Viewer Data Collection Strategies for Online Video
Savvy marketers are looking for ways to effectively incorporate video into their web sites — and with good reason. In March of 2006, users averaged 100 minutes of Web-based video content consumption and by August, the streaming audience had increased to 64% of the total U.S. Internet audience (comScore). Another recent B-to-B study found that 78% of respondents believe video makes online content more compelling (KnowledgeStorm/Universal McCann). These consumption patterns indicate that consumers and business professionals alike find great value in video as a means of learning more about companies and products.
While the incentive to produce video content is clear, making a decision about what interface you use is a little more complex. The choice about what platform you use, should be underpinned by what you can learn from the project in terms of the impact on viewers. The value of your reporting and measurement metrics is often dictated by the incoming data. There are many different approaches to collecting data from viewers, enabling marketers to select what will work best for meeting a program's particular goals. For example, gradually gathering information from viewers is less intrusive and typically delivers a richer, more complete profile into the sales pipeline.
