It's no secret that video is an essential part of the social networking experience. In fact, while professional content provided the vast majority of the web's early online video, it was social networking that really catalyzed its growth.
YouTube, of course, certainly set the early standard and remains the largest online video community. However, other social networking websites have largely shifted away from YouTube embed codes in favor of their own branded video experiences. Their users are now sharing, syndicating, and commenting.
Online video provides users a compelling way to share information and deepen engagement. When done correctly, this can be a valuable tool for enhancing the social components of a network, which in turn reinforces a brand.
Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when implementing online video on your social networking site:
- Make using online video effortless for users. The YouTube embed option is a nice complement, but cannot -- and should not -- replace allowing your users to publish their videos directly from your site. The easier it is for your users to add their videos, the more likely it is that they will do so. Allowing video publishing directly from your site has another benefit: Those eyeballs that you risk losing when they click over to YouTube now remain on your site.
- Offering video isn't about size. All social networks, big and small, are getting bitten by the video bug. Twitter may only allow 140 characters and may be the simplest, shortest way to communicate via the internet, but even it has seen the value in video and other multimedia features (hence the creation of twiddeo, twitpic, etc.). Video is rapidly becoming an essential part of social networking, from behemoths like Facebook and MySpace to niche communities like SoHorse. (And you can't get much more niche than a community for French fans of equestrian!)
- Offer the tools to share, interact, and communicate. The key to any social network is that it is a community -- a place to communicate rather than a place to post content without any interactivity. Consumers love to be engaged, so provide them with all the tools needed to actively comment, rate, favorite, reblog, repost, and offer video responses.
For example, BlackPlanet has successfully created a video community, integrating simple user upload and webcam capture and engaging users to comment, rate, and share videos. Open source CMS offerings like Drupal and Joomla, as well as commercial offerings like Clickability have built-in support for commenting, rating, and more. The result: fully engaged users who actively communicate with one another and a higher level of user interactivity.
- Give your users every opportunity to utilize video... and promote it. Sometimes a gentle nudge in the right direction is all something needs to get moving. Encourage users to take advantage of available video options by making it clear that you offer those options, and by advertising special promotions for users.
Kidz Bop has built a robust network of young users in large part by creating video contests. Kids actively upload their videos, share them with friends, vote on others' videos, and share and participate in the promotion. These contests have been a critical part of the community's growth, and the incoming videos become part of an ever-growing content library available through the site.
- Syndicate, syndicate, syndicate... and automate. Metcalfe's law states that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system. With that in mind, allowing your users to push their content out to other social (ostensibly in your branded player) plaltforms is a growth strategy that warrants serious consideration. Remember that the many active users of social networking tools don't restrict themselves to just one service. One video upload can be pushed across myriad sites, engaging a broad swath of users while simultaneously exposing them to your brand. While this can be done programmatically, companies like Clearspring and Gigya offer embeddable widgets that turn content syndication into a point-and-click operation for your users.
Whether your ultimate goal is a deeper connections among your users, growing the size of your network, increasing the amount of content at your users' disposal, or all of the above, incorporating video into the social networking experience is a compelling vehicle for achieving those ends.
David Wadler is CEO and co-founder of Twistage.
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