Research Reveals That Online Video Can Help Increase Retail Sales

By: MediaPost

Video is helping the retail industry to increase sales. Here are the the latest results from Google research:

• According to the recent study YouTube videos about products, along with ads and other content can influence apparel purchase decisions by 57%.
• Google study revealed that product videos can drive 37% of consumers to shop online and 44% at the retail stores.
• It turns out that consumers who used video for product search spent more and shopped more frequently in the last 6 months.
• 26% of consumers ranging in ages from 18 to 34 rely on video to decide the company to purchase from.
• More than one in four apparel shoppers by from impulse. The main shopping drivers are: good deal, latest trends, free shipping and redemption of gift cards.
• 13% added more to the basket to meet the free shipping requirement.
• All categories of apparel show sales growth but dresses demonstrate the highest percentage at 131% year over year.

Read the original article.

Online Video Advertising Tips

TubeMogul shares online video advertising tips they learned from their research in 2012:

• CPM is rising at 2.5% per month. In the first half of 2012 for top tier publishers average CPMs were at $9.93 and in July it hit $10.19.
• Weekend is the best time to buy video ads, as prices remain lower compared to the rest of the week but viewers are still tuning in.
• Larger video players (bigger than 1,000 pixels) saw a 96.2% completion rates compared to 80.1% for smaller players for the same lengths video ads.
• There is no significant difference in performance on comScore TOP 100 sites. The click-through and completion rates are all over the place which means you can succeed at various sites.

Read the full article here.

Video SEO: How To Increase Video Views

Online videos can be ranked higher in search engines if businesses add meta data description to it. Additionally, closed captioning or transcripts of videos can further boost video SEO, which leads to more views.

“Video content is weighted much higher than text content by the major Web search engines – a fact that is a reflection of the growing interest in rich media on the Web. This means that not only are SEO-friendly Web video pages much more likely to be found if they have transcripts, they are much more likely to appear on the first page of a Web search result. This is a reality that is critical to monetizing content online.” – Ramp said in a white paper on compliance with the 21st Century Communications and Visibility Act.

After you spent additional time adding transcripts to your videos, how would you know that it is working? Check your Youtube analytics.  Especially keywords list that drove video traffic. You will be surprised to find the words that were mentioned only in your video transcript. There you will be able to calculate % increase in video views that were driven by adding transcript to your video.

Online Video Advertising Reached Record Breaking Ad Viewership In June, 2012

comScore reported that video advertising reached all-time high in June as 11 billion video ads were viewed and surpassed a record reached in May.

TOP5  video ad properties delivered over - 1 billion video ads:

1. Google Sites ranked first  - 1.41 billion ads
2. BrightRoll Video Network - 1.39 billion ads
3. Hulu - 1.33 billion ads
4. Adap.tv -  1.15 billion ads
5. TubeMogul Video Ad Platform - 1.04 billion

Other stats about ads reached in June:

• Video ads reached 53% of the total U.S. population an average of 68 times during the month
• Time spent watching video ads totaled 4.6 billion minutes
• BrightRoll Video Network delivered the highest duration of video ads
• Hulu delivered the highest frequency of video ads - an average of 52 per viewer

Measuring Online Video Campaign Success Presents a Challenge

The relative newness of online video marketing medium continues to present challenges when measuring performance. In the Brightroll’s “US Video Advertising Report” conducted in April 2012 ad agency executives identified the most important success metrics of online video campaigns.

The most important success metric of Online Video Campaigns:

• 26% – views
• 23% – brand lift
• 22% – sales impact
• 15% – conversions
• 9% – click through rate (CTR)
• 5% – gross rating point (GRP)

The best way to measure Online Video audiences:

• 33.3% – Unique views
• 25.7% – Impressions
• 24.8% – Gross Rating Point (GRP)
• 11.4% – Uncertain
• 4.8% – Other

Some of the areas that advertisers are interested of getting more data are: how video affects offline purchases and how it compares to TV advertising.

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The Most Watched Brands In Online Video In June

By: Imedia Connection

Visible measures published the list of the most-watched brands in online video, across of all their campaigns in June (data: June 1 –June 30).

