Sad but true, most people would rather watch television than read a book. People love to be entertained. Ever since the advent of television, people began staying inside and watching TV rather than going out with friends. Television has more of an influence on society during the 20th century than anything else. Until the internet. Then things started to change. In addition to just watching television, people could find out information, interact with others and even make money on auctions. And each year, the internet becomes more sophisticated. There are billions of websites out there in internet land. People are now spending more time on the internet than they are watching television. And now that most of the country is on the internet, they are also finding different ways to be entertained online.
In the early days of the internet, most of the information was written. You looked up information and read it. If there was a photo, it caught your eye. People soon began using clip art and other visual effects in their ads, e-mails and websites. It was soon discovered that websites and advertisers who used some form of visual stimulation were attracting more people to their site. This included everyone. Internet communities, such as MySpace began popping up for people to meet and network. These included easy ways that one could download a photo of themselves or friends. It also included ways they could design their pages to make them more attractive.
Which would you rather look at? An attractive, well designed page or a typed written article written in black font on a white background. Of course you would rather look at the attractive page. You are not alone. Human beings are highly visual. Even a cartoon photo can be a source of entertainment and can get someone to read what you want them to read. Have you ever received an e-mail that featured photos or a cartoon? Wasn’t that more entertaining than one that featured a text joke (that you already heard 100 times before)?
In the early days of the Internet, advertising consisted of either printed ads that were put on different websites to attract customers and ad banners. When people clicked on to the banner, the owner of the website got money. This was the way the advertisers kept track of which websites were worth their advertising dollars. These advertising vehicles are still being used, but are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Then pop up ads became popular. People would be on a website and an ad would pop up suddenly. Sometimes it looked like it was part of the site. It would take you to another website for advertising. Sometimes, it was just gathering your information so that you could be barraged by constant e-mails.
The pop up ads were ineffective. Although they attempted, like all ads, to reach a target audience, many people found them annoying. Soon there was a way to block pop up ads from appearing. Many people now use this tool as an option on the internet.
News media soon found that it was very effective to put not only the news coverage of an important case, but actual video clippings. They soon discovered that more people were watching the videos than reading the news. It was easier to do and, more importantly, entertaining. News websites were among the first to realize the impact of adding video to their websites. Now many other companies are following suit.
American people want to be entertained. They want to be entertained on television, at the movies and on the internet. And they even expect their advertisements to be entertaining. A simple banner advertisement has no chance against a good video advertisement. Particularly if it is both informative and has a bit of humor. Not only will the person watch the video, they will share it with others. They will place it on their own websites and blogs and even e-mail it to friends.
Entertainment is the key to good advertising. Gone are the days of the catchy commercial jingle. The banners will soon be on their way out, too. The advertisers who are truly adding to their business are using video advertising in many different ways to draw customers to their products. And the more customers they attract, the more business they get and the more profit they make.
If you truly want to move into the new age of advertising, now is the time. Not only is video advertising on the internet cheaper than commercial advertising, it can be done by just about anyone. You do not have to be Francis Ford Coppola to make a video. Sometimes, the most quirky and funny videos are those that are remembered the most.
If you have a website, it is just as easy to add video as it is to add photographs and texts. Of course you will still have the text and photos, but people will be more intrigued by the video. Particularly if it is entertaining and grabs their attention.
Suppose, for example, you want to sell your home. You want to list it on the internet with a price. But you do not include a photo of the home. Chances are, your home listing will not be viewed nearly as much as those with photos.
Suppose you want to advertise for a date on an internet dating site. But you do not want to add your photo. Chances are that no one will read your profile and think about what a wonderful person you are even if you are Prince William. They will see you have no photo and go on to the next.
Why is this? Because people are visual. They need visual stimulation. They need to imagine themselves in the home or on a date with you before they will even think of contacting you. And do not kid yourself, internet dating is also a form of advertising. And those with photos get much more attention than those without.
Now suppose you want to sell your home and you decide to do something different. Instead of posting a photo of your home on the website, you take a video of the home. You move from room to room with the camera and describe the details. It will make people feel as though they are inside the home. And, virtually, they are. How well do you think that advertisement will do against the home ads with no photos or even those with photos? I guarantee it will do a lot better. You may even be able to ask a higher price.
People do not often have the imaginations we would like to give them credit for. For years they have received their news information, weather reports, sports games and entertainment from television. This has been going on for the past 50 years. And as the entertainment industry has grown, the audience has grown more demanding. They want more visuals. No more implications. No more “leave it to the imagination.” They want to see every detail on the screen.
What makes you think that internet advertisement is any different? Do you honestly think that you are going to get more traffic with a small banner ad or an e-mail with a bunch of long paragraphs than a video ad?
Think about having an exciting new product for a special customer. You want to tell your customer all about it, but it is complicated. It may be technical and too difficult for the customer to comprehend. At best, they will skim over the article. At worst, they will not even read it.
What if, instead, you sent them a video of the product in operation? Do you think they will be more or less interested? If you are unsure about the answer, as yourself the same question. What would you rather see? A video demonstration of an exciting new product or a two page e-mail telling you about it? You know the answer. It is the same reason that you would rather watch the football game on television than listen to it on the radio. Because you, like all human beings, are visual.
Now you need to learn how to make that knowledge work for you by using video advertising on the internet to advertise your business.
