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Making Leaders Successful Every Day July 24, 2009 The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries by Bobby Tulsiani for Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
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Making Leaders Successful Every Day
July 24, 2009
The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industriesby Bobby Tulsianifor Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
© 2009, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®, Technographics®, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. To purchase reprints of this document, please email [email protected]. For additional information, go to www.forrester.com.
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
ExECuTIVE SummAryToday, 71% of the US online audience watches video on the Internet, and the number of streams consumed should more than double by 2013. An explosion of video content from users, professional studios, and marketers is driving this growth. In this second report in our video strategy series, Forrester has identified the best and worst practices in online video across industries.
TABlE OF COnTEnTSOnline Video Is Being Used Across Industries
The Worst Practices In Online Video
A Checklist For Implementing Online Video
rECOmmEndATIOnS
Maximize ROI For Your Online Video Efforts
nOTES & rESOurCESForrester surveyed a sample of Web sites from across industries to determine the best and worst practices from each.
Related Research Documents“Five rules To drive Video Traffic”march 9, 2009
“monetizing Video In Social networks”February 5, 2009
July 24, 2009
The Best Practices In Online Video Across IndustriesThis is the second document in the “Video Strategy” series.
by Bobby Tulsianiwith mark mulligan and Erik Hood
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© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction ProhibitedJuly 24, 2009
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OnlInE VIDEO IS BEInG USED ACROSS InDUSTRIES
Online video is no longer the exclusive domain of user-generated content and TV sites. From financial services to government, all industries are incorporating video into their Web experiences. While the original business case for online video in the media industry focused on advertising revenues, these latest industries are employing video on their Web sites to accomplish a number of different business goals:
· Communication. Video represents the most powerful medium for communicating a message to constituents and consumers. Government officials and CEOs alike have used online video to quickly get a message in front of audiences. President Obama used video messages throughout his 2008 campaign and continues to employ them in the White House to communicate policy decisions (see Figure 1).
· Sales. Like images, video can help lower barriers to purchasing online. Video in sales environments can range from a simple clip highlighting different views of a product to a complex, original feature that demonstrates the benefits of the product. For example, InterContinental Hotels features video concierge tours on its hotel Web sites (see Figure 2).
· Lead generation. Items that are less likely to lead to online transactions, such as cars or financial service packages, can use video for lead generation. Merrill Lynch has a series of customer testimonial videos about working with financial advisors on topics such as retirement and estate planning (see Figure 3).
· Customer service. Organizations can look to the cost side as well when employing online video. Several industry categories, such as consumer electronics and computer hardware/software, can use online video as a self-service customer channel. For example, Dell has created an entire video portal that offers “tech tips” videos for the consumer, small business, and IT professional segments (see Figure 4).
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009
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Figure 1 President Obama uses Video To Communicate Policy decisions
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 53772
Source: Organizing for America Web site
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction ProhibitedJuly 24, 2009
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Figure 2 InterContinental Hotels drives reservations With Video
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 53772
Source: InterContinental Hotels Group Web site
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009
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Figure 3 merrill lynch uses Customer Testimonial Videos For Financial Products
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 53772
Source: Merrill Lynch Web site
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction ProhibitedJuly 24, 2009
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Figure 4 dell uses Video For Customer Self-Service
ThE WORST PRACTICES In OnlInE VIDEO
Business goals for online video are only half the story. Far too often, organizations create video experiences that are isolated, obtrusive, and barricaded. Companies and organizations looking to use online video must avoid the following pitfalls:
· Isolated experiences. Too often, online video is isolated in a Web site’s “video” section or placed in an in an entirely new and separate “.tv” domain. Rather than sending users off to a disconnected experience, organizations should seek to integrate video into the natural path of the consumer. Just like images, video should be placed contextually alongside related content and text to provide a full multimedia experience.
· Obtrusive experiences. Users will reject video experiences that automatically start playing (particularly with sound) or that launch pop-up players that interfere with the user’s expected navigation mode. Even in circumstances where a pop-up player or auto-play may be appropriate, firms should include messaging that alerts the user to the pop-up and provide volume controls.
