Online Video Publishing [dot] com

Compare Online Video Platforms with VidCompare

larrykless — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:36:00 GMT

For many businesses, launching an online video portal can be challenging when you don't know what you need to power your video. You may have existing assets and infrastructure, databases, tracking methods, proprietary builds, or you may be starting from scratch. Most companies don't have in-house creative or technical teams, and are faced with the question of build vs. buy vs. free online video solutions. Over the last few years, online video platforms have evolved to provide a wide array of capabilities for businesses as an outsourced video solution for content management, encoding, advertising, syndication and monetization. According to the The Forrester Wave™: US Online Video Platforms, Q4 2009, an evaluation of six leading online video platform vendors, "71% of the US online audience watches video on the Internet, and the number of streams consumed should more than double by 2013", so whether you're a large media publisher or a small retailer, every organization needs a video strategy and online video platforms power video for an organization.

Online video platforms are defined as:

"Online Video Platform Provider (OVPP) - An OVPP is typically a SaaS (software as a service) solution providing end-to-end tools to manage, publish and measure online video content for both on-demand and live delivery. Typical components of an OVPP include video hosting, encoding, custom players, syndication, analytics, as well as interactivity and monetization through a variety of online advertising options typically 3rd-party ad-servers/networks. Most OVPPs offer scalable product packages for both self-serve SMB publishers up to large media companies." (from VidCompare)

With over 74 online video platforms on the market, it can be confusing to decide what platform is the best choice for you. A great place to start is VidCompare, a free comparison service for business decision makers looking for an Online Video Platform Provider. The website is run by Kris Drey, who founded the site that offers "unbiased, and vendor-neutral tools like user reviews, side-by-side comparisons, and detailed provider information."

In this ReelSEO video interview, Mark Robertson talked with Kris talked about three basic ideas - know your use case, kick the tires and have a backup plan - which he expands further in the post below.

Kris shares his 5 tips to get started finding an OVP, originally published on ReelSEO, as Online Video Hosting - Advice for Online Video Hosting Platform Shoppers by Kris Drey,October 30, 2009.

Identify your use case: Publishing, Marketing, Productivity
Are you looking to affordably store a backlog of video content and use it on your web site for general consumption (publishing)? Do you need to increase site stickiness, further expose your brand, and drive new revenue streams and leads (marketing)? Or do you need a training solution for internal use only, with log-in rights, multiple accounts, and security (productivity)? These are only a few use cases for online video but the point is to know what purpose your video serves before you begin to search for the right OVP. Whether you discover it’s one use, a combination of two uses or all three, identifying that is the first place to start. It will help narrow your search immediately.
Make a list of your top 5 must-have features
Based on your use case, you already know what you need from your hosting solution, so make a list. Is it total customization including a branded player and permalinks on your domain, syndication to the search engines and YouTube, deep analytics like user engagement and geo-location so you know exactly where your videos are being shared and viewed, and viewership behavior like drop-off rates and when they rewind or pause a video? Whatever your list entails, you’re lucky, there’s at least one OVP that can meet those needs.
Narrow your search to 3 providers
Once you’ve done your research and compared a handful of providers by looking at their sites, reading customer and expert reviews, and perhaps talking to a few sales reps, choose a few providers that offer everything that matches your use case/s and your top 5 feature list. If you can do this then there’s no need to further your search, just move forward to the next step.
Kick the tires
Most, if not all platform providers currently offer free solutions or at least free trials, even if it’s not promoted on their site (just ask). They may not be as robust as the paid solution or include all the features you need, but you will at least be able to upload, manage, and playback a few videos. The goal of this is to get a glimpse of the logged-in interface to see if the UI is simple and easy to use. You don’t want to choose a provider without seeing their logged-in state. You will be spending a lot of time within this user interface so you’d better be sure it’s intuitive and that you’re comfortable using it.
Here are some questions to think about when test driving a platform:
Is the navigation clear? Can you get where you need to go or find what you’re looking for within one or two clicks? Are all features obviously exposed and readily accessible? If not, move on.
Get a month to month contract.
As previously mentioned, the OVP space is crowded with providers fighting hard for your business. Trust me, they are willing to bend over backwards for you so ask the tough questions, grill them on features, tell them how much you have to spend and that you cannot commit to a long term contract (if indeed you can’t, but some providers offer discounts on longer contracts so be sure to inquire). And while you’re at it, ask them what their migration policy is just in case things don’t work out with them and you need to move all of your content to another provider. You want to ensure that you maintain the rights to your content and that the provider will make a smooth transition for you should you choose to switch.
Online video can do wonders for your business, opening up your world to a whole new dimension in lead generation, brand exposure, and search engine optimization. At the end of the day, this is a strategic purchase decision, one that supports your business and is probably not core to your product offering so take your time, do your homework, and chose the perfect provider for your needs. Online Video Platforms out there and finding them isn’t as hard as you might think.

