Digital Advertising Trend: Online Video to Dominate, Push TV Out of the Picture

When was the last time you and your family or friends gathered around the radio to listen to a show? Um, ya, I didn’t think so. But people actually did this, and advertisers capitalized on it big time. Then BAM! TV was born. And advertisers picked up and moved to that camp. Well today, we are in the midst of another major media shift to online video marketing. That means a major shift in advertising will follow.

Understanding the Shifting Media Landscape

Sure, TV has reigned king of media for the last 40-50 years. But today, it is in jeopardy of losing that crown. That’s because consumer behavior and preferences have changed.  With over 3 billion views per day, it’s clear that people are continuously becoming more interested in watching Youtube, than traditional TV! And we all know that advertisers follow the eyeballs.

According to a comScore study released in February 2011, 82.5% of the U.S. Internet audience actively watches videos online. Even more telling is the fact that spending for digital advertising is expected to grow 23.3%. In 2012, it is expected to hit $39.5 Billion, according to eMarketer.

The correlation between the amount of time consumers spend with digital platforms, and advertisers’ need to find more cost efficient ways to reach their audience, has triggered a shift from utilizing traditional top of mind advertising  mediums to digital advertising.  Personally, I think we are going to see a huge shift in how businesses reach and interact with their audience in the coming year.

Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at the facts:

TV Ads: You Do the Math

Television became the king of media because it was much more exciting for the audience to be able to see what was happening rather than just hear it on the radio – it appealed to viewers’ senses with sight, sound, color, and emotion. In addition, TV allows marketing teams to reach you directly in your home, where you are most comfortable, telling you what and why you need to buy the next great product.

But there’s a downside to television.

First off, TV advertising is extremely expensive. Because of that, it’s pretty much out of reach for most businesses.  According to a 2010 report released by ADWeek, it costs over $200,000 to run an average 30 second commercial on the FOX network.  ABC and CBS charge over $90,000 for the same. And NBC offers advertisers a “bargain” for $76,000.

So let’s say you want to run an advertising campaign for a new product launch, and you’re thinking that television would be a great fit. What would it cost?

Well as a former TV guy, I can tell you that in order to run a successful television campaign, you need to have your commercial run consistently for at least four months. So if you were to run one 30 second commercial, four times a day, throughout the business week, for a four month period, you’re looking at a bill somewhere between $24 -$64 Million! And that’s before a single spot airs and doesn’t even consider production costs. Go ahead — write the check — I’ll wait.

 

The Next Generation of Advertising: Online Video Marketing

There is a reason why Google, Microsoft, and even the old lion of network television, NBC, are all pivoting their competitive strategies to produce online video content:  It’s cheap. And it works. Other businesses would be wise to follow their lead.

Compared to producing and running a national television campaign, creating an online video campaign is easy to do, extremely affordable, and allows companies to:

• reach new audiences
• efficiently expand brand messaging
• effectively attract and entice consumer reactions by triggering the same senses that television does

However, unlike television, online video marketing provides advertisers with more options to reach consumers whether they are browsing the internet on their personal laptop or smartphone.

And there’s one other key difference between online video marketing and television advertising: consumers love it! As I mentioned, the growth rate for online video views has seen astronomical growth over the past five years.  And according to Internet Retailer, consumers who watch product videos online are 85% more likely to purchase those items.  Wow!

Given such consumer behavior, it’s not surprising that 45% of small businesses are growing their budget for online videos, or that 3D and HD Internet video are predicted to command 46% of Internet video traffic by 2014.

 

The Sweet Taste of Online Video Marketing Success

Let’s take a look at a company that is capitalizing on the power of online video.

Cadbury, The United Kingdom’s 133-year-old chocolate factory, needed to promote their new brand of “Chocolate Charmer” sweets.  So they launched two advertising campaigns: one on television, and one online with video marketing.

So what were the results?  While the two campaigns were initially set-up to complement one another, the online video campaign kicked the TV campaign’s butt! In fact, it drove 20% of the sales associated with the new product launch. And get this – it only accounted for 7% of their entire marketing budget!

The online portion of the campaign returned an ROI of 2 to 1, with the majority of their conversions coming from Youtube Promoted Videos. In the end, Youtube alone increased Cadbury’s reach by 19% in total. That is massive!

Ultimately, Cadbury’s television ads helped the company reached the masses, but their online videos are what enabled them to target and create a whole new audience.

4 Online Video Optimization Tips

Now that you understand the value of online video marketing, you’re probably excited and eager to incorporate it into your next marketing campaign. But before you do, give some thought to how you can make your video stand out in the search engine results. In other words, you need a video SEO strategy. Below are a few tips to help you with that:

1. Have a Catchy Title:   The title of your video is the first thing users will see in the search results. Make sure it is catchy, creative, and grabs your audience’s attention!  But don’t forget about the search crawlers. Try to insert a key phrase or two in the title without making it sound awkward.

2. Provide a Compelling Description:   If you want people to watch your video, you need to entice them to click on it! Use the description to do exactly that. It should specify what the video is about, and point out what makes it interesting/valuable.  It should also have a call to action and a URL that corresponds with what you want a user to do as a next step. In general, the description should be about 250-400 words, and include key phrases throughout.

3. Create a Variety of Tags: You should create at least 10 different tags that are considerate of your key phrase strategy, as well as relevant to video’s messaging.

4. Add a Transcript: To enhance the value of your video, you might want to add a transcript. This great Youtube feature helps you show search crawlers and users exactly what is being discussed in your video. It also gives users a way to jump to whatever section of the video that interests them most. On top of that, a transcript can also help you increase your keyphrase authority, while signaling to search crawlers that your online environment is thorough and well-rounded (search crawlers LOVE competent content).

Again, we are in the midst of a big media shift away from television. Because of its lower costs, and inherent ability to reach new audiences, online video marketing will continue to gain adoption. In fact, I think it has the power to push television clear out of the picture.

Have you tried online video marketing yet? If so, how were your results? If not, share some of your favorite examples here. And tell us why you feel they were successful.