I’ve become a bit of a SXSW regular and honestly it is the one conference every year that I never miss.

I always arrive in Austin with an open mind to all my current clients and also looking for tools and people that I can get involved in future initiatives. As a consultant I want to be up to date on the latest technologies and also who are the active members of the community in case they are a fit for a project at some point.     

This year because of my work with Overlay.TV I had video on the brain and kept a very keen eye on what was going on.

I’m happy to report that video is alive and well and there were just as many video cameras as there was catchy tagline t-shirts and backpacks. If you are not creating video at this point, you are behind the curve and it is time to start working it into your marketing mix if you want to be successful.

I asked a variety of attendees why they thought video was so important to businesses and what they thought the future of video was. Click on the icons in the video to connect with any of the speakers.

So, what were some of the video trends that I noticed while there?

1.  The days of lugging a massive camera around are no more. I saw more micro HD cameras and video capable DSLR cameras than anything else.
2. Companies are continuing to embrace the power of video. Watch any of the daily recap videos from Chevrolet or the great SXSW:By the Numbers video from CNN as shining examples.
3. Everyone still has a craving to learn how to make their videos better. If there was any doubt, all you had to do is look at sessions led by Steve Garfield or The Bui Brothers to see that video education is important.
4. People are not as hesitant about being asked to be on video as they use to be. We as a society are much more comfortable with video cameras being everywhere and talking to one isn’t as unique of an experience as it use to be.
5. At large events like this, setting up a stationary studio or similar location for people to create video makes a lot of sense. The Live from AOL Studio and the Samsung Blogger Lounge were both examples that jumped out at me.

I did not discover any breakout technologies that will change the landscape in video which was a bit disappointing. Sure, there were more camera rigs, green screen solutions and streaming companies peddling their wares, but nothing jumped out at me and made me say wow.

I left Austin full of breakfast tacos and inspiration to create more video. Every where I looked someone had a camera and a microphone. It is a critical piece of the marketing mix for every company and I want to see people use it more and use it better.

Were you at SXSW? Did you see something that I missed? Let me know in the comments.

Aliza Sherman · Ann Handley · Becky Johns · Brad Powell · Emily Cavalier · Interactive Video · Jeff Sass · Joe Chernov · Julien Smith · Steve Grafield · Tamsen McMahon · Tim Washer

This is part four in an ongoing series exploring interactive video integration online.  Read parts one, two and three here.

Repurposing Celebrity Videos

This is very similar effort to repurposing television commercials. Many brands, especially in the area of fashion retail, use celebrities to endorse products through video. These videos often include multiple products, and hence do not often fit on the product pages of the website. This means that although the consumer can get the “warm glow” and celebrity appeal, they often are left with the need to navigate around the site to find the products mentions. By adding an overlay to the celebrity video, you can create a direct link between multiple products in the video and multi-product landing pages where the video can be purchased.

The call to action is moved within the video rather than expecting the viewer to navigate after watching the video. There are also a number of successful experiments being undertaken in video by adding overlays that allow the user to “buy the look” from within the video. This can significantly increase the average order basket for the retailer.

Up next: How-to Videos.

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This is part three in an ongoing series exploring interactive video integration online.  Read part one and two.

User Generated Content

Much has been written about the challenges of User Generated Content (UGC). While we agree that it needs to be moderated and is not suitable for some applications, many companies are using UGC to great effect as a way of engaging their customers in community applications. After all, one of the key objectives of an eCommerce website is to keep user loyalty rather than constantly spending on acquiring new customers.

Hopefully, as a business you have customers that actually like your products and care about your services. UGC can be a great way to allow them to share their experiences with other potential shoppers and allows the retailer to increase their library of video content.

There are many examples of this, which includes genuine consumer reports of how a product performs in the case of electronic goods, usage experiences in the case of footwear and clothing and cooking experiments for grocery retailers.

Up Next:  Repurposing Celebrity Videos.

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This is part two in an ongoing series exploring interactive video integration online. Click here for part one.

Repurposing TV Commercials

Many companies as part of a new product launch or range produce a very polished commercial for TV. Since this is often an incredibly expensive endeavor, why not take this commercial and repurpose it for the website.  By creating an “invisible” overlay, products in the video can be directly linked to places on the website where they can be purchased. The underlying video does not need to be reproduced, just reformatted for the web.

Next: User Generated Content

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This is part one in an ongoing series exploring interactive video integration online.   

Over the recent months we have held many discussions with retailers on both sides of the Atlantic that are looking to add video to their websites. One of the issues that inevitably arises is “We have video but are not sure where to start. How do we make this interesting without incurring high production costs?”

Given that this is very much a common theme from prospective user, we thought we would compile a collection of the most popular uses. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, rather a list of practical ideas that retailers are considering.

6 Ideas to get you started:

1. Product page video
2. Repurposing TV commercials
3. User generated content
4. Repurposing celebrity videos
5. How-to videos, style guides and advice
6. Experience brand/theme pages

Product Page Video

Over the last few years images have brought eCommerce websites to life, often with clever zoom capabilities. While this is a good first step, the benefits of many products cannot be demonstrated effectively with static images.  For instance, how do you show the unique flexibility of a new footwear sole design with a static photo?  Video adds a dimension that allows the user to interact with and gain a far greater understanding of the product. Both have been demonstrated to increase conversion and, just as importantly, reduce return rates.

Intermix Product Page

 Up next: Repurposing TV commercials.

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