Videomaker.com - Best Practices for Using a Web Cam

larrykless — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:33:00 GMT

In this short video from videomaker.com, Tom Skowronski shares some Best practices for using a webcam for video sharing sites, video conferencing, and video blogging. While most webcams are very low quality and mainly used for video chat, there are a few simple rules you can follow to get higher quality results.

1. Adjust the positioning of your web cam

center yourself in the camera frame
avoid excessive head room
avoid angle shots, face the camera directly

2. Always try to add additional light

turn desk lamps and any back lights to emulate 3-point lighting

3. Use some kind of external microphone

headset microphones reduce extraneous background noise and reduce echo
audio is more crisp and clear

Easy Online Video Tips - What are the Best HD Video Cameras for Creating Online Video?

larrykless — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:38:00 GMT

EasyOnlineVideoTips.com is a video-based website created by self-proclaimed videopreneur, Hani Mourra, "for those who are interested in learning about how to use online video to significantly boost the success of their business, regardless of the type of business it is." Hani owns a video production company in Toronto, Canada and he produces short video tutorials to share his passion his passion for video.

In this video, he answers a question that is posed by many people, “What is the best digital video camera for creating an online video?"

Hani says,

"I’ve been asked this question a lot in the past few weeks so I thought it would be a great idea to spend some time answering it in this video. Please keep one thing in mind when watching this video..online video is not about the video camera itself, it is about delivering valuable video content to your customers. This will help build a lasting and trusting relationship with them."

His first answer is, "Use what you have", since you can record a video with your webcam, digital still camera that shoots video or video camera. With so many devices now able to shoot video the options are many. But not everything shoots HD or has good audio pick up so he narrowed it down to 3 pocket cameras.

Hani's Top 3 Pocket Camera Choices are:

All three of these cameras have similar features, such as recording time, USB connectivity, built-in software for easy upload, 720p HD recording and both the Vado HD 3rd Generation and Zi8 allow you to connect an external microphone which provides the best audio quality. See his full post: Best HD Video Camera for Creating Online Videos | Easy Online Video Tips.

See this pocket camera showdown on Amazon.com by A. Chandler "ArtistAl...'s review of Flip MinoHD Camcorder 2nd Generation that compares the back-to-back features of all three cameras.

Connect with Hani on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Subscribe to Easy Online Video Tips

Announcement - "Reel" Video SEO Strategies & Best Practices Webinar, February 4, 2010

larrykless — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:57:00 GMT

I'm pleased to announce that my good friend, Mark Robertson, Founder and Publisher of ReelSEO, The Online Video Marketing Guide, the best web site for news, trends, & tips for video marketing, video search engine optimization (VSEO), will be participating in a webinar hosted by Ooyala, titled "Reel" Video SEO Strategies & Best Practices, next week on Thursday, February 4th at 11:00 am PST.

Here's what Mark had to say about the upcoming event, "Video SEO has become somewhat of a buzz word these days for internet marketers and online video publishers alike. Having videos that rank well within search engines is certainly an attractive proposition.However, the true value of video SEO lies in positioning video content in front of a growing number of internet users who are actively seeking out that content using search. Just as with general SEO, Video SEO is about publishing content in a way that follows best practices to ensure and maximize indexability and discoverability. Join myself, Pete Kocks,and Sean Knapp as we discuss Video SEO strategies and best practices.To register for the webinar please click here."

I previously featured one of Mark's most popular posts, SEO For Video – Video SEO Tips & Techniques, which is a collection of some of the more popular video SEO tips, tutorials and guidelines from ReelSEO. This video of Mark is from SES San Jose 2009, where he spoke on the panel session, “The Next Wave for Online Video”, and talked about Video SEO trends and best practices for SEO of video content . Read his post on the session and see his slides here: http://www.reelseo.com/mark-robertson-wave/

I also featured Pete Kocks in this recent post, Video SEO Needs Fast Load Times and a Killer Thumbnail - Pete Kocks, Truveo, which is from a ReelSEO interview from the Online Video Platform Summit. I've covered Ooyala on my blog and spoke with CTO Sean Knapp about his fast growing online video technology company which was named as one of the leading online video platforms by Forrester Research in the report, The Forrester Wave™: US Online Video Platforms, Q4 2009. Ooyala just announced a major expansion into the Japanese online video market through a partnership with NTT SMARTCONNECT. Ooyala also recently announced another strategic partnership with Telegraph Media Group (TMG), one of the leading and most respected newspaper brands in the world. The Telegraph news site, www.telegraph.co.uk reaches over 30 million people and delivers over a million hours of video every month.

Follow ReelSEO on Twitter
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Guest Blog Post: Made to Measure - How to use Online Analytics Tools to Measure the Effectiveness of your Online Video

larrykless — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:24:00 GMT

Made to Measure

By TIMOTHY R. HAWTHORNE

Founder, Chairman and Executive Creative Director

Hawthorne Direct

How to use online analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of your online video

Online video is all the rage these days. Companies of all sizes and across all industries are investing in video cameras and editing tools, making videos and posting them on the Web. What many of those firms don’t realize is that putting video on the Internet without tracking its effectiveness is tantamount to hiring a new sales rep, training her, giving her a customer route and then never checking in with her.