Here are the TOP watched brands:

1. Google: 24,087,822 views
2. Samsung: 20,777,608 views
3. Nike: 15,477,871 views
4. Microsoft: 12,339,842 views
5. Rovio: 9,129,022 views
6. KLM: 8,359,613 views
7. McDonald’s: 7,999,285
8. Coca-Cola: 7,692,713
9. Barack Obama: 6,604,127
10. Pepsi Max: 6,231,667

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4 Metrics to Measure The Success Of Your Online Video Campaign

By: Imedia connection

How to ensure the highest video ROI possible? The best way to do it is by applying the appropriate video analytics metrics to your online video campaign.

Here are 4 metrics to measure you video campaign success:

1. Average time per view. The longer the viewer watches your video the higher conversion rates will be. Therefore it is important to identify when your viewers are dropping. If you divide the total time spent watching by total number of views you will get the average time spent. The closer it is to the actual length of the video the higher your conversion rates will be. Low ATPV can indicate problems with your video – e.g. loading issues or poor content.
2. Abandonment.  It helps to identify the frequency when video viewers are exiting the most. Let’s say 5% of viewers stop watching at 10s and 20% stop watching at 45 seconds. Clearly, there are some issues with the video at 45^th second.
3. Post-view conversion rate.  Just because people are watching you videos doesn’t mean that they are paying attention to them. The best way to test it is to add action items at the end like click on the link or answer the poll question and calculate how many people took action.
4. Unprompted engagement impressions.  The most successful video campaigns have been the ones that compel consumers not only to watch but also comment, share with friends through social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and etc.

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Online Video Viewing Stats For May, 2012 Reported By Nielsen

The global leader in measurement and information, Nielsen, released their online video viewing numbers for May 2012. Here is the summary:

• 163 million unique U.S. video viewers
• 26 billion streamed videos
• 5.8 hours on average watching online video
• YouTube - the top online video destination, with more than 4 out of 5 viewers streaming videos from their site.

Here is the detailed online video viewing report:

Overall Online Video Usage (U.S.)
	May 2012
Unique Viewers	163,478,000
Total Streams	26,167,111,000
Streams per Viewer	160.1
Source: Nielsen

Top Online Video Destinations by Unique Viewers
Video Brand	Unique Viewers
YouTube	136,075,000
Yahoo!	45,336,000
VEVO	42,025,000
AOL Media Network	25,568,000
MSN/WindowsLive/Bing	24,345,000
Facebook	23,159,000
The CollegeHumor Network	22,892,000
Hulu	15,480,000
Perform Group	11,987,000
ESPN Digital Network	11,394,000
Read as: During May 2012, 136 million unique U.S. viewers watched YouTube video content.Source: Nielsen

Top Online Video Destinations by Total Streams
Video Brand	Total Streams
YouTube	16,535,027,000
Hulu	968,007,000
VEVO	727,354,000
Yahoo!	434,329.000
AOL Media Network	330,693,000
Netflix	300,824,000
Dailymotion	229,428,000
ESPN Digital Network	219,172,000
MSN/WindowsLive/Bing	205,403,000
Facebook	120,535,000
Read as: During May 2012, over 16 billion videos were streamed on YouTube Source: Nielsen

Read the original story here.

Video Production, Where To Start?

Many companies have limited budgets for video content marketing. There are many types of videos that companies can produce – business videos, sales videos, marketing videos, 2D or 3D animated videos. Where does one start if he/she can only produce one video?

Problem/ Solution videos are probably the most effective videos and are a good starting point. The Problem/Solution video production (script writing) formula is pretty simple:

1. Introduce the problem. Open with a problem statement, capture viewers’ attention, especially if that problem happens to them all the time.
2. Show your product/service and how it solves the problem. Show how your product/service solves the problem and benefits. Research shows that the benefits statement is more effective than talking about your product’s features.
3. Call to action. End your video with a well-defined call to action showing where prospects can purchase your product/service.

