While catching up on trade reading, a comment in the Publisher’s Letter of Internet Retailer magazine caught my eye. While describing the new Internet Retailer website, publisher Jack Love noted that “Soon we’ll be presenting video of interviews with industry experts that we record in a studio just completed in our new corporate office. Video will someday be the primary content on the site, supplemented by written content and data. When the web merges with cable television in a few years, we want InternetRetailer.com to be the cable channel focused exclusively on covering e-commerce.”
Time will tell if his prognostication will be right or wrong, but it’s certainly intriguing. And it makes me all the more eager to hear Internet Retailer’s Editor-in-Chief Kurt Peters at the Mailorder Gardening Association conference (Aug. 16 – 18, Chicago), discussing what he sees ahead for web marketing.
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4 Comments
As an information consumer, I think video is terrible.
I can scan a 1,000 word article extremely quickly and efficiently. And if the article is no good, then I can move on.
But with video, you’re stuck there for 10 minutes, not knowing if there will even be a payoff.
I avoid watching videos and only read transcripts whenever possible.
As a content creator, I try to make videos to add to web pages, because they are a helpful additional element.
But never at the expense of good text and photos. Those have to be there first.
Video can be great for demonstrating things, but I think it’s terrible for getting information and facts across.
Just look at the example of TV news versus a good newspaper. TV is all about soundbites and interesting visuals, where newspapers can focus on the story and go into depth.
I agree completely that video should never replace text, but be included in addition. And personally, I feel the same way as you about the efficiency of scanning text vs. having to watch a video start-to-finish. That said, I certainly know people who absorb information better by seeing a picture/video than by reading. There are all types of learning styles, so you’ll reach the broadest market by presenting information more than one way.
Very interesting Val. What should a direct marketer do today to test moving towards video content?
Thanks, Ava. I’m not sure if you’re asking about content, mechanics, or something else.
Online videos don’t have to have high production values to be effective. They just need to be clear, focused on a single subject, and delivered by someone who is articulate.
While plants don’t require demonstration the way products do, there are plenty of related topics that lend themselves to video. Just a few that spring to mind are planting techniques, soil preparation, a tour of the nursery, an introduction to new plants you’re carrying, identifying pests, pruning, planting a container garden.
You’ll find links to our past blog posts and newsletter articles on online video at the bottom of the Our Services/Online Video page of our website.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have further questions. It’s a big subject!