That’s where Web site analytics come in. Defined as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of better understanding and optimizing Web usage, analytics have become a critical element for companies that want to leverage their Internet marketing investments. Analytics are particularly relevant for users of online video – particularly those who want to know if their time and money investments are paying off…or not.

“Companies are looking for a connection to their ROI,” says Chris Savage, CEO at Lexington, Mass.-based Wistia, a provider of video sharing tools for business. “It’s become even more important over the last year, due to economic conditions, and as firms started looking to video as a way to get their messages delivered in a more efficient matter.”

Measuring the Effectiveness

With so many videos posted online, Savage says the next logical question marketers would ask themselves is: How effective is our video? “If you spend $5,000 to make the video, and 10 hours of each salesperson’s time pushing it, then you’ll want to know if it’s worth it,” Savage explains. “The goal is to draw a connection between the video and the investment to figure out what impact this marketing strategy is having on your business.”

That’s where Web site analytics come into play. By tracking a site’s statistics, analytics allow marketers to see how many people are looking at which videos, what sites those visitors are coming from and specifically who those users are. With that information, marketers can measure traffic to their Web sites, understand who’s watching what and tweak their online video strategies accordingly.

Analytics tools range from simple programs that can be downloaded for free online to expensive systems that are installed on existing hardware – and everything in between. One of the most popular is Google Analytics. Free for users, the program takes just a couple of hours to install and configure. The program tracks how often visitors come to your site, conversions across multiple pages, visitor behavior and the percentage of people who click each link on a given page.

Video hosting firms like Wistia also offer analytics tools. Using such systems, marketers can upload their videos and use an application that tracks just how many people actually watch the clips, on which page they clicked “play video,” which videos have the highest engagement rates, how much of each clip was actually watched and at what point the typical user “skipped” to other parts of the show or tuned out completely.

With that information in hand, Savage says marketers are able to craft a clear, concise, effective message that not only entices people to watch the video, but also pushes them to buy your product or service.

Part of the Whole

Analytics tend to work best when integrated into a firm’s overall marketing plan, and shouldn’t be relied upon as standalone tools. “Use the analytics as part of a comprehensive program that address what you’re trying to achieve with your online video,” says Brian Tervo, CEO at Burlington, Mass.-based TIE Kinetix, a provider of electronic, business-to-business collaboration tools, “and make sure that those analytics are aligned with your internal sales and marketing processes. Only then will you be able to tell if a campaign is really working.”

If, for example, a particular video has received a lower number of hits than others on your site, think about how you can improve that clip to make it better for visitors, and get them engaged in the video. Companies that go through this exercise on a regular basis are sure to see increases in their online video ROI.

“It could be as simple as reediting the video or as complex as making an entirely new one,” says Savage, who recently worked with a product marketer that used analytics to hone its video content over time in order to create more effective messages for its customers. “The most important strategy that marketers can use is to look at the videos that they’ll be creating in the future,” says Savage. “Once you’ve come up with that concise message, it’s pretty easy to keep your audience on your site, and engaged.”

That’s good news for marketers who are struggling to attract eyeballs and stand out among the clutter that is today’s Internet. By combining online video with analytics, firms can craft marketing messages that not only call out to customers online, but also keep them watching the clips. The Holy Grail comes when those viewers take a positive action after viewing the clips such as sending the video lines to friends and family, signing up for an online service or purchasing a product.

“We’ve found that Web pages which include video have a dramatically higher conversion rate than those that don’t,” says Savage. “The key to upping those numbers is to constantly improve the videos themselves in a way that solidifies your relationships with customers and keeps them coming back for more.”

Author of over 175 published articles, Tim Hawthorne is Founder, Chairman and Executive Creative Director of Hawthorne Direct, a full service DRTV and New Media ad agency founded in 1986. Since then Hawthorne has produced or managed over 800 Direct Response TV campaigns for clients such as Apple, Braun, Discover Card, Time-Life, Nissan, Lawn Boy, Nikon, Oreck, Bose, the Heifer International. Tim is a co-founder of the Electronic Retailing Association, has delivered over 100 speeches worldwide and is the author of the definitive DRTV book The Complete Guide to Infomercial Marketing. A cum laude graduate of Harvard, Tim was honored with the prestigious "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) in 2006.

Video SEO Needs Fast Load Times and a Killer Thumbnail - Pete Kocks, Truveo

larrykless — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:42:00 GMT

Making video more discoverable through video SEO is key for businesses to maximize visibility, drive traffic to their sites, and reach a targeted audience. Dr. Pete Kocks knows the importance of video SEO, because as President of Truveo, the video search engine site operated by AOL, his company's mission is to improve the quality of video search so that you can always find the right video to watch. Pete spoke at the Online Video Platform Summit on the Optimizing Video Search and Discoverability panel session and in this video interview from ReelSEO he shares two important tips to improving video SEO.

