Web Video - Don't just be a Spectator

Online video has not been "new" for a long time. While still just a small number of builders feature video on their web sites, online video use by the industry has been steadily growing. However, it still falls far short of overall consumer expectations - both in quantity and quality. Consumer demand for online video has far outpaced what content builders have added. This should be impacting your decision on what content to include in your website, and also how to spend your online ad dollars. Consider some truly sobering statistics from a recent article in Television Week.

"By 2013, American consumers will spend as much time consuming video as they do sleeping... That's the finding of a study from Solutions Research Group. The average American 12 and older now spends about 6 hours per day with video-based entertainment, up from 4.6 hours in 1996. That will increase to about 8 hours in 2013... PC, web video, and mobile video consumption will rise to about 2.9 hours per day by 2013 from just under 1 hour today... Today, the 12-to-24 age group watches [only] about 42% of its video based entertainment on TV..."

So that's a lot of numbers. Here are some key items to pull out of all of that -

• In the next 5 years, the average consumption for web video will triple.
• Today, the younger first time buyer gets 58% of its video exposure from sources OTHER than television.

So how does this affect builders? All of this means that consumers will (and many already do) expect to be communicated with via video. This also means they expect to see video advertisements, they expect to find video sales material online, and they expect to learn about your company, the buying experience, and the owning experience, all through video. This means video should be a part of how you help people find you and learn about you on the web, not to mention how you may be able to reach out to them.

These statistics should change how you think about your next web site redesign, and your next ad budget. It's clear that entering the web video channel is a necessity, especially for the first time buyer or urban professional market - those considered early-adopters of new technology. Those companies who recognize the need today, will surely hit some bumps in the road. There will be less than perfectly quality, or irrelevant content. However, those who begin experimenting today, will clearly be years ahead of those who ignore it altogether.

A soon to come future post will discuss the specific methods in which video programs can be implemented - within your website and network, and in your advertising campaigns.