VitalStream's EVP of advertising services discusses the ways user-generated content unites the goals of content owners, publishers and advertisers, and offers tips for turning users' brand loyalty into revenue.
Best known for fueling the popularity of websites like YouTube and MySpace, user-submitted content is not a new topic. However, this viral, sometimes unpredictable medium has created quite a buzz with advertisers.
And rightly so. User-generated content sites are among the fastest growing brands on the internet today, bringing in millions of unique viewers daily. With industry analysts predicting significant continued growth in this sector -- estimating the volume of downloads or views on these sites will surpass 65 billion by 2010 -- it is no wonder that an overriding theme with many content owners, publishers and advertisers this year will be finding a way to tap into the buzz, and how to make money doing it.
Revenues tied to user submitted content are expected to exceed $850 million by 2010, causing traditional companies to take notice of the opportunities available to them and extending their businesses online.
Today, having a rich media presence online is a key component in reaching into new markets or extending an existing brand. But to truly capitalize on the user-generated video craze, content publishers and site owners will have to do more than simply provide an outlet for users to upload and play content. These sites will have to build a strong brand, create a community and perceived exclusivity with its users or build ad inventory in a niche market.
Build advertiser value. The value of an offline brand can be greatly extended by giving consumers access to more content than can be made available in print or other offline efforts. But with all that content, who wants to comb through thousands of video clips or blog entries to find what they are looking for?
Site owners and publishers who find innovative ways to aggregate their content by brand attributes and create attribute-matching categories, or urge users to create videos about specific subject matters, will garner more advertiser attention and site "value" than those who offer an "upload at will policy." Take for example an online TV station, which employs programming directly from its viewers.
Categorizing content into relevant topics your viewers are interested in will not only keep them coming back to your site, but also provides publishers with insight into how people categorize, the way they search for information or what is currently popular, all useful information when attracting advertisers.
The ability to ensure wary advertisers that ads are placed in front of appropriate or relevant content is a key component in overcoming the apprehension that advertisers have towards user submitted content sites.
The obvious challenge here is how to go through that much content and still keep your day job? One way is to employ a technology solution that allows for the review and approval of submitted content prior to publishing, such as a review-then-release approval queue for content. Through a process of pulling 10-15 frames out of a video, site owners can quickly review and approve content categories without the need of a large staff.
Enlisting your audience as creative partners. This is a surefire way to create a sense of community and perceived exclusivity. Nothing promotes brand loyalty like users feeling as though they are part of the creative process. Again, the online TV station enlisting their viewers to provide programming makes a great example. Whether you enlist users to submit editorial ideas, post blogs or video, the content will be more relevant if its audience has a voice in creating it. In turn you are providing advertisers with a community of buyers who are interested in information specific to a channel or piece of content. If people are interested, there is less of a risk that they will tune out-- making it easier to reach them.
Build ad inventory in a niche market. Advertisers are always looking for ways to reach specific markets. By focusing content to a niche market, you reduce random traffic and create a more focused environment for advertisers. For example a traditional print magazine with a focus on high school sports took the magazine's offline efforts to the next level by creating an extension of the printed magazine online. Here, its subscribers could easily upload personal video profiles and clips of their best performances to build an online sport resume, interact with their peers and access additional information and features such as training videos and articles. This supplementary feature to the magazine created additional opportunities not only for its readers, but for the magazine itself. By utilizing UGC the magazine gained a wider reach into the high school demographic, extended the brand, and created a community of buyers within a niche to which their advertisers could market to.
By creating these micro marketplaces, you can offer programming that people want and need but has been previously unavailable to them and allow your advertisers to communicate with the target group as an understanding member, not an outsider. Because the ads are targeted more directly to the content, you can expect to charge a premium.
User-submitted content sites are the new resources of entertainment and information. For publishers, these new outlets represent the next generation of web technologies that can be monetized. Once you establish brand loyalty, you will find you have a viable media product that advertisers will pay for.
Stephen Newman is EVP of advertising services for VitalStream. Read full bio.