Our New Year's Thoughts: Online Video | Blue Chip Productions

Internet gurus have been saying that Content is King and that video is the King of them all.

I have been waiting for online video to become a mainstream marketing tool for years now.? My first experience with online video was back in 2002 when I took over as CEO for a company that was producing product vignettes for leading e-commerce sites. The business premise was that for each transaction that occurred after a consumer viewed the video, we would get a nice slice of the pie. That never materialized and I had to re-engineer the company before it was sold.

That was over a decade ago and here I am in January of 2013 looking over the horizon to see where video marketing will be this year. According to YouTube, over 8 billion videos are viewed each month. That?s right, 8 billion. We know big brands are leveraging videos and according to a March 2012 report by Outbrain, 87% of US Brand / Agency marketers state that video is their preferred marketing format.

The growth in video consumption has been growing steadily and the main reason is demographics. Those of us in our 40s and older view the internet as a tool for communications and e-commerce, while the younger generation that grew up with internet view it very differently.? When I look back to 2000, the babies born in that year are now 13 and those that were 18 at the time are 31.? For this coveted demographic, the internet is social and online video is the content format they are most likely to view.

In addition, there is a fundamental shift to mobile. Just take a look at all of the advertisements for mobile devices from iPhones to tablets and you will notice that they feature a video. YouTube? states that over 20% of its global traffic comes from mobile devices, representing over 350 million devices accessing YouTube? and growing.? In fact within the next few years, mobile devices will be the primary device for accessing the internet.

So, why are small and mid-sized businesses not engaging consumers using video?? One of the arguments that I hear is that online video is about people streaming movies and shows. According to Bruce Leichtman of the research firm LRG, 66% of online video views are short-format content. If you consider that YouTube is not just a video sharing site, but the 2nd?largest search engine, we have to understand that consumers are entering specific search inquiries that show they are looking for products and services, not just entertainment.

Whether you decide to hire a professional firm to help with your video marketing or do it yourself, keep the following in mind:

Produce videos that help tell your story and not just about your company or products.?Remember that you only have a few seconds to engage them, so focus on quality.

Make sure that you get the videos in front of the right audience.?This means that the videos should be designed based on the channels that your target audiences are most likely to encounter them.

Include a call to action or better yet, an offer. It can be anything from sharing the video with their social media connections or a promotional offer.

I wish you and your business the best for 2013 and encourage to you start using effective video marketing strategies today.

Christopher Chong, VP Sale & Marketing

Source: http://bluechipproductions.ca/uncategorized/our-new-years-thoughts-online-video/

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