Online Video Quality Matters More Than You Think

I’m pleased to see an increasing number of brands investing in video content, and rightfully so. In fact, branded videos are getting shared 50 times more in 2013 than 2006, according to a study by Unruly. But while investments are being made to put out engaging video content, video publishers must also put equal importance and thought into the presentation and delivery of the video experiences they are offering. A few seconds of buffering and freezing, and low quality video in general can heavily influence the way audiences view your brand. Decrease the chances of a bad first impression by paying attention to where you place your video and how it gets distributed.

A study conducted by Brightcove and a partner recently unveiled some staggering results when it comes to online video quality and expectations of audiences who are watching video:

  • 75% percent of consumers report experiencing some buffering and freezing when trying to access video content on YouTube.
  • 33% of online video viewers who watch content via YouTube report that they encounter buffering that interrupts at least half of the videos they consume.
  • 33% of consumers who experience buffering issues report that they will abandon the video rather than wait for it to resume.
  • 62% percent of consumers are more likely to have a negative perception of the brand that published a poor-quality video.
  • 23% of consumers who have been presented with a poor-quality video experience would hesitate to purchase from the brand.
  • 57% of consumers are less likely to share a poor quality video experience.

It’s clear that the quality of how your videos are published has a direct impact on the brand image, as well as revenue. Conviva’s 2012 Viewer Experience Report released earlier this year found that global content brands could have captured an additional $2.16 billion in revenue with an improved viewer experience.

“Free” has its drawbacks

There are many brands today that use YouTube for a lot more than what it was intended for, making YouTube the primary or only destination for their content and primary source of revenue. There’s nothing wrong with publishing on YouTube, and every video brand should have a presence there.  There’s plenty of benefit from building YouTube as one of your marketing channels, other than the fact that it’s free, it’s the world’s largest video publisher and enjoys around 1 billion unique visits per month. Not only is it an efficient marketing platform for content creators, users also receive valuable analytics about their content, audience, and monetization. However, you should not overlook that YouTube owns the audiences in its platform. Branding is controlled by YouTube, and for the most part, so is the player experience, users don’t receive exact information about their audience, such as e-mail addresses. And when it comes to advertising, no aggregate numbers and CPM, nor do you have direct control over the ads that your viewer experiences. Have a YouTube channel, but its purpose should be to tap into the YouTube audience, not serve all of your video publishing and syndication needs.

Technology is evolving rapidly, and audiences are becoming less tolerant of poor viewing experiences when streaming online content. Conviva’s report found that a 1% increase in the amount of time spent buffering during VOD content led to three minutes less of viewing time in 2011. But in 2012, that same 1% increase leads to an eight-minute loss in viewing time—an increase of 166%. Enter Adaptive Media: Our technologies and solutions are shaping the digital video economy, providing you with end-to-end content solutions, not only for tapping into high quality content, but also publishing beautiful video experience that are designed to engage and monetize.

Benefits of Partnering with Adaptive Media

  • Everything Under One Roof: Manage your entire video business – from video players, to content, to advertising management – using one system. You can even create, manage, and track your pre-, mid-, and post-roll advertising campaigns using your Adaptive Media account.
  • Complete HTML5 and JavaScript Video Player Customization: Create a custom brand experience for your digital content, whether it’s designing your playlists, video players, and even applications.
    • Note: Although YouTube offers a chromeless player to enable users to customize their players, YouTube’s ads, analytics, and watermark must remain.
  • New Revenue Streams: Increase your revenue from video. From pre-, mid-, and post-roll video advertising delivered through your advertising partners or backfill from Adaptive Media’s advertiser network. Take control over your economics.
  • Enhanced Services: Take your video initiatives further. Adaptive Media’s team of experts can provide strategy, consultation, and custom implementations for innovating with our cutting-edge technologies.

It’s going to take some legwork and research to branch away from a service that seems to provide so much on a surface level, but it would be short-sighted to not take into consideration the fact that there is life beyond YouTube. If you ever need a good starter guide, you can refer to Adaptive Media’s Case Study on The Young Turks Network, in which TYT partnered with Adaptive Media to further support its YouTube initiatives, as well as help strategize, implement, and grow a thriving video presence beyond YouTube. Adaptive Media is ready and willing when you’re ready to do the same.