'Net Features : video marketing

Overcoming the Video Hurdle with BizVision

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:35:00 GMT

One of the big problems with marketing through a content asset like video is that you have to actually create the video.

Of course, there's a segment of the digitial media population that is pretty good at that, and you'd be wise to consider tapping into their skillset whenever you can (as opposed to doing it yourself). Fortunately, there is at least one service we've come across that can make that virtual dream a reality.

BizVision, a provider of video-powered online training and professional education services, has announced the availability of a network of professional videographers, trained to provide webcasting and video streaming services on the company's cloud-based video solution. Problem solved!

BizVision provides the infrastructure to stream or record conferences, events and training sessions anywhere and last year alone managed more than 10,000 hours of video webcast events. By organizing these video professionals, BizVision is poised to not only give thousands of video professionals and webcasting technicians some additional work, but make the process of video production for brands all the easier.

With online video established as a preferred medium for distance education and training, BizVision's services and solutions have been optimized for companies and professional organizations that need to enlist only periodic help from video and webcast teams for mandated trainings and professional development, as well as other presentations.

"By being able to provide local production resources in all 50 states, our videographer network helps our clients overcome what has traditionally been a major hurdle in remote video webcasting and recording," said Rob Chipman, founder, president and CEO of BizVision. "Our internal video production expertise has enabled us to fully grasp the intricacies of webcasting and multiply the effectiveness and revenue of our clients. As video has fast become a valuable medium for communication and online learning, we have streamlined the cost and process of capturing live learning events to provide organizations with a single solution."

Brand Inspiration for Video-Focused Web Retailers in 2013

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:15:00 GMT

In 2013, Web Retailers will focus on many things to achieve success - mobile design, search engine optimization, and the customer experience in general to name but a few. It's important to prioritize those digital efforts accordingly based on the needs of your organization as they are fundamental to generating buzz and profits, but another channel should also be capturing retailers attention in 2013 as well as greater financial investment: it's Video, and the top brands are well aware of the channel's importance.

It's not uncommon however for ecommerce merchants to drag their virtual feet when it comes to video. Sometimes that's because of the associated cost (it's not easy to produce high-quality, share-worthy information or entertainment focused video content) so many just don't try. Fortunately, there are an increasing number of powerful software solutions available which make the process of creation, distribution and analysis far simpler (Side note: Website Magazine Associate Editor Michael Garrity is developing a video editor comparison for the March 2013 issue - Subsribe now and make sure you have access).

Video is a powerful marketing mechanism to propel merchants' online retail efforts to new heights - but the time to get started is now. Often, fortunately, all that's really needed initially is a little inspiration. Take a look at ten of the top ecommerce brands and how they're using video today.

Some things that stood out in our analysis was the use of custom profiles, featured playlists, and the integration of social sharing onto the brand's YouTube pages (the only video destination examined).

Not using Video yet? Check out Website Magazine's YouTube Video Basics for Beginners.

Nordstrom

Eddie Bauer

Coldwater Creek

Victoria's Secret

Gap

HSN

American Eagle

Express

Sears

Lands End

Add Subtitles to Online Video

Michael Garrity — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:24:00 GMT

Video is a big part of many online marketing campaigns. However, reaching a global audience with video can be difficult, largely because of language barriers in crucial markets. So, what's the solution?

"Subtitles are a very effective way to broaden your Web audience by conveying the business' marketing message in multiple languages," says Stephen McCluskey, CEO of Vzaar, a video platform company that specializes in providing service to e-commerce sites.

Upon recognizing the potential value of including multi-language subtitles on a company's video content, Vzaar got to work on developing a way to introduce them into its platform, thus enabling e-commerce and online marketers to easily target videos to consumers around the world. This potentially eliminates the need to go back and reshoot or re-record audio for videos set to be distributed globally.

"Subtitles are a must-have for online businesses looking to reach audiences across the globe," says McCluskey.

But Wait, There's More!
There are also some other perks to utilizing subtitles in online videos that may not be as readily apparent. For instance, there are some consumers who prefer reading information over hearing it, or those who may be somewhere where audio isn't appropriate, such as work or a subway car. Subtitles also provide an avenue for these customers to be exposed to a brand's video message.

For users, including subtitles on a video is a simple process, as Vzaar's clients are able to upload subtitle files by clicking an icon in the "video management area" and then selecting the languages they want to include. Visitors viewing the videos will be able to choose the language in which they want to view the content.

Pay-Per-View Video from DaCast

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:36:00 GMT

Self-service live-streaming platform DaCast has integrated a rather innovative payment system (dubbed Pay-in-Play) which is embedded into the DaCast video and audio player. That’s right – consumers will pay inside the video and audio player directly.

As far as I know this is one of the first fully integrated solutions to offer viewers a way to pay for premium content and for publishers to sell media. It’s like Pay-Per-View for the digital media set.

According to DaCast, based on a month long testing from a pool of beta-testers, conversion rates were increased by 233% - not too bad.

The DaCast Pay-in-Play system is currently available now to DaCast users. Broadcasters already using DaCast’s rich monetization features will see the new Pay-in-Play already integrated into their pay per view streams.

