The State of Video, Right Now.

By ePublishing

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Have you watched a video today?  Have you performed a search online? Even if you’re not in the world of publishing, it’s pretty easy to see that video plays an integral role in our online culture.  In fact, the Pew Research Center’s 2014 State of the News Media report shows that 63% of U.S. adults watch online video. 

As a publisher, you’ve likely learned that video is a key tool for engagement. In this day and age, it helps you to elevate your content above all the noise, it also increases engagement with ads and it is probably becoming a cornerstone in your approach to mobile.  At the end of the day, it’s increasing traffic and helping to drive revenue.

So, what’s the latest that you need to know? Let’s start with,

Quick Tips:

We’ve given you Seven Tips for Success already, but let’s go over a few more.

Incorporate Keywords into Your Scripts

No, this is not about keyword stuffing. We know that is a flawed approach to SEO.  This is about increasing relevancy of the content. It’s also about helping to optimize your video transcriptions without doing a lot of extra work. 
 
Go Pro
 
Wait a second; we’re not talking about strapping a camera to your head—although that can make for some great video!  We’re talking about using pro personalities in your videos and creating authentic studio spaces or managing dynamic settings with style.  The point? While not every publisher has a huge budget for video, it’s important to create clean, sophisticated and polished videos for your audience. Remember, it’s about developing relationships and sharing your expertise. You don’t want to lose them with shoddy sound quality and other distractions.

Want an example? 

Conde Nast released its digital video arm earlier this year: Condé Nast Entertainment.

Gawker rolled out its Studio Showcase.

But you don’t have to go that big to be successful.  Start with an effort like Premier Guitar’s native campaign, in partnership with online retailer, Sweetwater. The two co-hosted a program that discussed the best products introduced at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show. The video segments maximized the holistic approach of ePublishing’s Enterprise Publishing System and incorporated links to pages on each product and to Sweetwater’s eCommerce site. The videos enjoyed over 200,000 views and Sweetwater saw a 50% increase in sales during that time.

Do Not Ignore Mobile

Yes, you know about responsive design. So, we won’t go on about it. But, it’s important to look at it in the context of video.  Tablet usage is growing and along with video, you’ve got something to pay attention to:

According to recent statistics, in 2014, 113.4 million US tablet users will watch video programming on their devices, on a monthly basis, at least (that’s 77% of all tablet users).  But it’s not limited to tablets. The number of video watchers on smartphones is also growing—to at least 125.4 million in 2018.

With numbers like these, projections have tablets owning online video in the future, over desktops and laptops. However, it’s important not to ignore how ad spending still leans intensely toward online video.  The point? Video and responsive design are a winning combination.

ePublishing’s SaaS model for Enterprise Publishing is all about innovating to respond to industry changes and our client’s needs.  Our recent updates to our platform’s video features heed the call, by giving our clients:

  • Sharper, bigger formats and;
  • The ability to choose what ads appear on their video pages.

The result? Better engagement with their readers and more effective targeting of ads and video content.

And you thought videos were just for MTV.