Jan 06

It’s YouTube – Not YourTube

By Ervin Draganovic Digital Media Trends Comments Off

The moving picture appeal of versus still graphics or written content is progressively influencing consumer behaviours and preferences. While marketers and retailers are becoming aware they need to be scalable when it comes to , most of them are left confused when deciding which video strategy to use. “Let’s just upload everything to , or wait! Should we host it ourselves?” should be an extension of the video strategy, not the strategy itself.

Image courtesy of zeroone.com

With more than 48 hours of content aggregated every minute and over 3 billion video views delivered a day, there is no doubt that YouTube is the most popular . Moreover, while these numbers are most often used in pitches arguing for using YouTube as the primary video destination and distribution platform, the numbers should be put into context for corporate video.

On a philosophical level, placing corporate videos primarily on YouTube is like placing a product on the lowest shelf somewhere in the corner of WalMart, while hoping that your product will get some consumer attention. The total amount of content shared on YouTube creates a high level of disturbance, which removes any hope of creating a controlled content consumption environment.

Additional arguments for not using YouTube as the primary platform are as follows:

  • YouTube is a entertainment platform – not a commerce channel
  • YouTube’s biggest interest is to get people to YouTube.com – not to a company domain
  • Uploading content to YouTube improves YouTube stickiness – not company domain stickiness
  • YouTube is about playlists – not call to action (CTA) opportunities
  • YouTube powered videos are likely to improve organic search results, however the video is linked to YouTube – not company domains where the product can be purchased

Instead of focusing only on YouTube, companies should invest in platforms that will bring exclusive video content propositions to its domain. With the right solution and execution, the video empowered domain can easily boost search engine results, increase stickiness, and improve conversion rates. As consumers continue to increase engagement levels on YouTube, companies should aim at utilizing the platform as a secondary vehicle for its corporate videos, not the focal strategy.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is a platform for brands and content aggregation and syndication platform for publishers. We provide the tools for brands to centrally distribute and manage marketing and PR content across media destinations, devices, and commerce platforms; allowing media partners to automate content acquisition delivering audience and advertising revenue growth.

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Dec 13

Gain Competitive Advantage with Online Video

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, Internet TV, mobile Comments Off

Image courtesy of seoinhouse.com

Regardless of whether your focus is B2C or B2B, is the marketing strategy to be thinking about for 2012. Not only does increase conversion rates, it encourages sharing across web platforms, and creates a more engaging experience .

Recent data from Forrester, comScore, eMarketer and more, show that utilising video in your online marketing strategy creates action and moves the consumer deeper into the sales cycle 52% of the time (business2community.com).  “The combination of moving images, still pictures, graphics, sound, and text…appeals simultaneously to multiple senses making online marketing video the ultimate way to communicate, engage, and capture consumer attention” (Rick Dearborn).

Consider why 60% of business executives state they would rather watch video than read text (Forbes Insight Study, 2010). Because as humans we are visual beings and have an inherent preference for moving objects (Motion Effect Theory, Sundar & Kalyanaraman 2004).  “Due to ’s unique way of grasping the potential client’s attention and educating them on the people behind the products and services, companies that start using video will gain a quick competitive advantage and put themselves ahead of their competition” (Robert Weiss, President of MultiVision Productions).

Think of online video and TV advertising in the same context as far as affect, only far more affordable. Recent research from Google and Ipsos has shown that combining the two actually complement each other very well when it comes to increasing brand recall. However, not everyone can afford TV advertising. In that case, consider replicating your online video onto mobile and tablets and you have yourself a competitive multi-platform strategy. But first things first;  start with the video. “If you build it [they] will come.“

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online . We work with more than 300 brand and companies. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

 

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Dec 06

An Ode to the Power of Video

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, Internet TV, mobile Comments Off

Image courtesy of resonancesocialmedia.com

Recently I have been asked for several sources that document why is such a good marketing tool, so I thought I would dedicate a blog to documenting this trend. By gathering all the good tid-bits of information from the past year, here is an roundup. It includes links to previous posts in addition to external sources that sum up the power of .

