• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, November 1, 2011

My son is in middle school and his class takes a math pre-test before they take the actual math test. Then, the kids take home the tests, correct any mistakes and turn the fully corrected tests back into teachers, signed by parents, of course.

Which makes me think — do we test enough in online video? Do advertisers, brands and agencies need to do more testing and tweaking of online video campaigns and efforts before they launch, during the rollout, and even afterwards as they plan for the next one?

That’s what Karen Cahn, VP for Branded Partnerships for Branded Experiences at AOL  has talked about — the power of testing. She keynoted the recent OMMA Video conference, and I also had the chance to hear about her tips and best practices for brands during an interview she did with Beet.TV, since I also write for Beet.TV. “Test and learn,” she said. “Video production is inexpensive for the Web. You can do a two-minute, three-minute and five-minute and test them all at the same time and see what users react to. Test different lighting, test if there’s music, maybe interchange a celebrity. Don’t have a host, have a host. Change out production elements in each video and test the videos against each other,” she told Beet.TV. Then brands can optimize and tweak as they go based on what they learn.

That testing should also take into account the goals of the campaign  and the video program, whether it’s to generate shares, likes, comments or more time with a brand.

That’s one of the great things about the Web. Marketers can test creative and content in advance of a campaign launch. Then, they can roll out a few videos, see which kinds resonate, and use that insight to determine how to structure and shape the campaign itself. But they can also tweak while a campaign is in process. Cahn spoke more at OMMA Video about how AOL shares its data with brand partners to help them determine the right content for their goals. For instance, AOL has learned that fashion videos perform best when they explain how to take a trendy look and make it your own, she wrote in a blog post .