Two weeks ago I discussed the first five realities of video click-to-play vs. auto-play pre-roll advertising. Here come the next five:

Reaching the target consumer directly 100% of the time would be awesome, but they are not always in one place online just waiting for your video. Also, while they may all share a love of certain brands, products and services, they may respond to different stimuli designed to encourage them to watch your video, share, interact and follow a course of action that will lead to a sale. So, including the buying consumer, here are the five people you have to reach and engage to get the most out of your online video campaign.

Having run hundreds of social video campaigns for major brands over the past five years, I'm frequently asked to predict how audiences will respond to a certain video. There is, of course, no way to know for sure. Every project is different, and we're regularly surprised by audience reactions. This doesn't mean that producing social video is a crap shoot. Like any other form of advertising, the medium is more art than science, but there are a number of steps advertisers can take to raise their chances of success -- without compromising the video's effectiveness as a selling tool.

Some online video and social media marketing campaigns are launched to build awareness of a product or service. Other video and social media campaigns have shorter-term goals, as is the case with limited time promotions and brand new products. What both approaches have in common is that they are designed to get people talking and increase sales. We can talk all day about soft measurements and hard measurements and click-through rates, comments, discussion, awareness and views, but the question that will ultimately determine each campaign's success or failure is, "How much stuff did we sell?"

Videos made by YouTube Partners have been completely trouncing those made by brands and posted on YouTube. That's right -- I said trouncing. Last year, TubeMogul reported that 43% of YouTube's top 100 videos were from YouTube Partners. Only 4% were uploaded ads.

We've seen some consolidation in the video ad industry over the last few months. Along with the slow rise of trading desks and exchanges, it's clear that video ad networks have a large role to play in the shifting online media landscape, and will indefinitely. We at SpotXchange recently attended OMMA Video in San Francisco, where the panelists talking about the topic of consolidation believed the acquisitions and mergers we'll see in the near future will have the goal of better positioning companies for these changes.

Each year, we're seeing more and more video campaigns launching for viral and social media distribution on Facebook, YouTube and elsewhere by larger brands and businesses intent on tapping into the power of video as a marketing tool. Likewise, we're seeing an increase in video marketing content centered around holidays.

Reality #1: For a visual medium, video is anything but transparent. Everywhere you look, video consumption is growing. But ask any media buyer and he or she will tell you that quality video inventory is in short supply. However, when a marketer buys video inventory, sellers miraculously find ways to place and deliver the campaign.

Are Super Bowl commercials worth more than $2.6 million for :30? I think so, and here is my logic. Last year the New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was viewed by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M*A*S*H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. reported in February 2010. Over the years, brands have bought into the hype of this highly watched and anticipated event, and many pony up the millions of dollars for the cost of an ad and the sometimes award-winning creative.

An online video share is one of the highest compliments a consumer can pay an advertiser. The thought of someone selecting, viewing, and then recommending an advertising message to friends is intoxicating brands and agencies alike.