused on patterns and trends of use by early adopters. In this post we take a brief look at where this medium may be heading, due to planned advances in cable modem technology. Cable Television Laboratories Inc www.cablelabs.com, recently published a project primer on the proposed enhancements to cable modems for the future DOCSIS or "Data Over Cable Surface Interface Specifications",is the acronym for the various iterations in cable modem technology. The Primer noted certain feature "standards" of the upcoming version 3.0:

Support for IPTV (Internet Protocol Television)
Significant increase of downstream speeds to 160 Mbps (Megabits Per Second)
Upstream throughput to a minimum rate of 120 Mbps

Among the benefits of DOCSIS 3.0 the primer observed that, "will allow cable operators to provide data rates in the hundreds of megabits and potentially gigabits per second."

And finally the primer notes that DOCSIS 3.0 will "provide a platform for the evolution of the cable video business into IPTV."

Will Richmond of the VideoNuse blog observes the following: "From my perspective video is the killer application that will drive bandwidth explosion." While that remains to be seen there is no question that online video continues to show promise as a powerful new communications tool both now and into the future!

Online Video Tops Marketing Budget Changes in Tactic in B-to-B Marketing Trends.

2008-11-26T09:00:00.006-05:00

A recent joint survey conducted by Forester Research and Marketing Profs an online marketing research publication, revealed some interesting insights into the nature of recent tactical changes being made by B-to-B marketers to promote their companies products and services. According to the release 462 marketing professionals responded to a survey on a number of questions and issues relating to anticipated and current, "marketing strategies, tactics, budget, attitudes and administration."

Additionally, it was noted that the participants to the survey spanned a broad spectrum of industries, company sizes, and marketing budgets, with 40% having budgets of under $1 million, to 17% indicating budgets of $5 million or more.

The greatest insight from this report in my view is the extent to which companies across the spectrum of size, and industry, are rapidly moving away from traditional marketing tools such as, trade shows, print advertising, and direct mail, and embracing "Web 2.0" media tools such as, online video, podcasts, and search marketing. The table below shows the change in marketing budget by tactic, of particular note is that fact that "online video, podcasts, and rich media" top the list.

The study offers no insights into "how" online video, and podcasts, will be used in a B-to-B marketing strategy, or previous allocations for online media. However, the study reinforces the trend that I have been observing and noting on this blog: online video is increasingly viewed by businesses of all shapes and sizes as an important and viable marketing tool. We will continue to follow this trend in future posts.

InStat Report: Global Market For Online Video will Increase Ten-fold By 2010!

2008-11-06T11:20:00.005-05:00

Online Jewelry Retailer, Jewelry Television(TM) develops more than 20,000 online videos of product for their website www.jtv.com

JTV.com is one of the fastest growing online retailers of fine jewelry and loose gemstones, serving 1.7 million customers and growing. The company has made a major commitment to the fast growing and immersive technology of online video. According to James Thorne, Senior Vice President of e-commerce for Jewelry Television, "no other online jewelry retailer offers its visitors so many product videos, combined with exhaustive product details to fully inform and educate the customer through the buying process."

Thorne further reports that, "Our customers are responding favorably to both the educational and product videos online. We are ahead of the game in online shopping and continue to strive in being a catagory leader."

Online video product displays will be a trend to watch in e-commerce as more and more online consumers have broadband internet access, and are able to consume online video. Additionally, we've noted in previous posts that online video consumption now appears to be spanning all age demographics, and is not simply confined to young people.

Seniors And Women See Online Video As Important Information Tool.

2008-11-03T11:57:00.007-05:00

Younger Male Online Video Viewing Approaching A "Ceiling."

I have been following for the last year studies that are suggesting that online video consumption is not just the purview of young males enthralled by the latest YouTube video, but is increasingly being seen as a medium that is effective across all demographics. A recent study by Ipsos MediaCT's Motion, reveals that the growth in online video use and acceptance is being driven now by "other" demographic groups. In fact, the survey shows that the shift in growth from younger to older demographic groups (the adoption phase) has been very fast when compared to other technologies. The study revealed that, adults aged 35-54 that have recently streamed video online has also shot up from December 2007, rising from 49% to the current 60%.

These findings would seem to suggest that, online video as a medium is becoming far more effective at reaching and influencing demographic groups across the spectrum. The rapid pace at which adoption of this medium has occurred, suggests that marketers have both and opportunity and a challenge ahead as they seek to "re-tool" their marketing strategies to effectively communicate to this new "online media savvy" consumers.

joe

Viral Video and a 500% increase in online sales with "Will It Blend."

2008-10-09T12:32:00.007-04:00

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Market!

Aha moments don't come that often (it took Edison about 8000 Aha moments for the light bulb), but imagine your walking through the office one day and you happen to witness something amazing, the blender your company manufactures is actually blending a 2x4, with seemingly little effort.

As a marketing and sales professional you say, this is something we need to talk up, promote. But wait, we can't afford an expensive national campaign, we're on a shoe string budget what are we gonna do? Can you say "YouTube?"