The #1 tip is to make sure your video has a fast load time. This was also noted in a recent TubeMogul report which found that audiences are unforgiving, and more than 80% of viewers abandon the video rather than wait for it to load or rebuffer. Truveo ranks the order of all the major video sites and Pete says,

"We don’t really want to send somebody to a place that is a slow moving site. That’s also true, by the way, for all the major search engines. …It’s very important that the pages load fast…"

Several key factors can play into slow load times, such as player file size, video file size, true streaming vs. progressive download, pre-rolls, network congestion, bandwidth constriction, among others. Be sure to test your video in lower bandwidth environments using several different online video destination sites and platforms to find the optimum video delivery model.

Tip #2 is that you need to have a killer thumbnail, or at least a good one that someone would want to click on. Thumbnails should not be an after thought, but part of your video SEO strategy.

As Pete says,

"If you’re creating a thumbnail for your video, you should spend a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what that thumbnail is. First and foremost, it’s what the user clicks. …"

Tim Street also noted this as tip #3 in his free eBook, 10 Things You Should Do Before You Upload Your Online Video, a check list to better optimize your videos and social media strategy.

Tim says,

"The most important thing in getting someone, who is not looking for your video to click on your video is to have the best possible thumbnail image you can have. For the longest time YouTube and other video sharing sites would not let you upload a thumbnail of the best possible image you have. Now that has changed. Find an image in your video or create one that moves an emotion and upload it. If it doesn't move an emotion don't post it and don't post your video. You will be leaving views on the table."

See the ReelSEO post Video Search Optimization Tips from Truveo, the Video Search Engine for more information and analysis.

Related:

Video SEO is the "Neglected Gold Mine" in the Online Space - Benjamin Wayne, Fliqz

larrykless — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:25:00 GMT

According to Benjamin Wayne, CEO of Fliqz, "Video is fundamentally a marketing tool," and the rules for marketing haven't changed just because you're marketing online. Reaching, building and converting an audience can be done through SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and Benjamin Wayne says video SEO is the "neglected gold mine" in the online space. In a report by eMarketer from earlier this year, over $9.2 billion was spent on search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising (SEM) in 2008. It's estimated that the spend could top $18 billion 2013.

This video interview was conducted by ReelSEO at the Online Video Platform Summit, where Benjamin Wayne spoke on the Redefining Monetization panel session, and was first featured in a post on ReelSEO: Benjamin Wayne of Fliqz on the Importance of Video SEO.

Fliqz just released a new service, SearchSuccess, which is aimed improving the video SEO of its customers. SearchSuccess is available as an add-on to Fliqz's Gold video solution, which is $499 per month. SearchSuccess is an additional $250 per month to the service.

According to the company,

"more than two-thirds of all videos submitted produce a first-page Google search result, and up to 25 percent have resulted in a number one Google ranking."

Benjamin Wayne added,

"SearchSuccess addresses many of the common flaws in existing Video SEO strategies. Many publishers are mistakenly under the impression that submitting videos to YouTube will drive traffic back to their site, or are working with video platform providers whose search engine submission techniques are either ineffective or drive traffic to the platform provider rather than the publisher. SearchSuccess is the first product to ensure search ranking while guaranteeing traffic is directed to the publisher's site."

See this related ReelSEO post on Free Video SEO Whitepaper available from Fliqz:

Video Hosting Platform Finds Success with Video SEO

Corporate Video Is Evolving - Ken Kaplan, Intel

larrykless — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:15:00 GMT

At the Online Video Platform Summit last month, Ken E Kaplan spoke on the panel session, Best Practices Round Table - Online Video Publishing Strategies and Tools, about strategies for using of video as a communication vehicle. Ken spoke with Beet.TV about how he's been helping Intel evolve its use of video. Ken Kaplan is a broadcast and social media strategist and producer in Intel’s Global Communications Group. He helps the consumer and social media team tell stories and connect with online media by producing videos, photos and other online communication. Much of his work can be seen on the Intel Pressroom, Channel intel on the YouTube channel and Intel blogs such as Technology@Intel and Inside Scoop.

Intel is using video for all types of internal and external communications on a global scale. Ken says we're passed the storming and exploring phase into informing and understanding phase with corporate video and social media. Common corporate uses for video, such as interviews and product demos, have evolved with video blogs, multimedia content sharing and other conversation tools.