9 Ways To Perfect Your Sales Video

Interest in video content marketing continues to rise. Here are a few ways to make your video the best of your sales’ tools:

1. Simplicity goes a long way, use that in a video describing your service or a product.

2. Keep it short, interesting and sweet. 60 to 90 seconds is the most effective length.

3. Remember that call to action at the end of the video is vital.

4. Pay a great deal of attention to video’s narration and invest in quality voiceover.

5. Videos complemented by sound effects and good music are proven to perform better.

6. Target your specific audience with 2D and 3D animation or live action in your video.

7. Stay original, funny and edgy.

8. Optimize your video for a search engine and upload a transcript containing your keywords.

9. Simplify your brand messaging and establish value proposition clearly.

Read the original article.

Internet Video Will Quadruple In Next Four Years

By: MediaPost

Online video is set to play a huge role in the quadrupling of online traffic over the next few years. From 2011 to 2016 the traffic will increase due to an explosion of various devices, according to Cisco’s most recent report.

The number of net connections is set reach close to 19 billion – a major increase due to steady growth in smart phones, tablets and other devices. Cisco expects about 1.2 million of video minutes to travel the net every second in four years.

Globally, there should be over 1.5 billion of online video consumers by 2016, a jump from 792 million users in 2011, Cisco suggests.

Computers should only account for 81% of web traffic by 2016, compared to 94% last year and it’s all because mobile handheld devices are turning into the gateway to the Internet for many people.

Can video production companies and video content producers take advantage of that?

Read the original story here.

Online Video Industry Statistics Report of May 2012

By: comScore

Online Video Viewership Statistics of May, 2012

May 2012 Online Video Statistics Summary: 

• 84.5% of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
• 180 million viewers, 36.6 billion videos viewed, 21.9 hours spent watching per viewer.
• The duration of the average online content video was 6.5 minutes, while average online video ad was 0.4 min.
• Video ads accounted for 21.6% of all videos viewed and 1.9% of all minutes spent viewing video online.
• Top 3 video ad networks based on video ad volume: Hulu, Google Sites, BrightRoll Video Network.
• Top 3 Youtube partner channels based on unique visitors: Vevo, Warner Music, Machinima.

Read the original press release here.

Read Online Video Industry Statistics Report of April 2012

The Implementation of Video Content At The RFP Process Continues To Increase

By: Marketing Charts

Data from the BrightRoll’s report – “US Video Advertising Report 2012” shows that video production and advertising budgets are continuing to increase in 2012.  Video content can be successfully used to promote products at the very beginning of its sales cycle –the Request For Proposal (RFP) process. 

When asked if they use video at their RFP process 106 respondents of the survey answered:

-       One third of respondents said that 40-60% of their digital RFPs content include video content (up 9% from 2011).

-       One third of respondents said that more than 60% of their digital RFPs include video content (up 4% from 2011).

-       7 out of 10 respondents identified that digital video production spending could get a more significant increase if clearer ROI metrics could be determined.

Read the original story here.

How To Create A Perfect Pre-roll Ad That Is Not Skipped

By: ReelSEO

Pre-roll ads many times are too generic and completely fail to grab viewer’s attention. The add is skipped most of the time as soon as the skipping feature is enabled. Madagascar 3 chose a different path and is being called the best pre-roll available on YouTube. There’s a time frame of 5 seconds before skipping option is available and in that small amount of time Madagascar 3 animated video accomplished the following:

1. Addressed YouTube audience.

2. Asked a question and engaged.

3. 7 quick paced cuts were shown.

Less than 20 seconds later the audience is addressed with smart call-to-action and simple humor. This 90 second long ad actually ends before 30 seconds but they get their point and message across with this wonderful pre-roll and clever execution of it. And Madagascar 3D animated video pre roll gets shared.

Read the original story here.