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 53772
Source: Dell Web site
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009
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· Barricaded experiences. Far too many Web sites construct barriers that require users to download new software, register, or sign in before viewing a video. While users may accept such experiences for premium entertainment, such as TV shows and movies, auto manufacturers should not expect users to register just to view a car commercial.
A ChECklIST FOR IMPlEMEnTInG OnlInE VIDEO
Forrester has identified some of the best practices in online video and created a feature checklist for online video implementations (see Figure 5). The features and tactics largely fall into one of three categories that help empower users when watching online video:
· Enhancing the ease of playback. A number of best practices — such as embedded players and streaming video — center on ensuring that the user has a simple and frictionless playback experience. Those responsible for implementing online video must not only move beyond the obtrusive experiences mentioned above but must also strive to develop even simpler playback experiences. For example, several video solutions start the video playback at a lower resolution to initiate playback faster and then ramp up the image quality in a process that the user barely notices.
· Highlighting the information being presented. Removing the obscurity that is present in many video experiences is key to earning user trust and higher clickthrough rates for video. Companies should include basic information like a thumbnail preview and the total running time for every online video. The White House has started to use a video icon to show users that video is included in the provided link (see Figure 6).
· Providing control. Unlike the TV viewing environment, online video offers an interactive experience where users demand control. It is critical to provide users with basic control of the video, such as fast-forwarding or rewinding it, as well as allowing them to control more advanced options, such as the size of playback and sharing the video with friends.
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction ProhibitedJuly 24, 2009
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Figure 5 A Best-Practice Checklist For Online Video Features
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 53772
Player embedded into page
Ease of playback
Context around video (text, images, related videos, etc.)
Streaming video (no file or codec required)
One click to play (no sign-in or registration required)
Icons indicating that the link contains video
Video information presented
Total duration of the video
A thumbnail previewing the video content
Buffering message indicating that the video is loading
Control of progress bar to skip ahead or rewind
Control provided
Player controls (volume, play, pause, etc.)
Better image-quality controls (full screen, etc.)
Sharing controls (email, URL, social media, etc.)
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009
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Figure 6 WhiteHouse.gov uses An Icon To Indicate That Video Is Included
r E C O m m E n d A T I O n S
MAxIMIzE ROI FOR YOUR OnlInE VIDEO EFFORTS
While the hosting and streaming costs for online video continue to drop, adding video to a Web site can still be a relatively expensive proposition. To ensure you maximize your return on investment (rOI) for your online video efforts, we suggest that you:
· list three use cases that video addresses. Before adding videos to accomplish any of the business goals mentioned above, you should be able to list at least three use cases that video is helping to address. For example, in the case of our hotel concierge video, online video helps because customers want to know: 1) what the hotel looks like; 2) what there is to do near the hotel; and 3) what the staff at the hotel is like. This planning exercise will not only help you justify the business rationale for video, but it will also help you story-board the video content that you need to meet those use cases.
Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 53772
Source: The White House Web site
The video icon clearly shows users that there is a video that accompanies the article.
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· Implement our five rules for video. Just because you add video to your site, it doesn’t mean that viewers will watch it. The best video implementations will maximize traffic to their videos by following our five rules to drive traffic: 1) optimize video for search; 2) distribute video across the Web; 3) add context to the video on the Web page; 4) reduce video load time; and 5) enable video sharing.1
· Map video vendors to our video best practices. rather than build a proprietary video solution, many organizations will find it more efficient to use a video platform, such as Brightcove or Ooyala. Before selecting any of the vendors in the space, make sure they can deliver against our video feature checklist and five rules.
EnDnOTES1 Today, 71% of the US online audience already watches Internet video, and the number of streams consumed
should more than double by 2013. An explosion of video content from users, professional studios, and marketers is driving this growth. To help organizations break through all the clutter, Forrester has identified five rules that will drive traffic to videos. See the March 9, 2009, “Five Rules To Drive Video Traffic” report.
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