With the increase in internet speed and technology, video marketing is slowly becoming a large part of companies' marketing campaigns. Technology today allows for videos to be imbedded into websites, without requiring users to download the videos. This allows marketers to catch consumers' attention before they decide to ignore the video, unlike in the past where one could simply chose not to download it. Considered one of the more cost effective forms of advertising, video marketing has helped to level the playing field between larger companies with big wallets and smaller businesses with minimal marketing budgets.

What Is Video Marketing?

Video marketing, which can technically refer to things such as television commercials, typically is a term used to describe videos, infomercials and other movies that are place on websites. These videos attempt to sell a product and are used by both small and large companies to promote their business. While quite similar to standard television commercials, these videos are often much shorter in length and in many cases of less production quality. As social media outlets have made their way into everyday life, video marketing has become a cost effective and relatively simple way to promote a product.

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Who Uses Video Marketing and What Are The Benefits?

Any company can use video marketing. Both large and small companies will often use video marketing on their own websites and others to provide information on a new product or on their company as a whole. Unlike traditional television advertising, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for a prime time slot, video marketing typically costs only a fraction of this, even when the ads are placed on other websites. Video ads placed on the internet also have an increased chance of reaching the audience that is most likely to purchase the product in the first place. Instead of a diaper company placing an ad during prime time television that will reach both parents and childless adults as well, a diaper ad placed on a parenting website will typically reach only those with an interest in parenting, therefore those more likely to purchase the product. There are also other benefits to video marketing, though these usually only apply to smaller niche companies. In most parts of the world, the internet is unregulated. Companies can, in most cases, post any type of advertisement on the web without the possibility of censorship.

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Characteristics of Online Video Marketing

Online video marketing contains both stimulating visuals and exciting audio – at least the effective ones do. As with almost every other type of advertising, video marketing aims to capture the attention of it's audience first, and then provide them with a memorable message that aims to convince the consumer to purchase a product or idea. This message is key in this type of advertising. While spelling everything out for a consumer is typically not effective, leaving them confused is even worse. Online videos aim to be concise without boring. In select cases, mystery can be used, drawing the viewer in and convincing them to click on the video, leading them to the company's website where more detailed information can be found.

• New Technology This article describes the newest video marketing technology available to companies for their advertising needs.

• Whats Holding Video Marketing Back This website describes the issues online video advertising faces, both technological and social.

Tips For Effective Video Marketing

Video marketing, at its best, is relevant to the website or video that the consumer is viewing. A website dedicated to skateboarding will typically not contain an ad for carpet, though this same ad will often be found on a home improvement site. Studies have shown that the most successful ads are interactive without being obtrusive. When a video ad pops up dead center over a web page, viewers are more likely than not to close out the ad without ever viewing it. When made a cohesive part of a website, consumers will typically make the choice to view the ad as long as they can see the contents of the website. Video marketing is often humorous, meaning to leave an impression with the viewer. While recent technology has allowed for television viewers to skip traditional commercials, video marketing has the benefit of playing in the background and catching a viewer's attention.

• What Works This article details what types of online videos are most effective at reaching their target audience, and what research is being done to expand on this information.

• What Not to Do This article provides six tips on what not to do when using video marketing, focusing mainly on production tips such as sound, video quality and editing.

• Video Ad Survival Kit This article provides a wealth of information on how to approach video marketing to make it as effective as possible for your business, while the website offers a host of articles providing information on different forms of traditional and internet marketing.