Here’s an excerpt from the post: Beet.TV: Intel Using Online Video for Corporate Communications

"Intel has been using online video as core communications tool for its many constituents . For a chat about the importance of online video within corporations, we spoke with Ken Kaplan, Broadcast and New Media Manager for the Intel Global Communications Group.We caught up with Ken recently in San Jose at the Streaming Media West show." - Andy Plesser, Beet.TV

Follow Ken E Kaplan (kenekaplan) on Twitter

Guest Blog Post: Creating a Frenzy with Online Video Contests - How to Raise Brand Awareness and Gain Market Share with Online Video Contests

larrykless — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:15:00 GMT

Creating a Frenzy with Online Video Contests

By TIMOTHY R. HAWTHORNE
Founder, Chairman and Executive Creative Director
Hawthorne Direct

How to raise brand awareness and gain market share with online video contests

People love winning free stuff. They also have a passion for online videos. Combine the two concepts into a single marketing strategy known as the online video contest and you wind up with an innovative way to attract new customers, retain existing clients and spread the word about your firm and its products or services.

Companies are already catching onto the video contest trend. Intent on getting more people to slip on its plastic clogs and sandals, Crocs™ Philippines recently launched an online video challenge called “Crazy4Crocs.” It’s an interactive multimedia competition that invites people to showcase their playful and fun side on YouTube and gives them their 30 seconds of fame. To entice people to participate, Crocs is offering prizes that include Canon PowerShot cameras and cash.

Online computer and software retailer Newegg is also working the online video contest angle, having already posted success with the strategy in 2008. This year, the company is inviting college students to record a short video that shows how one would spend the money saved by shopping at Newegg. The videos are then uploaded to the company’s site or a YouTube account. The prize list includes $1,000 to $5,000 gift certificates, home theater systems, game consoles and camcorders.

The fact that Crocs and Newegg are using online video contests to their advantage doesn’t surprise Kris Drey, vice president at Emeryville, Calif.-based custom streaming video hosting service Fliqz. “Now that everyone is comfortable creating and watching online video, we’re seeing a lot more firms designing contests to entice viewers to watch and respond,” says Drey. “The strategy is being used by everyone – from small firms all the way up to the big name brand corporations.”

Not all of those campaigns succeed. Some don’t offer enough of a “reward” for participation, says Drey, while others rely on an unfocused approach that lacks the necessary planning and execution. “If you’re not organized you’ll end up putting a contest out there that doesn’t get any traction, and that doesn’t do anything for your brand,” he explains. “With any type of viral marketing activity, you really need to have a plan in place before you put it out there on the Web.”

Setting time limits and deadlines is also important, lest you end up with a contest that encompasses “everything under the sun” and goes on perpetually. “Let participants know that they have one week to get their videos submitted, and that their files can’t exceed a certain size,” advises Drey, who also encourages follow-up messaging like “You have two days left to submit your videos!” to help nudge participants.

The prizes are also important, and have to be impressive enough to get cybersurfers to pick up their cameras, shoot their videos and upload them to your site and/or YouTube. “You can’t expect to get much response if all you’re offering is a free Microsoft mouse,” says Drey. “If someone is going to put the time into shooting and editing a video, the prize has to be something that people are willing to go after.”

Ariel Ozick, CEO at Newark, Del.-based Internet marketing firm Wired Rhino, concurs, and says the prize is probably the most important aspect of a successful online video campaign. “If you offer a really great prize, or a number of them, and base it on interaction and votes, you'll definitely get a lot more traction from your video contest,” says Ozick. “And don’t forget that people also love fame, and will go to great lengths to be famous, even if it’s just for a few seconds in a video featured on your company’s Web site.”

Big brands tend to run into the greatest challenges when developing online video campaigns, primarily because they get wrapped up in the brands themselves, not realizing that users “don’t care that much, and are more interested in something that’s relevant to them,” says Ozick. Find ways to integrate the brand with that relevant information or offer, he says, and your contest will have a much better chance of success.

Finally, Ozick says the best contests are created with a specific audience in mind, and preferably one that’s “built-in and already rabid about your company.” Crocs wearers, for example, show their support on a daily basis by donning the firm’s colorful, plastic footwear, so why wouldn’t they take an hour or two out of their day to come up with a video that could win them thousands of dollars?

“Unless you’re working with a huge marketing budget, consider the eyeballs that you’re going after with the contest before you spend time developing it and putting it out on the Web,” advises Ozick. “Build an audience first, then institute contest guidelines and monitor the results closely. You may be surprised at the results of this fairly simple viral marketing technique.”

Monetizing Online Video - Ultra Light Start Ups April 2009 Entrepreneurs Forum

larrykless — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:24:00 GMT

Ultra Light Startups™ - New York is an online and in-person resource for entrepreneurs to share advice, contacts, and best practices for launching tech startups as quickly and cheaply as possible. Ultra Light Startups hosts events for technology entrepreneurs by technology entrepreneurs. Events feature pitching, networking and interactive panel discussions. At these events, entrepreneurs help each other capitalize on the latest cost-effective and capital-efficient practices for: monetization, marketing, technology, user engagement & insights, and finance & organizational structures. This hour long video is a candid discussion from Ultra Light Start Ups April 2009 Entrepreneurs Forum on Monetizing Online Video.

