Best practices for online video marketing.

1. July 24, 2009
The Best Practices In Online Video
Across Industries
by Bobby Tulsiani
for Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Making Leaders Successful Every Day

2. For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
July 24, 2009
The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries
This is the second document in the “Video Strategy” series.
by Bobby Tulsiani
with mark mulligan and Erik Hood
ExECuT I V E S u m mA ry
Today, 71% of the US online audience watches video on the Internet, and the number of streams
consumed should more than double by 2013. An explosion of video content from users, professional
studios, and marketers is driving this growth. In this second report in our video strategy series, Forrester
has identified the best and worst practices in online video across industries.
TABl E O F CO n TE nTS n OT E S & rE S O u rCE S
2 Online Video Is Being Used Across Industries Forrester surveyed a sample of Web sites from
6 The Worst Practices In Online Video across industries to determine the best and
worst practices from each.
7 A Checklist For Implementing Online Video
rECOmmEndATIOnS Related Research Documents
9 Maximize ROI For Your Online Video Efforts “Five rules To drive Video Traffic”
march 9, 2009
“monetizing Video In Social networks”
February 5, 2009
© 2009, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available
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3. 2 The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
OnlInE VIDEO IS BEInG USED ACROSS InDUSTRIES
Online video is no longer the exclusive domain of user-generated content and TV sites. From
financial services to government, all industries are incorporating video into their Web experiences.
While the original business case for online video in the media industry focused on advertising
revenues, these latest industries are employing video on their Web sites to accomplish a number of
different business goals:
· Communication. Video represents the most powerful medium for communicating a message
to constituents and consumers. Government officials and CEOs alike have used online video to
quickly get a message in front of audiences. President Obama used video messages throughout
his 2008 campaign and continues to employ them in the White House to communicate policy
decisions (see Figure 1).
· Sales. Like images, video can help lower barriers to purchasing online. Video in sales
environments can range from a simple clip highlighting different views of a product to
a complex, original feature that demonstrates the benefits of the product. For example,
InterContinental Hotels features video concierge tours on its hotel Web sites (see Figure 2).
· Lead generation. Items that are less likely to lead to online transactions, such as cars or
financial service packages, can use video for lead generation. Merrill Lynch has a series of
customer testimonial videos about working with financial advisors on topics such as retirement
and estate planning (see Figure 3).
· Customer service. Organizations can look to the cost side as well when employing online video.
Several industry categories, such as consumer electronics and computer hardware/software,
can use online video as a self-service customer channel. For example, Dell has created an entire
video portal that offers “tech tips” videos for the consumer, small business, and IT professional
segments (see Figure 4).
July 24, 2009 © 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited

4. The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries 3
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Figure 1 President Obama uses Video To Communicate Policy decisions
Source: Organizing for America Web site
53772 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009

5. 4 The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Figure 2 InterContinental Hotels drives reservations With Video
Source: InterContinental Hotels Group Web site
53772 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
July 24, 2009 © 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited

6. The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries 5
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Figure 3 merrill lynch uses Customer Testimonial Videos For Financial Products
Source: Merrill Lynch Web site
53772 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009

7. 6 The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Figure 4 dell uses Video For Customer Self-Service
Source: Dell Web site
53772 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
ThE WORST PRACTICES In OnlInE VIDEO
Business goals for online video are only half the story. Far too often, organizations create video
experiences that are isolated, obtrusive, and barricaded. Companies and organizations looking to
use online video must avoid the following pitfalls:
· Isolated experiences. Too often, online video is isolated in a Web site’s “video” section or
placed in an in an entirely new and separate “.tv” domain. Rather than sending users off to a
disconnected experience, organizations should seek to integrate video into the natural path of
the consumer. Just like images, video should be placed contextually alongside related content
and text to provide a full multimedia experience.
· Obtrusive experiences. Users will reject video experiences that automatically start playing
(particularly with sound) or that launch pop-up players that interfere with the user’s expected
navigation mode. Even in circumstances where a pop-up player or auto-play may be appropriate,
firms should include messaging that alerts the user to the pop-up and provide volume controls.
July 24, 2009 © 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited

