Video on the Web - a marketing godsend

If you would have asked me about putting video on your web site a few years ago, I would have strongly discouraged it. In fact, the subject used to come up regularly back in the late 90's when my firm was at the forefront of Internet development but it was not feasible then. Fast forward to today and everything has changed. There were two huge issues for streaming video over the Internet in years past: slow connections and the requirement that a user has to have a certain plug-in to view the video. Adding to the problem was the existence of multiple standards for on-line video with each requiring a different playback technology.

Of course, broadband has been one of the major factors in the astronomical adoption of Internet video all but eliminating speed issues but another key technology has made video almost universally accessible. Enter the humble Flash application. Several years ago, the major browsers integrated Flash technology in their software - practically eliminating the need for separate software to view animated content. Most video content you see on the Internet is actually not video - it's video converted to Flash. Thus the majority of viewers can access the content by simply clicking the play button. This is the technology originally utilized by YouTube.

Add into this equation mobile phones, televisions with Internet capability, on-line games, and the convergence of the Internet with television networks and video becomes a viable communication medium. In fact an analysis from the Dynamic Logic MarktNorms database shows that video ad formats are clearly more effective than other forms of online advertising at breaking through clutter and conveying messages. But on-line video has valuable capabilities that television doesn't have (yet). Measurement functionality can be built into on-line video content to provide metrics such as how long Web viewers stay tuned in to a video, whether they fast-forward and when they stop watching. Such metrics can help an online advertiser better understand what appeals to audiences.

In February 2008, Internet users viewed 10 billion videos, a 66 percent increase over February 2007, according to comScore, a leading Web measurement firm. Meanwhile, local online video advertising was a $400 million business in 2007, according to Borrell Associates. eMarketer expects that online video ads will pull in $1.3 billion nationally this year. Even better is the news that online video is a very viral activity, creating additional opportunities to build awareness of, and drive traffic to, web sites. A 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that 57 percent of online video users (67 percent of 18-29 year olds) send video links to others and 75 percent receive video links.

If your web site is languishing in terms of traffic and conversion, a short video can liven things up and be more effective in projecting your brand personality. This is especially true for service firms, for example attorneys, doctors, consultants, etc., where customers "buy" the people who provide the service.

I have some personal experience in the power of Internet video. About 10 months ago my son and I produced a short video and put it on YouTube. This seemingly insignificant effort has grown into a full blown commercial enterprise garnering national television appearances for my son, interest from major television networks and thousands of visitors each month to our web site www.enzoology.com. As we continue to produce web video, our traffic to the web site (and sales of DVDs) continue to build at a significant rate. And we have yet to do any search optimization - the growth has been from word of mouth (people forwarding our videos) and social media.

If you are interested in how we've leveraged video to rapidly build traffic contact me and I'll share what we've learned. It's easier and less expensive than you think.

The Cold, Hard Truth About Viral Marketing

Every month I get an inquiry from a potential client who is interested in doing "something viral". If that term isn’t familiar, allow me to explain. According to Wikipedia.com, The term "viral marketing" was coined by a Harvard Business School professor, Jeffrey F. Rayport, in a December 1996 article for Fast Company magazine. It refers to marketing techniques that self replicate – similar to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word of mouth or by Internet but the bottom line is that people pass along the message voluntarily in great numbers.

These potential clients understand that a successful viral campaign would provide enormous visibility for virtually zero cost. Hence the attraction to the idea. Unfortunately, launching a successful viral campaign is not so simple. How do I know?

In the last four weeks, I’ve had a pet project go truly viral. My son’s video show "Enzoology" (his name is Enzo) started as a short video about the Praying Mantis. We put the show on YouTube to share with some family and friends and what happened next was completely a surprise. Within hours, I had 15 emails asking about an Enzoology web site. I quickly responded by building www.enzoology.com and began to monitor traffic. Within four days, my seven year old son’s web site had two thousand hits and continues to attract about two thousand visitors each week. We knew something big was going on when a family recognized Enzo at Sea World.

My theory of why this all is happening so quickly is that the video has something people like – perhaps it’s the cute kid scientist angle, perhaps because of the purity of the content, maybe because Enzo is really good in front of the camera. I don’t know – it was a total accident.

Why 99.999 percent of viral attempts fail

1. It is impossible to predict what will go viral.
Most viral campaigns aren’t really campaigns at all. They are simply a funny and/or obnoxious video or other content that people discover, enjoy and tell their friends. Most were not created with the intention of "going viral". There were made just for fun and had some value to someone. Just because it’s funny to you doesn’t mean anyone else will agree.

2. You don’t have the courage.
By their very nature, companies are not well suited to producing viral campaigns. To have a successful viral program, you need to be truly funny, outrageous, obnoxious, offensive or have some hard to define value that people really like and get jazzed up about. If your CEO is willing to drop his pants at a board meeting, get up on the table and dance like Michael Jackson to the horror of the other board members and you can get it on video, you may have a viral sensation. (See rule #1)

3. It can’t be contrived.
Viral success hinges on being authentic. It must be genuinely funny or pure in some way. People see right though lame attempts at promotion disguised as entertainment. Most companies can’t muster what it takes to be simple and pure. For example, I’ve seen a parody of the TV show "The Office" – it was very well done but it just wasn’t funny. The video spent too much time attempting to promote the company.

4. Before you go viral, go basic.
Most companies that are interested in viral marketing are simply trying to save a few bucks. Usually, upon asking a few questions, it becomes clear that they don’t even have the fundamental marketing and sales processes and plans in place. They are simply reaching for a magic bullet that costs nothing and will generate huge sales. Good luck with that.

I wish more companies could loosen up and have some fun – be outrageous and silly, pure and funny. Business is a serious endeavor but we should never forget that we are selling and marketing to people – not businesses. And people like crazy, funny stuff.