His distinctive beard and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence all around North America.

Billy Mays understood [...]]]>

William Darrell “Billy” Mays, Jr. was a TV direct response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home based, and maintenance products.

His distinctive beard and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence all around North America.

Billy Mays understood that nothing convinces a customer to buy a product than actual demonstrations of the product.

Video demonstrations are a savvy strategy for online retailers and wholesalers (e.g. bulk material handling)  because the number of online video viewed has been steadily growing, as reported by eMarketer, and has a high click-through rate when compared to its alternatives.

What is an online video demonstration?

An online video demonstration can be anything that is demonstrated on video ranging from software applications to cooking tutorials to applications of heady duty trucks.

Why does your website need a video demonstration?

Take a cue from another master TV salesperson, Vince Offer, the man behind the ShamWow absorbent chamois cloth. Propelled by Offer’s goofy charm and funny one-liners (“You followin’ me, camera guy?”), the ShamWow ad has become a cultural sensation and YouTube favorite. Since it first aired in the fall of 2007 to April 2009, over five million sets of the absorbent cloths have been sold.

Why would customers be interested in online video demonstrations?

Online video ads and demonstrations are a form of entertainment and people are willing to be entertained.  An IBM study reveals that almost 60% of its study respondents said they were willing to provide to advertisers some personal information about themselves in exchange for something of value, such as access to high-quality music videos, store discounts or airline frequent-flyer points.

The success of online video ads and demonstrations lies in the law of reciprocity.

Conclusion

A well put together video demonstration should create more interest in your product, boost traffic to your website if it is viral and embeddable on sites such as YouTube, and in the end, create more sales.

1. The number of US online video viewers is consistently growing year after year.

2. In Europe,  online video ads have the highest click-through rate out of all types of online ads. This trend has been observed in [...]]]>

There are 3 irrefutable facts about online video advertising:

1. The number of US online video viewers is consistently growing year after year.

2. In Europe,  online video ads have the highest click-through rate out of all types of online ads. This trend has been observed in the USA as well, but there are no specific numbers, yet.

3. In the US, online advertising growth is the format that is expected to have the biggest growth.

Do YOU know what consumers want from online ads?

The 3 Facts About Online Video Advertising

First, let’s review the specific data supporting these 3 facts.

Fact #1: The number of US online video viewers is consistently growing year after year.

Fact #2: In Europe,  online video ads have the highest click-through rate out of all types of online ads. This trend has been observed in the US as well, but there are no specific numbers, yet.

Fact #3: In the US, online advertising growth is the format that is expected to have the biggest growth.

Why do Consumers like Online Video Ads?

One plausible explanation is the law of reciprocity by Robert Cialdini, in his book, Influence: Science and Practice (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).  Basically, the law of reciprocity boils down to this:  “a person can trigger a feeling of indebtedness by doing us an uninvited favor”.  Consider this example from Cialdini (p. 29):

For instance, the American Disabled Veterans organization reports that its simple mail appeal for donations produces a response rate of about 18 percent.  But when the mailing also includes an unsolicited gift  (gummed, individualized address labels), the success rate nearly doubles to 35 percent.

Online video ads are a form of entertainment and people are willing to be entertained.  An IBM study reveals that almost 60% of its study respondents said they were willing to provide to advertisers some personal information about themselves in exchange for something of value, such as access to high-quality music videos, store discounts or airline frequent-flyer points.

What Consumers Want from Online Video Ads

Consumers want that the online video ads have the potential to ignite two-way conversations between consumers and brand.

It doesn’t matter whether the ads are delivered delivered through a computer, mobile phone, handheld device or TV monitor. There must be an e-mail, telephone number, or comment feature that allows the consumer to interact D-I-R-E-C-T-L-Y. This is not as surprise, however there are still businesses who insist of closing direct access to consumers such as Facebook.

Here’s a specific guide of what consumers want from online video ads:

Conclusion: move away from the brochure mentality and provide online video ads that start conversations with your consumers.

More info about online video ads:

• Online Video Ads: What’s the hype?
• How to Attract Fashionistas Online
• How to Attract Fashionistas Online Pt. 2

About the author: Since 2007 Damian Davila Rojas lives at Honolulu, Hawaii doing marketing, public relations, and web analytics. His research interests are viral marketing and how to use web metrics to make better strategic business decisions. Follow Damian on Twitter at @idaconcpts.

The number of U.S. online video viewers is growing.

Video ads had the highest [...]]]>

Word-on-the-street: Video ads are a savvy strategy for marketers because the number of online video viewed has been steadily growing, as reported by eMarketer, and has a high click-through rate when compared to its alternatives.

The number of U.S. online video viewers is growing.

Video ads had the highest click-through rate of all online ads in Europe during October-December 2008.

Even more, there is talk that online video ads should perform better than its alternatives during recessionary times.  Erik Sass from MediaPost reports:

While not exempt from recessionary trends, it probably won’t suffer as badly as traditional media because it’s more cost-effective — but it’s still going to take a substantial hit, according to the lead speakers at OMMA Hollywood on Monday morning. Still, there are some glimmers of hope that certain recessionary trends have already bottomed out.

Online ad spending will probably fall 8%-9% in 2009, according to Dr. Paul Kedrosky, an economist and the editor of Infectious Greed, a financial blog — but that looks good compared to the rest of the media.

So, how is it possible that online ads are so great and recession proof?

One plausible explanation is the law of reciprocity by Robert Cialdini, in his book, Influence: Science and Practice (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).  Basically, the law of reciprocity boils down to this:  “a person can trigger a feeling of indebtedness by doing us an uninvited favor”.  Consider this example from Cialdini (p. 29):

For instance, the American Disabled Veterans organization reports that its simple mail appeal for donations produces a response rate of about 18 percent.  But when the mailing also includes an unsolicited gift  (gummed, individualized address labels), the success rate nearly doubles to 35 percent.

Online video ads are a form of entertainment and people are willing to be entertained.  An IBM study reveals that almost 60% of its study respondents said they were willing to provide to advertisers some personal information about themselves in exchange for something of value, such as access to high-quality music videos, store discounts or airline frequent-flyer points.

Therefore, the success of online video ads lies in the law of reciprocity.