4 New Research Studies Point Out Online Video Growth

By: VideoNuze

Four separate research studies have been released earlier this month from video technology providers about a current state of video viewership and monetization. They all point out to video viewership expansion. Here is a quick summary from each of them:

1. Ooyala study reports that viewers spent more time online watching premium content. Videos that are longer than 10 minutes accounted for 50% of all content watched in 2012 Q1, indicating that people are spending more time watching premium long format online.
2. Tremor and Magid study found out that 40% of smartphone viewers watched longer-form videos. 75% interacted with online video ads, 58% of them clicked, visited the website or made a purchase.
3. Rhythm New Media study found out that mobile ads performed well with 89% of completion rates. Viewers watch 50-175% more videos on tablets than on their smartphones.
4. Cisco’s annual Visual Networking Index projects that by 2016 there will be 3.4 billion Internet users with 18.9 billion connected devices in use.

Read the original story here.

The Latest Study Reveals How Video Can Boost Ad Engagement Rates

By: ClickZ

Online video is steadily reshaping the landscape of marketing and is growing even faster than previously anticipated. Medialets suggests that mobile ads with embedded videos are far better received and ad it’s engagement rate improved by 35%.

The average expand rates across mobile environments range from 1.2% for androids to 1.6% for mobile web ads, and Ipads and Iphones falling between 1.5% and 1.3%. The Medialets study showed, that the average user expand time is increased if videos are integrated within ads, and jumps from twenty seconds to over sixty.

Companies and marketing firms are looking for ways to efficiently use mobile rich media and spread their ad campaigns to various device environments as video is becoming a huge part of it.

Read the original story here.

Social Video Views Skyrockets in 2012

By Emarketer

Social sharing capabilities made video the fastest growing ad format online, as viewers promote videos they liked to their network of connections.

In Q1 of this year, English speaking audiences watched 1.3 billion of social video ads, according to data released by social video measurement firm, Visible Measures. It is a 78% rise over Q4 2011 and 72% over Q1 2011. This indicates the rise of the social video ad viewership.

One of the major triggers is Super Bowl as many viewers turn on their TVs to watch them and spread the word about the ones they enjoyed. 

Based on the industry, the most social video views gathered:

• Automotive,
• Community & Activism
• Apparel & Accessories
• Food
• Beverages

Read the original story here.

Online Video Industry Statistics Report of April 2012

By: comScore

Video Ad delivery continues to soar to new heights

April 2012 Online Video Statistics: 

• 84.5% of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video. 
• 181 million viewers, 37 billion videos viewed, 21.8 hours spent watching per viewer. 
• The duration of the average online content video was 6.4 minutes, while average online video ad was 0.4 min.
• Video ads accounted for 20.5% of all videos viewed and 1.6% of all minutes spent viewing video online. 
• Top 3 video ad networks based on video ad volume: Hulu, Google Sites, BrightRoll Video Network.
• Top 3 Youtube partner channels based on unique visitors: Vevo, Warner Music, Machinima.

Read the original story here.

Video Consumptions By Platform Statstics

By: ReelSEO

A recent survey suggests that 34% of adults in the U.S are consuming more video that than last year:

• TV. The report learned that TV is still the most popular device for watching video - HDTV accounted for 66% of adults online.
• PCs. Computers seem to be catching up with 62% laptop and 55% desktop usage. 
• Smartphones. Smartphones are being used by 1 in 3 viewers. 
• Tablets. Tablets account for 17% (1 in 5 consumers). 

Smartphone and tablet usage jumped 10% since 2011. A second screen is becoming a standard as well, with almost 75% of people using both TV and a another screen to consume video. The following is also expected to rise in the next two years. 

So with summer just around the corner now is the time to put your original online content on the web and enjoy the benfits and the opprtunity that comes with it.

Read the original story here.

Aligning Video and TV marketing campaigns

By: Emarketer | Wednesday, May 9 2012

Investing in TV ads along with video advertising is on the rise, as companies seek to expand reach and interact with customers on a broader scale. Possible synergy can appear complicated but marrying the two has benefits in terms of reach and consumer engagement.

• 49% of brand managers think that the most appropriate channel to align Online Video is TV. 
• 62% of marketers think that online video is a direct compliment to TV.
• A study by YuMe and Nielsen uncovered that combined ad campaigns had a 14% increase in reaching the consumers. 

Video advertising is growing steadily and marketers are analyzing trends and technologies, such as real time video and TV connected together.

Read the original story here.