In my last post, I started on a bit of a rant, which has led me to do some research on digital direct response ad effectiveness. That research has gotten me all fired up to do the second post in the Direct-Response Digital series – online video.  In the product life cycle of technology, one could hardly say that online video is in the growth stage. With the statistics that I’ve reviewed, I would have to say that it lies somewhere in between growth and maturity. Sites like Hulu, DailyMotion, Netflix and even YouTube continue to gain users and grow, but the heaviest users are fairly mature – sort of like a 24 year old with their head on straight.

So, what does this have to do with Direct-Response Digital you may ask?  Everything. Video represents an opportune growth area for businesses attempting to go small to be big. As Comscore put it, “getting small (and relevant) is the new big.” While economies of scale and that’s a lot of zeros ad buys dominated television, online finds relevance in hypertargeting to be more beneficial for advertisers. You might be able to target 18 year and older business travelers who watch video and use multiple screens to consume media. As comScore put it, 52% of the 39 million users in this category watched online video in the last 7 days. Do you think that it would be nice to hit this nearly 21 million person population with a call to action?

Okay, you might be saying, people online don’t want to be hit with direct response messages. This is why you started this whole quest, right? My answer: no. I started this whole quest to prove the opposite, and data shows that a certain segment of the population do want to be messaged in this way. Supposedly, there are two types of online video viewers. Population A is looking for transportation and escape. Population B is looking for information and education. Population B is the sweet spot for direct response messages. Their profile states that they want to elevate, in general. More specifically they’re (amongst other things) in action mode and more likely to take action on a relevant message, immediately. This is the part where you tap your index finger against your pursed lips as if you’re about to come up with something profound.

The statistics back this up, also. When compared to other forms of direct response ads, online video performs quite well. Direct response metrics such as click-through rate (CTR) are 0.1% for online images/display ads, while online video realizes a 0.74% CTR. These metrics were taken from reelseo.com in 2007, too! I’m guessing the growth in online video is probably followed by a correlating increase in acceptance of direct response video – especially by the information and education seekers.

Plus, you have to think of all of the other benefits of online video with a direct response call to action.

1. More local search engine content (Great for any small business)
2. Content for your own website/blog
3. Useful for Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
4. Brand building (even though this is the anti-brand building series, I couldn’t resist)
5. Post to your social media pages

Finally, cost is not nearly as prohibitive as television video production. Some businesses have gotten away with professional online video cost of $300. For $300 and a local ad buy, I would be more than willing to take the risk. In fact, be on the lookout for the Hand Raiser Marketing online video call to action. What’s that? Probably not the best idea for selling professional services? Well, I guess there go my dreams of creating a jingle and imploring you to come on down to the car lot off of exit 12 just past the Sonic! Home of the guitar playing consultant!

There you have it, the nays are drowned out by the cacophony of yeah’s for direct response online video. What’s next? I haven’t decided yet. Let me enjoy this win for the next 24 hours before I get back to work. Have any case studies of online video successes? Inquiring minds want to know.