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Straight to video: woo new
customers with the latest short-form ad trend—web videos
Entrepreneur, Jan, 2006 by Amanda C. Kooser
The following
article can be found on eMarketer.com at the link below:
WEB VIDEO is finding
its place as a dynamic medium for content and advertising on the
internet. Sites like Microsoft's Small Business Center (www.microsoft.
com/smallbusiness) feature short clips to woo and inform customers,
and whole TV shows have streamed online as a way of attracting
viewers offline. Growing businesses don't have to go to that
extreme, but video can certainly be an effective addition to any
website.
"All small businesses should be considering web video, but it
depends on what message you're trying to send to your audience,"
says Jeff Stibel, president and CEO of web-hosting and design
company Interland (www.interland.com). The growth of broadband
connections has been a big enabler, but businesses should know a bit
about the technological sophistication of their web users before
splashing video across their sites. "The biggest challenge is to
make sure it doesn't interfere with the user experience," says
Stibel. "Don't use technology for technology's sake."
Content creation is easier than ever before. Businesses can test out
ads, elaborate on their work or products, or show video tips
regularly to keep surfers coming back. An increasing number of
phones and many digital cameras now have the ability to shoot short
clips. Video can be an effective way to get more complex messages
across to your web users and enhance your overall web presence.
Expect the popularity of web Video to grow as surfers become savvier
and internet technology continues to expand their capabilities. Says
Stibel, "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video with
sound is worth infinitely more than that."
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