Less than a decade ago, video content was an afterthought in the wide world of the Web. Long load times, intensely pixelated resolution, and the always aggravating ‘red-light, green-light’ buffering led to an increasingly frustrating experience. At that time, online video was a limited content type being served by a medium that didn’t have the capability or the resources to support it.

Looking at the world now, it’s hard to think back to those times. Today, with the proliferation of broadband and better, higher powered computers; everyone everywhere is watching video all the time (well maybe not everyone, but according to a recent study by Pew Internet over 48% of the adult US internet population watched an online video in 2007).

YouTube is the 800lb gorilla of the medium - offering up unbelievable amounts of new user-generated content every hour. Even smaller video congregations such as Metacafe and Yahoo’s Jumpcut still have lots of random, interesting content for anyone to watch.

I know that if I want to see something I’ve never seen before, I can go to any of these video sites and enter the appropriate search terms, click ‘go’, and most times, I can find exactly what I was looking for whether it’s the Fruitcake Lady or a film on the 1920’s Jazz age.

The public’s desire to be visually appeased is more important now than it has ever been, and that desire can be used to the commercial or non-profit advantage. Many firms are starting to see the wonderful and evil things that online video can do. Video can be used to spread your message to current and potential customers and it can also be used by your opponents to besmirch your products and reputation (search for “Chevy” in YouTube).

Video can be used to inform the public about current issues and can also be used to misinform Americans about the facts at hand. Video has most recently been used by the presidential candidates to help spread their messages and rally voters to their causes and issues.  It has also been used by opposition supporters to smear their campaigns and label them as “unamerican” or “illogical,” or whatever the slur of the day happens to be.

Video is such a versatile content type with the capability to do good or ill will, and should be used judiciously.  Used effectively, it can be a very effective tool for your organization. And don’t forget that with Universal Search - more and more of it is showing up in the natural, organic search listings.

Filed under: Social Marketing on Friday, April 4th, 2008 by Steven Shaefer |
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