Video: new media’s most effective tool

Make no mistake about it; video can be one of the most effective tools in your new media marketing arsenal. It enhances everything from online versions of newspapers, magazines and webzines, to social communities and blogs. Just consider the popularity of YouTube, which proved the power of video in communicating to audiences we never dreamt of reaching before. And the beauty of the YouTube age is that video doesn’t have to be professionally produced content. In many cases, its better that it’s not overly produced, coming across as more authentic, real life, and conducive for viewers relating to its characters (refer to mypost where I wrote about a clever, low cost way to getting new video content). 

And then there’s the viewership benefits for websites displaying the video. According to research from New York’s DS Productions:

• Last year sites with video averaged 3.53 videos viewed per visit (users watch much more than 1 video)
• Sites averaged 6.62 videos per visitor per month (users come back and watch even more)
• Average time spent per visit: 6.13 minutes
• The average online viewer watched 273 minutes of video in 2008 – up 40% from 2007 [Comscore].

In any marketing or public relations campaign, always try to think of including video opportunities wherever possible, from multi-media news releases and internet media tours, to tie-in promotions and contests. And be creative and utilize video for ads, prototyping, presentations, testing, news, documentaries, interviews, art and humor. For maximum impact, make sure your content is entertaining, enigmatic and engaging. Imbed links into your website and spread the word (or rather the images), and see what happens.