Website Magazine Hot Tip: YouTube Keyword Research

Mike Phillips — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT

As online video becomes more prevalent on the Web - on individual websites, social media sites and, perhaps most important, search results - website owners need to know that video is not just a shoot-it-and-upload-it solution. This is content and it needs to be optimized.

Have a look at YouTube's Keyword Tool. It's pretty simple - just add your keyword or phrase into the box and click "Get keyword ideas." You will get a list of related keywords and their monthly search volume on YouTube. This is significant, in that these keyword suggestions will differ than those from a standard search. On YouTube, the content is different, so people search using different terms. These are the keywords you will want to target and use in your video titles, descriptions and tags. Like Google's External Keyword Tool, you can select between Broad Match, Phrase, Exact and Negative.

Another interesting feature of this tool is the ability to search for keywords and phrases by using an individual video's URL. Just copy the URL of the video in question, paste it in the box and you will see a list of keywords and phrases related to that video. This is a nice option to use when optimizing video to make sure your video in the same space as competing videos.

Also, demographic keyword targeting is available. You can select to target males of females within certain age groups and regions, and even according to their interests.

Video is becoming a major part of every Web property's marketing mix. As such, this content should be optimized like any other. Take advantage of this tool, straight from the largest repository of online video in the world.

Flimp Integrates With 20 Email Service Providers

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 GMT

On-demand video marketing provider Flimp has completed its integration of its FLIMP video landing page solution with over twenty popular email marketing services including Exact Target, Constant Contact, Silverpop, Vertical Response, Eloqua, YesMail, Convio and iContact. The complete list of email providers supporting the FLIMP platform can be found here.

Users of the Flimp's video marketing service will be able to create an edit video email marketing campaigns and video landing pages and deliver those messages with their existing email marketing service. But it gets bettter. Users are also able to track and receive reporting metrics on viewer engagement, response and viral video activities by individual email address - something which, to the best of my konwledge, is not offered by any other vendor.

How important is this development? Advertising research conducted by Google and DoubleClick has shown that viewers are 4-7X more likely to engage with rich media and video content than static text and graphics. If you're an email marketer interested in achieving a higher response rates, incorporating rich media and video into your email marketing and messaging campaigns might just be the solution you're looking for.

“We’re pleased that virtually all the major ESP’s have embraced the opportunity to integrate Flimp into their service portfolio,” said Wayne Wall, Flimp Media’s CEO. “We’re transforming email marketing by converting the engagement benefits of rich media and online video into measurable viewer responses and sales.”

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Measuring Video Engagement

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:49:00 GMT

An interesting study released today by Yahoo! Inc., Interpret LLC, Havas Digital, Warner Bros. Media Research, and PHD explores how consumers interact with online video, and how marketers can use this information to drive greater engagement with their target audiences online.

The new engagement model identifies three key measurement variables, including completion of the video (a strong indicator of engagement), attention to content (a strong indicator of passion and the potential opportunity to make an ad impression), and actions taken (before, during, or after watching the streaming video).

It should come as no surprise that high engagement videos are what drive consumer behavior. High engagement levels translate into high satisfaction for viewers, high brand recall for advertisers, a greater inclination for consumers to seek product information, and potentially more money for publishers. According to the study:

27 percent of respondents who remembered seeing an ad searched for more information about the product featured after watching high engagement videos, versus only 13 percent for low engagement videos.
28 percent visited the website of an advertised brand or product after viewing a high engagement video, versus only 10 percent for low engagement videos.
High engagement videos account for nearly half (47 percent) of ad recall.

“This propensity for sharing and ad recall translates into improved viral ‘buzz’ for advertisers and their ads – if they take advantage of online video opportunities properly,” said Liz Huszarik, senior vice president, Warner Bros. Media Research.

Perhaps most interesting was that the study showed spikes in online video consumption among men, women, students and full-time employees during the hours of 12 p.m.- 3 p.m., and then again between 9 p.m.- 1 a.m. Regardless of time of day, one-third of people who watch a video share it with friends, family members and colleagues.

White-Label Jivox Video Ad Platform

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:45:00 GMT

Online video advertising service Jivox has made available a tool for publisher partners interested in white-labeling the service to create and manage advertisers' campaigns on the Jivox platform.

The Jivox Publisher Portal enables publishers' sales and ad operations teams to access and manage their advertiser accounts, enter insertion orders, set campaign pricing, track campaigns and traffic video ads all from a central console. Extensive analytics enable publishers to see real-time critical metrics related to ad performance and ad inventory and to report back to their advertisers.

"We built our new publisher portal so that our white-label publisher partners have a live status of all their advertisers' campaigns and can manage them the way they currently do business," said Diaz Nesamoney, founder and CEO of Jivox. "From pricing and payments to trafficking and reporting, the new Jivox Publisher Portal puts our partners in complete control."

Colorado media publisher Lehman Communications (http://www.lehmanfyi.com/) is the first to adopt the new online video advertising tool. "Jivox has helped us expand our offerings to new and existing customers. The ability to offer video and slide show web ads with audio has been well received by sales reps and advertisers alike. Jivox is extremely customer focused. Our questions are answered immediately and our learning curve was relatively short, due to their attention to our feedback and fast response time," said Terry Emler, ad director at Lehman Communications.