Online Video Trending Up: 2010′s online video number review including links to 3 different reports. Here’s a blog-bite: “Consumers favor short form over full 30-60 minute programs, as 42% of video is consumed at the workplace in “snackable,” shortform clips” (YuMe Online Video Attitudes Whitepaper).

The Growth of Branded Content: The beginning of 2011 showed investor confidence in online video as $477 million was raised in Q1 alone, to support businesses focusing in this area (VideoNuze Blog post). Consumers are watching more video, and the industry is acknowledging the trend.

Leveraging the ROI of Video: increases , encourages sharing, and creates a more engaging experience for the consumer, and a blog post by video-commerce.org tells you how to leverage that ROI.

Product Videos Improve Consumer Decision Accuracy: In case you need a little academic theory to back up the trend, read this blog to find out how consumers, as cognitive misers, are drawn to video versus text heavy sites.

Brands that Embrace Video Improve Sales: This post links to case studies of brands like Zappos and Lands’ End who are capitalising on by incorporating video into their online marketing strategies.

Online Video is Content Marketing of the Future: A data-packed post with sources from comScore, Forrester, and Business2Community.com supporting the power of video. “The combination of moving images, still pictures, graphics, sound, and text – with interactivity and devices – appeals simultaneously to multiple senses making online marketing video the ultimate way to communicate, engage, and capture consumer attention” (Rick Dearborn, B2C).

The Secret Ingredient for Engaging Content: Check out a recent case study done by Getty that captures how to create powerful and engaging communication with video, and get introduced to the concept of The Content Graph which is the basis for many future blog posts, and where we see this trend going.

The Role of Brands as Media Companies: Brands like Burberry and Ralph Lauren are leading the trend and utilising their video assets to become more like media companies than designers.

I hope you enjoyed this review of past posts. Stay tuned for more future posts documenting this trend.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online . We work with more than 300 brand and companies. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

 

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Nov 29

To Plug or Unplug: The Internet TV Question

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, Internet TV, mobile Comments Off

It seems only a few months can go by before there is enough buzz to generate another blog about the future of TV. That is, the plugged in, or traditional cable cord version of it. Usually there is fear in the air about whether or not internet enabled TV’s will replace the earlier versions. The answer to that is, most likely…but not necessarily.Image courtesy of penn-olson.com

In The Connected TV Debate, a study done in part by The Boston Consulting Group indicated Millenials, or those in the age group 18-29, are leading the trend with 42% more likely to watch shows on their laptops than traditional TV’s. However, according to the annual consumer consumption study by Frank N. Magid Associates, approximately 50% of consumers watch TV shows and movies , only occasionally (broadcastingcable.com).

In fact, according to this latest study the more alternative platforms used to watch video seemed to increase spend in traditional TV subscription services. This suggests an overall consumption trend, no matter which device is used. According to consumers, 62% of TV shoppers said internet connectivity is an important factor when considering to buy a new TV, with 40% of consumers intending to buy a new TV in the new year (broadcastingcable.com).

With the holiday season upon us, that is word to the wise for TV manufacturers and retailers. Most of which are already on the band wagon, with Samsung being one of the latest that are in final negotiations with , according to the Wall Street Journal. This is not to say that cord cutting is out of the question, perhaps only that it is not immediately imminent.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online . We work with more than 300 brand and companies. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Nov 15

Content Marketing is King for B2B

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, Internet TV, mobile Comments Off

According to 400 marketing professionals is the preferred marketing method for B2B marketers (entrepreneur.com). This was based on a study by HiveFire that indicated traditional marketing strategies such as print advertising, search engine marketing, and PR were not nearly used as often as content marketing.

“In fact, 82 percent of respondents now use content marketing in their programs, which makes it more popular than search marketing (70 percent), events (68 percent) and public relations (64 percent) and over two times more popular than print, TV or radio advertising (32 percent)”  (getcurata.com).