Topics covered:

How to most effectively monetize online video and what revenues to expect.
What are the most valuable online video properties right now? What content/audience niches are they serving? What are their revenue models? What technology are they using for marketing and distribution?
What online video ad units are the most effective? Linear (Pre/mid/post-roll) vs. Non-linear (overlays, skins, etc) vs. display ads (alongside an embedded player). Interactive vs. non-interactve ad units.
What are the most commonly used standards for video metrics. What determines the prices of video advertising and what are the ranges being paid now?
What are the different video advertising networks and what differentiates them?
What non-advertising revenue models have been tried for online video? Subscriptions/memberships? Product placement? Affiliate marketing? Live streams? Syndication? Which have been the most successful?
What are the main video hosting/sharing websites and relative advantages/disadvantages of each for monetization?

Moderator:

Jamison Tilsner, Chief Operating Officer of Tubefilter Tubefilter, Inc. (Formerly of Tilzy.TV, LLC)

Panelists (alphabetic order):

Zach Harris, Ad Products Manager at Blip.tv
Paul Kontonis, Chief Executive and co-founder of For Your Imagination
Roger Wu, Co-founder and President of Klickable.TV
Tania Yuki, Senior Product Manager and Video Measurement Specialist at comScore

See their full bios here: Ultra Light Startups™ - Monetizing Online Video

Connect with Ultra Light Startups™ - New York

Twitter , Facebook, LinkedIn, Blog, Videos

New Media Minute - Brightcove CEO on "How to Grow Online Video Revenues by 50%"

larrykless — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:09:00 GMT

Daisy Whitney recently spoke with leading online video platform Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire who shares the secret to success in this episode of the New Media Minute. According to Daisy, Brightcove is profitable and growing revenues 50% year over year.

In a growing market and demand for online video, expanding beyond media business to every company with a corporate web site is the key to continued growth in the sector. A wide range of video applications can be employed by companies for internal and external communications, PR, marketing, training and education, sales, news and information, entertainment and more.

In terms of what people should be thinking about for online video publishing, Jeremy says that, people should focus on the video itself and create compelling content that is consumable and has good production value, clear objectives, audience focus because online video platform providers like his company helps remove the technology barriers to make it easier to publish online video. "Because at the end of the day, " he said, "it's all about the content."

Follow DaisyWhitney (DaisyWhitney) on Twitter

Follow Brightcove (brightcove) on Twitter

Professional Video Publishing Trends: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 1
Online Video Advertising For The Professional Publisher: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 2
The future of online video: Q & A with Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire | VentureBeat

Mashable's Complete Guide to Video Blogging

larrykless — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:35:00 GMT

Last month Mashable published an article, The Complete Guide to Video Blogging by Leah Betancourt which pointed out that while video blogging is not new, it may not be as easy to get started if you don't know what you're doing. The guide attempts to break things down and explores the concepts and tools for creating online video content. There are a number of videos examples and quotes from video bloggers that help reinforce the key messages.

Key concepts for Video Blogging are:

Video Blogging is Still in its Infancy (but there's no signs that the growth will be slowing)
Web Video Puts People on Equal Footing (as opposed to the top-down traditional broadcast TV or subscription model the web creates a direct and interactive channel to reach your audience and transform them into a community through social media)
What Makes a Good Video Blog (the most important points are to have something interesting to say to a niche audience in the most genuine and interesting way with good video production values)
Creating a Video Blog (use the tools available to you but make sure you pay attention to the audio and not just the video)
Distribute a Video Blog (use social sites like YouTube, Blip, Facebook, Vimeo to post your videos to paste the embed codes on your blog and distribute your videos wherever your audience is)

Video Blogging Tips from Robb Montgomery:

Only avoid using a tripod when it is impractical
Be yourself
Avoid trying to copy TV news formulas
Film exciting and visually interesting B-roll
Audio matters for brand identity

Here's a workflow guide for Video Blogging using common free tools from Multimedia Shooter

VideoMaker.com Looks at the History of Online Video

larrykless — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:07:00 GMT

This video is a short documentary from Videomaker.com on, "The History of Online Video" that traces the early days of Internet video and the growth from early video cameras to the evolution of YouTube in 2005.

Check out VideoMaker for Tips and Tricks, and solutions for video production.

Connect with Videomaker

Uncle Nalts' Best Resources for Online Video ‘n Marketing, Farty

larrykless — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:02:00 GMT

Online Video markerter Kevin Nalty (Nalts) is the only career marketer that's a most-viewed YouTube creator. His 800+ online videos have been seen 100 million times online, and on NBC, Fox, CNN, the BBC and MTV. Nalty is writing "Beyond Viral Video" (Wiley, 2010), and consults with leading brands engaged in social media & video marketing (www.NaltsConsulting).

He has published a new "a round-up of some must-read blogs & peeps related to online video, marketing social media, and the shizzle."

His full blog post is here and is reprinted here with full credit to Nalts. Give him some love and visit his website Will Video For Food, and if you're programming a conference hire him to speak about online video marketing.

