Video habits are changing online. I have always thought that Video as a mainline medium is a tough sell. From the filming, editing and then uploading. It is a process that requires some technical skill and patience.
That being said, according to Pew Internet & American Life Project almost one in five online adults, or 19%, now watch Web video on a typical day. I am not sure if that is a compelling enough reason to go out and virtual vid tour. As 1 of 5 is really not overwhelming.
"The growing adoption of broadband combined with a dramatic push by content providers to promote online video has helped to pave the way for mainstream audiences to embrace online video viewing," states the report, which was based on a recent telephone survey of 2,200 adults.
As we might guess video was most popular with young users, with 31% of those between 18 and 29 saying they view clips on a typical day. For people between 30 and 49, that proportion was 18%, while just 12% of 50-64s and 10% of senior citizens watched Web video on an average day.
The content being watched is :
- 37% News clips topped the list
- 31 % Comedy
- 16% Movies and TV shows
Furthermore, 62% say they prefer professional content over consumer created material.
However, like many things Internet, this study does not take into consideration the Guerilla Realtors marketing. Using video as a virtual tour or even vblog can be used supplementally in a blog, or as the target of your direct response email or postcard. These types of videos have been shown to have a tremendous response.
There's ono secret in the industry that video has a long way to go. The reason most tours are as they are has more to do with the delivery method than the creation method. We create both template drive flash based tours and do our best to give them full motion, pans and an action like feel and we also create full video tours but almost always have to convert those back to flash so that they are compress to the point that they will run smoothly. I have samples of numerous styles of tours on my website at http://www.mls-tours.com
Posted by: Steven Schafer | August 12, 2007 at 10:00 AM