Content marketing defined as “the creation and publication of original content — including blog posts, case studies, white papers, videos and photos — for the purpose of generating leads, enhancing a brand’s visibility, and putting the company’s subject matter expertise on display” (entrepreneur.com).

Marketers aiming to engage customers and prospects, increase website traffic, or even sales are focusing more on content curation efforts. This means finding, organizing, and ultimately sharing content. As mentioned in “The Secret Ingredient for Enaging Content” the content marketing process begins with creating content worth sharing.

B2C marketers are ahead of the curve when it comes to incorporating into marketing plans as video enhances the tangible product experience . It draws the consumer into the message they are trying to communicate. Touch and feel is replaced by entertaining or informative content.

The same logic can be used for B2B marketing, as the same appeal for moving images and graphics versus text applies. Only a shift in the content creative strategy remains. At the end of the day, businesses are made up of people who are consumers. Curating content worth sharing should involve both informative as well as engaging content.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online . We work with more than 300 brand and companies. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Oct 25

The Digital Spend Trend of Brands

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, Internet TV, mobile Comments Off

spending trends are always something those of us in the video space are constantly keeping an eye on. What is the percentage globally, per region, print versus digital, emerging platforms, or ad versus editorial content? Any way you slice it, the numbers seem to be going up in favor of digital. However, a more intriguing trend is the role brands are increasingly playing online.

L’Oreal ad image courtesy of marketingmagazine.co.uk

Case in point: L’Oreal doubled its digital spend in 2010, and plans to spend even more in 2011 bringing digital to 10% of L’Oreal’s total advertising outlay. The fact that they hope to add 1 billion consumers globally over the next 10 years might have something to do with their strategy.  “L’Oreal’s spending is moving to reaching consumers online when they’re evaluating products, using a combination of sophisticated search marketing optimization and original online content aimed at very specific beauty issues” (adage.com).

Another example is Burberry who has increased their digital spend to 60% of its total marketing budget following a successful campaign for their new Burberry Body fragrance. They have extended that to and also plan to take it to TV. A first for the luxury brand (retail-digital.com). As noted in a previous post, Burberry considers themselves “… as much a media-content company as [they] are a design company. ”

As these two examples have shown, no online is necessarily the same, but what is apparent is the use of original, . The placements vary, but the aim is more of a consumer engagement, or interaction-centric approach. Something we here at Preview Networks like to call . Essentially, the management of brand-owned content to a targeted audience distributed across media channels, platforms, and destinations.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online . We work with more than 300 brand and companies. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Oct 18

The Business & Technology of Online Video

By Heather Timmerman Internet TV, mobile, Preview Networks PR and News Comments Off

The only event in Europe to cover both technology solutions and business models for online video is happening this week in London. The Streaming Media Europe 2011 event kicked off on Monday, October 17th at the Hilton London Olympia with pre-conference workshops focusing on everything from next generation media platforms to video advertising and encoding for flash, mobile, and .  Corresponding satellite events on Monday and Tuesday are also available. The Content Delivery Summit is on Monday and Home event is on Tuesday.

The main conference and expo event begins on Tuesday at Olympia Conference Centre and is split into two tracks. Track A covers technology and content and Track B covers business and strategy. Name your topic, they are bound to have it. Preview Networks’ very own Andy Chen is kicking off the day on the Track B Tuesday panel addressing the massive consumer adoption of smartphones, , and connected TVs which continues to be a hot topic in the media and with our customers. The day ends with a corporate messaging and webcasting debate. Can the two co-exist?

Additional session topics on Tuesday include live streaming on Track A and monetisation and video advertising format discussions on Track B. Wednesday check out multiple () discussions regarding architectures and transcoding in the cloud on Track A and discover how to leverage the power of targeting in and engage the audience through social media and on Track B.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online . We work with more than 300 companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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