A Hot, Affordable New Advertising Opportunity

By Susan Gunelius of Entrepreneur.com

In the last quarter of 2008, young people began spending more time watching online video content than watching television. That's a shift that can't be ignored by advertisers, particularly as manufacturers prepare to roll out broadband-enabled TVs. And these numbers are poised to grow even higher.

According to a 2008 report by eMarketer on consumer media habits, the number of online video advertising viewers in the U.S. grew from 59.6% of Internet users in 2007 to 67.2% of Internet users in 2008. That number is expected to skyrocket to more than 80% by 2012. 

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It remains a challenge to track the ROI for online advertising, but if these numbers are to be believed, someone is actually watching online video ads. In fact, a lot of people are watching. Both large and small businesses can find a place in the online video advertising market; but the key to leveraging the power, reach and opportunity of online video advertising requires highly targeted placement and messaging as well as out-of-the-box thinking. 

Three Steps to Get Started

Get targeted. Online video ads must be highly targeted based on the content being delivered in the video. This is the challenge for advertisers, who must find ways to locate relevant content for their target audiences and then create complementary ads that add value to the viewing experience rather than simply delay or interrupt it.

Online video viewers move faster than television viewers. An irrelevant ad can do more harm to a brand than good. Small start-ups, such as PlaceVine.com, are working to meet that challenge by providing a place for online producers and marketers to connect.  Furthermore, ad networks and serving companies such as LiveRail.com, BlackArrow.tv, Brightroll.com  and YuMe.com  can help you place your ads for maximum return on your investment.