The Value of Video Sharing for Brand Advertising

Video blogging, video sharing, and web collaboration are making new strides with the influx of user-generated content and media. Complete channels about particular topics and themes are becoming a standard way for people to share and communicate their views, perspectives, or just an opinion. If blogging culture hasn't taken you by storm yet, it very well may in its new visual format; video blogging, or vlogging. Although many vlogs and blogs are set up for personal interest (akin to personal websites to share with friends and family), businesses are taking note.

Businesses who advertise heavily in traditional media such as posters, television, and radio commercials work hard to make their brand presence and company name known. However, there is always considerable value in a customer testimonial; whether it's a quick comment from a local celebrity or familiar face, an endorsement from another company or spokesperson, or just a quick clip of a consumer preference over a competitor, a customer's testimonial serves as a persuasive confirmation of a consumer's comfort level with the company or brand. A testimonial can highlight a particular product or a company overall; it can serve as the tangible 'result' of effective customer use.

With the surge in consumer-driven broadcasting that includes blogging and amateur video-making, product placement has turned out to be an advantageous outcome for thousands of companies that otherwise do not have the marketing dollars to create a strategic gameplan or event. We're familiar with Coca-Cola and Pepsi's commercials blasting through our television sets on a regular basis. But, when the Pepsi Challenge made its way to the local mall, the brand became that much 'closer' to home. Our friends and neighbors could be caught on camera actually using and talking about the product.

Today, consider how many individuals are using various brands as 'props' in their homemade videos; even mentioning a company name, brand, or product, can drum up enough business that is comparable to hundreds of dollars spent in a direct marketing effort. PR for a company is no longer limited to the marketing department; more consumers are literally volunteering their experiences by incorporating a product or brand during their fifteen minute of fame segments. The more popular a regular vlogger or blogger is, the larger the audience that will receive their message; good or bad.

Online popularity is a necessary outcome of the Web 2.0 generation, and will greatly influence brand marketing as more people take part in consumer-driven advertising. Although lawsuits and copyright infringement settlements continue to litter the vlogging landscape, the communities that have already emerged from video sharing efforts will still grow and proliferate across the web in new ways. Companies can take considerable advantage of this as they encourage specific groups to embellish their product with their views; today's most influential consumes may indeed be found vlogging away, with or without their featured company's direct consent.