Best Resources for Online Video ‘n Marketing, Farty

Kelly Samardak covers MediaPost’s Just an Online Minute
Daisy Whitney does New Media Minute and This Week in Media (I was on it Monday and will be on again next week). She has good hair.
Shira Lazar brings us CBS’s new “On the Scene” bringing CBS from 2002 to 2010.
WillVideoForFood (this blog) is written by career marketer and most-viewed YouTube kid Nalts. It’s for marketers and creators, and people that don’t take themselves too seriously. Oh did I tell you I finally got a book deal withWiley & Sons so I can’t procrastinate the book I’ve been promising for 3 years?
ReelSEO is a killer blog about SEO, online video, and marketing.
Steve Garfield is to vlogging what Adam Curry was to podcasting. He’s got a book coming out, but sadly I got axed from the cover.
David Meerman Scott is to digital marketing what The Secret is to self help, and he’s got a blog.
Liz Gannes and the NewTeeVee peeps run the definitive new-media site, which fills the void left by The Daily Reel. Remember Felicia Williams?
Need to know what videos are hawt right now? See Viral Video Chart (select 7 day).
TubeFilter tracks series and episodic content.
TilzyTV does the TVGuide thing for the web. The bro’s know the biz.
Pete Wylie left, but FierceOnlineVideo goes on.
Metacafe’s former content lead writes EyeView (and since he’s a WVFF commenter he gets a gold star)
eMarketer has nice public stats and charts that are eye-candy for people trying to change the world.
Jack Myers is a TV guy with a close eye on new media. The dude is the Trump of the space.
Tim Street is all about marketing & video with a background doing promos for shows.
Ford’s social media guru Scott Monty runs his own blog about social media.
Steve Hall’s AdRants is always good for a laugh and criticism of advertising.
YouTube has a business blog you probably didn’t know exists.
Advertising Week has some nice coverage in its digital section. Abbey Klaassen reports well, and does a nice 3-minute show I TiVo, and Bob Garfield doesn’t hold punches.

Will the iPod Kill the Flip?

larrykless — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:48:00 GMT

Who really needs another gadget that can play music, record voice, shoot video and counts your steps? Well, Apple is believes that we all do and with the release of the new iPod line within the last month that does all that and then some and it may be the next gadget to take over the world. At the Apple media event today, Apple SVP Phil Schiller said that Apple has sold more than 220 million iPods, of which more than 20 million are iPod Touches. Venture reported that:

"Apple’s iPod now has 73.8 percent market share. Sandisk has 7.2 percent, and Microsoft has 1.1 percent, according to market researcher NPD. More than 50 percent are sold to first-time iPod purchasers."

Now with the price drop and additional key features of video recording will the iPod really kill the Flip?

The answer to that really depends on whether consumers care more about quality, cost or ease of use. Newteevee recorded this video showing a side-by-side comparison of the two devices, the iPod Nano or the Flip Ultra SD, and you can see the difference in video quality for yourself.

Steve Garfield also highlighted what he described as Poor Design and Missing Features of the new iPod Nano.

While the new iPhone 3GS first introduced video recording capability it's still not within price range with with its service plan commitment for mass adoption as a video recorder. Either device you choose, the iPod Nano or the Flip Video, will still be an easy tool for you to use for online video publishing.

How To: YouTube Formatting Tags

larrykless — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:39:00 GMT

One of the frequent issues seen with online video is formatting problems in aspect ratio and display resolution. You see a lot of these problems appear on YouTube with video just not looking right. In some cases, widescreen 16:9 video is squished into a standard definition or 4:3 aspect ratio. Or you see 4:3 video stretched into a 16:9 aspect ratio. The standard practice of letterboxing transfers video shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard definition video format while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. Pillarboxing (reversed letterboxing) adds vertical black bars on each side of the video when the player a 16:9 aspect ratio. Windowboxing occurs when the video appears centered in the video player surrounded by a black frame on all four sides of the image.

So how do you fix this problem with new videos or ones you've already uploaded to YouTube?

YouTube developed a series of specific tags you can add to your video that let you to alter the appearance and format of your video when played on YouTube or in an embedded player. You can add these tags before you upload your video file to the site, or you can also add the tags to edit an existing video that you've uploaded to your account in the past. The video's altered appearance will display when the video plays on YouTube, and in embedded players.

To use them simply copy and paste the code of the hint tags below into the tags section of the video you want to fix:

yt:crop=16:9 (zooms in on the 16:9 area, removes windowboxing)
yt:stretch=16:9 (fixes anamorphic content by scaling to 16:9)
yt:stretch=4:3 (fixes 720x480 content that is the wrong aspect ratio by scaling to 4:3)
yt:quality=high (default to a high quality stream, depending on availability)

See the detailed instructions on The YouTube Help page Learn More: Formatting tags

Business Insider: Old Media Still Doesn't Get Web Video, Says Blip.TV Founder Kaplan

larrykless — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:42:00 GMT

Heather Leonard of The Business Insider sat down with Dina Kaplan, Co-Founder of blip.tv, to talk about why old media doesn't get web video and "isn't making inroads into even high-quality user-generated video content."

