by 
By Danny Brown
Despite the doom and gloom of the last quarter in 2008, online sales still totaled over $25 billion last year. Leading online analysts comScore noted that while these figures represented a drop from 2007, unique visitors to retailer websites actually increased by 5%. So, less spending but more visits—which means you need to be ready for these visitors.
What Do You See?
Visual attraction is still one of the best marketing and advertising tools available, and what could be better than video advertising? It’s instant, it’s attention-grabbing and it shows your product better than any still image ever could. So why are so few retailers using video advertising?
According to a recent survey, less than a quarter of retailers are using video advertising on their site. While this number is growing (it’s viewed as more important than social media use and search engine marketing), there still seems to be a wait-and-see approach. Reasons? Cost and time. Yet are these reasons valid?
- Cost. You don’t need to have a high-end video production to market your products or services. You can buy something like the Flip Mino HD video camera for less than $200. Quality is excellent and puts many higher-spec competitors to shame.
- Time. You’re too busy to increase your profit? Okay, why not get film students from your local college to make something as a project? Or an employee whose hobbies include YouTube videos? There are ways around time if you look for them.
The beauty with video advertising is that it’s not just limited to your site. Upload your advert to Facebook, to YouTube, to your blog, to affiliate sites—the outreach is up to you.
And with video watching by website visitors increasing by 40% last year, can you or your clients afford to miss out?
Danny Brown is the owner of Press Release PR, a boutique agency specializing in social media and PR convergence. He is a blog partner of the iEntry and WebProNews business network and the founder of the 12for12k Challenge.
