“60% Watch Video Online”:http://www.kelseygroup.com/press/pr070524.asp, “70% Surf for Local Shopping”:http://www.kelseygroup.com/press/pr050322.asp – Two reports from the Kelsey Group that combine to prove once again how important the web is becoming at every level of business: home, local, national, or global. In this case, as the effectiveness of TV advertising “declines”:http://adage.com/abstract.php?article_id=110899[Reg. Req.], local businesses would be better suited by improving their online presence. Online video could replace commercials for local businesses, not only making it cheaper for them to advertise, but also making it more effective for consumers and businesses alike, as they discover the power of conversations that the Internet makes possible.
Local businesses are the ones that will be most directly affected by their customers perceptions of how much they “get it”. The ones that take the same cheesy, bad, commercials they’ve been producing for years and put them online with comments off will be ridiculed and ignored. The ones that make cheesy commercials and put them online with comments on will still get a lot of laughs, but in a good way. And the local businesses that succeed most will be the ones that talk with their customers online to find out what they want to find out more about, and give it to them. It won’t be about commercials, it will be about video tours, demonstrations, interviews, and results. Businesses that build customer loyalty will have videos of their customers and how they help them.
“Video Classifieds Launches in Boston”:http://imoondo.com/welcome – At the Boston Web Innovators Group, I met the makers of iMoondo, a classifieds site in which all entries have video footage with them as well. iMoondo says their service will give classifieds a big boost in effectiveness:
Our video classifieds will transform the online dating process; each ad gives the viewer an added dimension and allows them to make a more informed decision on who they want to date. Employers can assess candidates on factors that can not be found on a traditional text resume. A potential car buyer can take a viewer on a virtual test drive without ever leaving their home.