A Good Marketing Video--and Why It's Important

Google recently announced a new AdSense product for video. It allows the owner of a website, blog, wiki, etc. to offer video from selected video channels on either a per-impression or a PPC basis. It’s an interesting site feature given what we know about the appeal of video and the stickiness it adds to a site.

What do we know? Recent research by the Pew Internet and American Life project finds frequent consumption and sharing of online video across demographic groups. They also find users unwilling to pay for video content.

Click here to view the complete report.

Even more compelling for marketers is a recent study by Advertising.com that finds viewers taking action as a result of viewing videos.

Click here to view the complete presentation.

The new AdSense product and the research on the impact of video combine to place a premium on doing video well to get your share of audience attention and action. The basic rules for good marketing video can be summarized as:

• Keep it short. Viewers are more likely to watch short videos all the way through. For ads, “short” is 15 to 30 seconds, with 15 being better. For content videos you can do as much as 2 to 6 minutes, but shorter is better.

• Engaging content is key. Remember the Cadbury gorilla? Don’t count on it going viral; only a small fraction of the videos on the web do that. But keep shooting for content that the audience will love.

• Encourage viewers and customers to submit their own videos. It supplements your content (and therefore your $) and they may come up with even more engaging content.

• A reasonable level of quality in production values is necessary for commercial videos. But there may be instances where content or timeliness have priority over slick production.

• Integrate your messages across media. According to Aimee Irwin, VP of Advertising.com, “You must create an integrated and consistent campaign without simply duplicating the same ads across media. Each channel—TV, online video, banner ads, even search—has its own success factors.”

• You’ll need to familiarize yourself with video ad formats. The IAB is a good place to start. Then you’ll want to find an agency that is familiar with both the creative and production complexities of video.

• Ditto for an advertising network that specializes in video. For anything other than a small test you need a network who can deal with a whole host of other issues surrounding the media buy, placement and execution.

• Measure, measure, measure! We are only on the threshold of the video era, and there’s much more to learn.

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