According Dina, "the issue is twofold: Old media thrived in an economy of scarcity. Video is no longer scarce (as evidenced by this interview). Old media wants viewers to come to their network. New media users want their content to be everywhere; the more dissemination, the better."

This article originally appeared in The Business Insider on Aug. 20, 2009.

About blip.tv
Blip.tv has been leveling the playing field for independent shows since May 11, 2005. Independent show creators are great at making content. We're great at technology, business development, distribution, marketing and advertising sales. It's a match made in heaven.More than 48,000 independently produced Web shows use blip.tv to reach more than 22,000,000 people. We distribute more than 2.4 million episodes from these shows across the entire video Internet and onto television screens across the country. Advertisers like Johnson & Johnson, Warner Brothers and Progressive Insurance advertise with us and we share revenues 50/50 with show creators.

Sorenson Media on Understanding the FLV and SWF formats

larrykless — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:33:00 GMT

In this short video from Sorenson Media blog Technical Support Specialist Jeff Udall provides a short explanation on the difference between the FLV (Flash Video) and SWF (Shockwave Flash) formats and how they work together to create the online video experience.

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If video does not display, click here.

Endavo Media Creates Fictitious Producer Kelvin G. To Help Real Producers Better Monetize Video

larrykless — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:21:00 GMT

Endavo Media, a leading Internet TV and Social Media Platform, has created a fake Hollywood producer, Kelvin G., as a unique case study and marketing campaign to help online video content producers better understand Internet TV platforms, and how best to monetize their video. "He’s a little offbeat. He’s obsessed with zombies, and addicted to his webcam," says the Endavo Media blog.

"While Internet TV platform technology has created a world of new money-making opportunities for producers and broadcasters," said Endavo Media CMO Peter Contardo, "most could still use a little more knowledge to help navigate the space. Our fictitious movie producer, Kelvin G.,is helping educate, entertain and build relationships with our coreclient --the content producer. Kelvin is a fun, educational tool for demonstrating how Internet TV Platforms help grow businesses online with video."

Launched last month, their online and social media marketing campaign targets a wide range of producers, broadcasters and brand marketers aiming to better leverage their video content online, Contardo added.

Kelvin G. interacts with Endavo clients, prospects and other "fellow producers" through his various Web videos, Twitter page,whitepapers and "personal" email, all supported by his own campy, mock movie that called Zombie Truckers 3, and a whacky microsite at ZombieTruckers3.com.

Endavo Media hopes that with Kelvin G.’s videos and his site, content producers will learn to embrace all the new opportunities to grow their businesses online, and have a little fun while they’re doing it. Check out Kelvin's Hot Tips for "Making the Money" with Online Video and learn how smart producers and broadcasters monetize their content online:

Monetizing Online Video

View more documents from Kelvin G..

About Endavo Media:
Endavo Media provides a hosted platform for Internet TV, enterprise video, social media and IPTV. This easy-to-use, cost-effective media management and distribution system offers high-quality live and on-demand delivery of video, audio and pictures. Content is delivered through brandable players, web sites and user interfaces, across the social web and to consumer broadband devices, including portable media players, mobile phones and set-top boxes. Music, entertainment and new media businesses, as well as social, cultural and faith-based organizations, get more control to connect and engage directly with their audiences, build their brands and generate revenue from their online video communities. Headquartered in Atlanta, Endavo Media was founded in 2004 and is now privately-held. Visit www.endavomedia.com for more information.

EQAL CEO Miles Beckett on "Making a Living in Online Video"

larrykless — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 07:18:00 GMT

In another conversation from his blog, Tim Street talked with Miles Beckett, Co-Founder and CEO of EQAL, a social entertainment company best known for creating lonelygirl15 the world’s first online interactive drama. Both he and his business partner Greg Goodrich, EQAL's President and COO, had other jobs a few years ago outside of the video and entertainment industry. Miles was a plastic surgery resident and Greg was an attorney practicing entertainment copyright and trademark law but both had ambitions of working in the technology and entertainment field. They left their careers and worked with Mesh Flinders, an aspiring filmmaker develop the idea that became LG15 which spun off KateModern and led to $5 million in venture capital to expand their offerings with new partnerships with traditional media companies and international brands like Paula Dean celebrity cook from the Food Network, CBS and CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker to explore the digital and social media space through multi-platform interactivity.

Miles says that while it's a tough economy right now the time is ripe for independent producers and talent to create your own intellectual property and build your own brands. He said the important things are story and character, really interacting and engaging with your audience and finding them on every social network that they might be like Facebook and YouTube and bringing them back to your own site to control your user experience. He thinks people will be able to make money through advertising once that market bounces back.