EVOLUTION OF VIDEO TRENDS

Recently, there was an article posted on Yahoo Interpret that discussed the evolution of video and online video trends. The article was a follow-up on a study organized by Yahoo in 2009 that captured the ways online marketers could leverage video for marketing purposes.

The recent article really focused on three basic questions:

• How have online video consumption and viewing habits changed in the last 2 years?
• What type of video content is being viewed and what are consumers expecting to watch more of in the future?
• How does the professional production value of video content impact engagement and ad receptivity?

All in all, there were some interesting statistics gathered within the article. It seems that folks are more willing to watch longer content now than 2 years ago. I think this is mostly due to the migration of content from major networks and other large media companies. But, this is still somewhat surprising.

One of the things that I would like to do in this blog entry is highlight two key findings within the study:

• Video advertising receptivity increases when it’s tied to professionally produced content.
• Consumers show greater engagement to professionally polished videos attached to “mixed media,” like articles.

Essentially, consumers appear to be more comfortable watching content that they feel is produced professionally. They also appear to be more comfortable with the advertising associated with the professional content – probably because they feel it is more relevant. In addition, viewers are more engaged with videos that fit into other online content, such as articles. So, it is definitely important to include some context to the online videos you are distributing on your website. We will do a follow-up article on how videos can be effectively positioned on a website and seamlessly fit into a company’s overall online presence.