Online Video and Social Media: That's a Marriage Made in Marketing Heaven

by P.J. Bednarski, Jan 4, 2013, 9:00 AM

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Maybe it has been like this forever, but I’m just noticing now that when I visit Facebook, there’s virtually not one poster who’s not including content with their comment--usually a video or just a photo that has come from some Website. The plain fact is that online video and social media are a perfect match.  

A new report from the Boston-based online news and content marketing agency Brafton, made that same point eloquently a few days ago when it advised its content marketing clients to add video—heavily---to the mix of what they provide to their end users because it will inevitably be re-circulated on social media.

In short, their report gives three reasons businesses should rely increasingly on video marketing.  People watch it. People share it. And, presuming your brand provides good video, making it adaptable to social media sites sets your brand apart from competitors.

As proof of the first point—that we can’t get enough video—Brafton notes the phenomenal fact that the average viewer watched 1,182 minutes of video in November alone, according to comScore.

 Brafton reported another poll that found Web video ads have impacted purchases for half of all American consumers. (It’s easy to check the Truth-o-meter on that one today, a day before Christmas. That stat works for me.)

Secondly, social media sites are a showcase. If you make it, folks will share it, like crazy. The Brafton report notes that last month, Facebook users watched more than 340 million videos, again according to comScore. And according to data from AddThis, sharing on Facebook grew by 18%, and an even more astounding 55% on Twitter.

As a final point, Brafton says marketers are missing big fat opportunities by not providing video that is likely to be drift along to millions of Facebook and other social media users. It quotes Nielsen’s State of Social Media Report to note when that PC are on the Internet, they’re on Facebook 17% of the time.

Obviously, that’s a place marketers want their videos be hanging around.  

A fun companion read to this number-based essay is a thoughtful piece by Brafton’s Andrew McDonald who notes that while social networks make us feel part of a community, they also force a user to come to realize that “although we may be connected in unfathomable ways to the biological and physical world around us, our singular kind of puny perspectives always sets us apart.”

That, McDonald also theorizes, is why silly videos catch on. He reflects on the comic style of Jerry Seinfeld who made millions of us laugh with observations that begin, “Don’t you hate it when…” followed by a humorous perception of common quirks. Odd viral videos have the same attraction. That's what makes them viral. 

“The more inane something is, the more it seems to be shared….The dumber the content is, the more empowering and humanizing it is to participate and admit that you like it, ” McDonald says. He might have a point. I can’t get over a friend’s post yesterday of an artist’s depiction of Kevin Bacon--made out of bacon.  I’ll send you a link. Then pass it on.

pjbednarski@comcast.net

This article initially appeared in VidBlog on December 24.

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