Video vs Text – The Content Contest
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 by Rosie Box Comment (0) »
The web is full of content – some essential, some useful and some no more than pointless. Regardless of the quality, content will continue to be the backbone of the web, a backbone that is constantly exploring a variety of different formats. Where text previously ruled, video has pushed its way through and now accounts for more than a third of overall consumer internet traffic. The number of online videos has risen to a staggering 5.5 billion, a 37% increase since 2010.
Eye level Eye Candy
But why have user’s affections moved to video? Firstly, the majority of results populating the web are text results, meaning the competition to secure the top video spot is significantly less. Creating a well-executed and well optimised online video allows your brand a much better opportunity of securing the sought-after number one spot. Video has an ability to offer fresh content in an easily digestible way. Bite sized pieces of information can be delivered quickly to the user in a more engaging way than a wall of text.
Total Recall
A recent study by Nielsen has showed that online video has a 65% general recall, compared to the 46% provided by TV ads. The nations viewing habits are moving online; in 2009 the online video audiences grew by 18%, with sites such as iPlayer constantly appearing at the top of most viewed lists. Moving advertising online doesn’t mean abandoning the traditional advert; it just means repackaging it for the online audience. Which leads us to our next point…
Rolling Trend
The logical evolution of TV advertising is the move pre-roll and post-roll video advertising, a market that grew by 140% between 2008 and 2009. By creating a more condensed version of a traditional TV advert and placing it at the beginning or end of an online video, marketers can gain direct access to a tailored target audience on the back of this growing trend. Pre and post roll advertising has also breathed life back into traditional banner advertising, by coupling the two, marketers can create a strong visual statement.
