We create streaming video that online consumers can buy from. We seek to create a QVC-type experience to e-commerce companies of all sizes. With that in mind we have decided to brand ourselves and our unique technology as Buystream TV. We feel it important, as do all marketers, that our customers have a connection with and are comfortable with our company name. Buystream TV will continue to create the same great projects as before. We’d love to get your feedback, so let us know what you think of our new name!

Video will be Everywhere: on all Websites

Video on the Web is no longer just about entertainment.  It is also about marketing, instruction, and conveying information of all kinds.

• Content bellwether Wikipedia announced it will be rolling out videos soon enough.
• e-Commerce leader Zappos encourages users to submit their video experiences whichincrease sales 6% to 30%.  In 2010, it will create 50,000 videos.
• It won’t be long before organizations feature their accountants, lawyers, management, VCs in videos too.

It’s important to realize that video is becoming a mission critical component of websites, not just an option. Video’s SEO, branding, and conversion values are too high to ignore. What are you waiting for? Time to add video to your site!

1. Determine your the video’s purpose. Is the video the focal point of the page? Supplementary? or for entertainment? If it’s the focal point, it’s likely visitors are anticipating the video before they get there. If so, it’s ok to auto-play it. If it’s just supplementary or for entertainment, they may not be expecting a video and it’s best to have it click-to-play.

2. Is your page a landing page or a regular page on your site? If it’s a landing page, recent articles have suggested that while auto-play videos can be powerful, they don’t necessarily increase conversion rates.

3. On product pages, our customers have seen success with auto-play, but it depends on your audience and your product. If your product is subtle, or requires a lot of decision time, it’s probably best to not force the video on the viewer. If it’s a cool, hip, exciting product, it’s likely that an auto-play video is appropriate.

In the end, it’s important to have good video content. If it’s compelling, people will watch it and enjoy it regardless of auto-play and click-to-play options. Just remember, when in doubt do a test! Try both versions and see what happens.

Zoobies sells a stuffed animal that is also a pillow and a fold out blanket. Here is a picture of a zoobie pet and a regular stuffed animal:

Ok, so one of these folds out into a cool blanket and also acts as a pillow. Which one? It would be hard to tell if you were looking at them on the shelf of a toy store. The one on the left is a Zoobie pet. Even if I included the rest of the images, it wouldn’t do it justice. That’s why Zoobies is considering adding a library of video about each of their products.

If demonstration is key to helping your clients either see the full functionality of your product or in helping them see the competitive advantage it has over other products, then video is essential! With all the tools now available to business owners in 2010, there is no reason not to add video to your site! Find a way to get video soon. I might know of some affordable video production and cool delivery technology if you are interested Happy Friday!

Zappos is large enough that they hired 40 full-time video production employees to make it happen. Most of our customers don’t have those kinds of resources. that’s why you can rely on Qgia to create a video library of your top 5 or 10 products at an affordable cost. To read more about the zappos.com product video campaign, click here. You’ll notice they are also making their videos interactive by using one of our competitors, overlay.tv.

Adding interactivity and then making the video player embeddable on blogs and other sites is like creating a portable, clickable digital billboard that can drive shoppers to your site with the intent to purchase.

Sixty-eight percent of the top 50 Internet retailers use video content on their Web sites, compared with 18% in 2008. Online retailers are committed to making product videos central to their merchandising and marketing strategies because of the positive return on investment (ROI) that this visual feature generates. While only 16% of online buyers watch product videos on retailer Web sites, 64% of those consumers who do have found these videos to be very useful. Retailers should focus on understanding drivers of consumer usage and find appropriate contextual uses for product videos by integrating them into the overall eCommerce experience.

We provide affordable production for every facet of product videos. We also provide a video content management system, professional streaming, and unbranded interactive player technology. Email me at mark at qgia.com and I can give you a free video consultation to see if there is anything we can do for you.

Over the past 3 years, Qgia has undergone a lot of changes. Our technology, talent, and focus improved immensely in that time frame. Our focus in 2010 will return to forward thinking small- and mid-sized e-commerce companies. Video for e-commerce is growing rapidly and it’s an exciting space to be in. Our new site features our best price ever for video production. When you purchase videos in packages of at least 5, you will only pay $299/video.

Our vision is to expand the ability of every online business to have compelling video on their site. We also desire to provide a platform to help these companies manage their digital video assets.

We are also making improvements to our interactive video player to make its use more intuitive and effective. Online video is booming, we are excited for the upcoming year. We hope all of our customers have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May 2010 be the best year yet!