This is a true and fascinating story of how a small company on a tight budget, with a great product managed to leverage 3 key things: 1. imagination 2. the internet 3. video.

The company has since created a series of "Will It Blend" videos, those videos have been viewed by about 6 million people, and have dramatically increased sales of this and other Blendtec products. Yes you too, can YouTube! (read the story)

Website video testimonials increase click through rate over 200%-Marketing Experiments Journal July 2008

2008-09-20T12:19:00.007-04:00

In a further validation of the growing value of online video as an effective and important marketing tool, a recent study revealed the value of video testimonials as a tool to increase online conversion rates for websites that seek to garner a response through a "call to action.". A multi-variate user study was conducted to test the assumption that customer testimonials (both text and video) increased the conversion rate of customers visiting these sites. The site tested was a Credit Counseling Service that, was seeking to optimize its subscription sign up process. Results were tested comparing both text and video testimonials to the current control page, the results are shown above. The study points out that "full gains cannot be attributed to the testimonials alone, the testimonials were among the most prominent changes to the pages - particularly the video clip" (read the article)

Equipment Rental Company gains national exposure through Online Video Commercial-WSJ.com

2008-09-17T17:06:00.005-04:00

WSJ researched and created an excellent piece that documented how small businesses are beginning to effectively leverage the tool of online video to build recognition, separate from the competition and grow business!

This blog is dedicated to investigating and showcasing how small businesses in particular are using online video as a new market tool, and how online video could well become a game changing marketing tool for the "early adopters" of this technology.

The piece in my opinion emphasizes the need to have quality production values, albeit at a price point more suitable to small business budgets.

The article concludes with this note on the results of implementing an online video strategy:

"Visits to Cresco's Web site soared to about 14,500 a month from 4,000 in less than a year. Managers across the stores say customers comment on the video ads on a daily basis. And while Mr. Smith says its too early to measure any increase in sales, "when people need rentals we're now at the top of their minds." Link to the Cresco video.

Finding Videographers, Producing Quality-AD Age Web Video Report

2008-09-17T14:18:00.006-04:00

Zach Rener of On Networks makes the following instructive point for folks who are trying to determine how to approach a web video project for their business:

"First of all, having a camera and an editing program does not mean someone can (or should) create a show. The art of storytelling is still the most important factor when it comes to producing compelling content, especially for the Web."

Zach then goes on to list some of the best practices from a production standpoint that should be considered, when tackling a web video project (read more).

Rock bands and multimedia innovation

2008-09-13T13:34:00.004-04:00

Multimedia innovation: The future of music?

Scott Galupo an entertainment writer for the Washington Times asserts that "as part of their 21st-century survival kits, rock and pop artists should strive to become freewheeling multimedia brands." He then goes on to examine 2 bands that are currently striving to use multimedia, the web, and video shorts to advance their brand. I believe there is a valuable lesson here for small businesses. In this age of the internet and the growing consumption of online video by all demographics (not just teens and college students), small businesses need to consider establishing there own, "freewheeling multimedia brand." Read the article...

Should you consider web video as a marketing tool?-adage

2008-09-12T15:03:00.004-04:00

Todd Scardoti says: "Clients are aware of online video, but generally don't realize the growth, scale or performance facts."

1. Video is bigger than search: 12 billion videos are watched per month vs. 10.5 billion searches conducted.

2. Video consumption is quickly moving online: 19% of total video consumption is online, versus 11% a year ago.

3. Consumption is high across all demographics: 76% of children, and 44% of seniors watch online video.

4. Video is highest performing unit online: pre-roll (that is video with a short AD clip preceding it) video outperforms all traditional display units on brand lift, brand recall and lift in purchase intent.

These are very compelling stats, showing that online video is proving to be a formidable marketing asset (read more).

More than 142 million US internet users watched an average of 80 videos per viewer in July-Comscore

2008-09-11T13:49:00.004-04:00

Other interesting findings in the report:

75% of the total US internet audience viewed online video
Americans spent a total of 558 million hours watching online video during the month.
91 million viewers watched 5 billion videos on YouTube.com
The duration of the average online video was 2.9 minutes

Cisco projects growth to swell for online video-WSJ.com

2008-09-11T13:31:00.004-04:00

Cisco a giant in the industry is projecting a huge raise in broadband traffic as a result of online video use. Check out this article in the Wall Street journal.

Video is now a "tool" for all

2007-11-28T13:45:00.000-05:00

We are fast entering the age when video as a communications and marketing medium is available to all. The rapid adoption of broadband (said to be occurring at a rate 40 times that of the VCR in the 80's) and the technological advances in quality video production are creating unparalleled opportunities for small businesses to communicate in a way that was formerly only available to large companies with big budgets. You-tube is a new cultural icon that draws millions of viewers each day, in that light this blog is dedicated to discussing and exploring the many ways small businesses can, and perhaps "must" have a video component in their strategic marketing plan.