8. The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries 7
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
· Barricaded experiences. Far too many Web sites construct barriers that require users to
download new software, register, or sign in before viewing a video. While users may accept such
experiences for premium entertainment, such as TV shows and movies, auto manufacturers
should not expect users to register just to view a car commercial.
A ChECklIST FOR IMPlEMEnTInG OnlInE VIDEO
Forrester has identified some of the best practices in online video and created a feature checklist for
online video implementations (see Figure 5). The features and tactics largely fall into one of three
categories that help empower users when watching online video:
· Enhancing the ease of playback. A number of best practices — such as embedded players
and streaming video — center on ensuring that the user has a simple and frictionless playback
experience. Those responsible for implementing online video must not only move beyond the
obtrusive experiences mentioned above but must also strive to develop even simpler playback
experiences. For example, several video solutions start the video playback at a lower resolution
to initiate playback faster and then ramp up the image quality in a process that the user barely
notices.
· Highlighting the information being presented. Removing the obscurity that is present in
many video experiences is key to earning user trust and higher clickthrough rates for video.
Companies should include basic information like a thumbnail preview and the total running
time for every online video. The White House has started to use a video icon to show users that
video is included in the provided link (see Figure 6).
· Providing control. Unlike the TV viewing environment, online video offers an interactive
experience where users demand control. It is critical to provide users with basic control of
the video, such as fast-forwarding or rewinding it, as well as allowing them to control more
advanced options, such as the size of playback and sharing the video with friends.
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009

9. 8 The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Figure 5 A Best-Practice Checklist For Online Video Features
Ease of playback
Player embedded into page
Context around video (text, images, related videos, etc.)
Streaming video (no file or codec required)
One click to play (no sign-in or registration required)
Video information presented
Icons indicating that the link contains video
Total duration of the video
A thumbnail previewing the video content
Buffering message indicating that the video is loading
Control provided
Control of progress bar to skip ahead or rewind
Player controls (volume, play, pause, etc.)
Better image-quality controls (full screen, etc.)
Sharing controls (email, URL, social media, etc.)
53772 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
July 24, 2009 © 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited

10. The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries 9
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
Figure 6 WhiteHouse.gov uses An Icon To Indicate That Video Is Included
The video icon clearly shows
users that there is a
video that accompanies
the article.
Source: The White House Web site
53772 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
r E C O m m E n d AT I O n S
MAxIMIzE ROI FOR YOUR OnlInE VIDEO EFFORTS
While the hosting and streaming costs for online video continue to drop, adding video to a
Web site can still be a relatively expensive proposition. To ensure you maximize your return on
investment (rOI) for your online video efforts, we suggest that you:
· list three use cases that video addresses. Before adding videos to accomplish any of the
business goals mentioned above, you should be able to list at least three use cases that video
is helping to address. For example, in the case of our hotel concierge video, online video
helps because customers want to know: 1) what the hotel looks like; 2) what there is to do
near the hotel; and 3) what the staff at the hotel is like. This planning exercise will not only
help you justify the business rationale for video, but it will also help you story-board the
video content that you need to meet those use cases.
© 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited July 24, 2009

11. 10 The Best Practices In Online Video Across Industries
For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals
· Implement our five rules for video. Just because you add video to your site, it doesn’t
mean that viewers will watch it. The best video implementations will maximize traffic to their
videos by following our five rules to drive traffic: 1) optimize video for search; 2) distribute
video across the Web; 3) add context to the video on the Web page; 4) reduce video load
time; and 5) enable video sharing.1
· Map video vendors to our video best practices. rather than build a proprietary video
solution, many organizations will find it more efficient to use a video platform, such as
Brightcove or Ooyala. Before selecting any of the vendors in the space, make sure they can
deliver against our video feature checklist and five rules.
EnDnOTES
1
Today, 71% of the US online audience already watches Internet video, and the number of streams consumed
should more than double by 2013. An explosion of video content from users, professional studios, and
marketers is driving this growth. To help organizations break through all the clutter, Forrester has identified
five rules that will drive traffic to videos. See the March 9, 2009, “Five Rules To Drive Video Traffic” report.
July 24, 2009 © 2009, Forrester research, Inc. reproduction Prohibited

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