Ottaway Communication, Inc.

As we stated last year in one of our newsletters, Web Video has arrived, and it should be a part of your website. Our advice has always been to keep your videos short…not to exceed two minutes. Well, as with everything concerning the Internet, that rule is changing. Why? Consider this:

1. Faster Internet access and faster computers permit quick downloading.

2. Production companies are now writing 10 and 20-minute shows for the Internet so users are becoming more accustomed to longer videos.

3. During the past two TV seasons, nearly every broadcast show has been streamed free on the Internet.

4. By some estimates, ONE IN FOUR Internet customers now uses Hulu, an online home for NBC and FOX TV shows.

5. Every month “Dancing with the Stars”, the popular ABC-TV reality show, draws about 2,000,000 views on ABC.com according to Nielsen Ratings.

6. About 150 million Internet users in the U.S. watch about 14.5 billion videos each month according to ComScore. That’s about 97 per viewer.

While the length of the average video viewed is still about 3.4 minutes (March ’09), it is rising quickly. This means that you can easily add to your video library and add topics of greater length too. There are countless topics about which you are an expert that a prospective customer would be very interested in. Your video could be the difference in whether you get the order, or not.

If your website does not include videos right now, let’s talk. They are amazingly inexpensive and are a big draw for prospective customers. While we still produce more two minute videos than any other length, 14 minute videos seem to be the new wave.

It is important for you to set the standard in your business category, and videos are another way to do it. Don’t wait. Plan for it now.