SOCIAL VIDEO SEEDING

When you choose social video seeding, this is a type of marketing that is made for the social atmosphere. The videos are posted on blogs, social media websites and forums. Paid media, or advertising, isn’t necessarily the main goal here. Instead, the videos are designed to be compelling enough for people to watch and share them through social channels.

Furthermore, these types of videos tend to be subtly branded. The focus of the content is about the consumer experience or some other interesting aspect of a company. Unlike paid media, where people are forced to watch the video, viewers don’t have to watch seeded videos if they don’t want to. Because of this, seeded videos really have to be engaging and include fresh content. The best videos here are those that stretch the envelope and have a lot of personality.

WEB VIDEO ADS

Unlike social video seeding, where the videos are uploaded and can be viewed at any time, users are forced to watch web video ads. These roll (pre-roll video) in the beginning or middle of videos on YouTube, Vimeo and other video-sharing websites, and they are treated much like TV commercials.

While compelling content is always a goal, these types of web videos are often more about branding and advertising. You have to pay for these ads to show up, so organizations definitely want to strongly associate their product/brand with the content.

Overall, the content here is usually less risky, and it tends to talk about benefits more than trying to engage viewers through a story. Companies are often restricted to the 15-second or 30-second timeframes and typically repurpose their existing television commercial ads.

SUMMARY

In the video marketing world, it will be interesting to see how these two types of strategies grow. Both can be very effective, but you should consider your product and message before determining the distribution method. Remember, if your product and audience can benefit from a sense of humor, then video seeding can be very impactful. On the other hand, if you want to be a little more conservative or repurpose other media (i.e., television ads), then web video ads can be a more effective route for distribution.