November Online Video Trends A Mixed Bag

The latest numbers regarding online video viewing are in from Nielsen, and they reveal some interesting trends.  In effect, things are looking good on a year-over-year basis, but stacked up against October, November didn't go so well.

Let's hit the positive aspects of the Nielsen Wire report first.  Unique viewers, total streams, and time spent per viewer are up year-over-year by 11.4 percent, 17.0 percent, and 12.5 percent, respectively.  And those are pretty respectable numbers.

Unfortunately for video sites, the same counts decreased by 0.2 percent, 0.5 percent, and 5.8 percent on a month-over-month basis.  Which isn't huge, perhaps, but is still a move in the wrong direction.

As for the overall rankings (we won't play favorites by characterizing them as either good or bad) YouTube came in first, with Hulu and Yahoo rounding out the top three.  Then Microsoft's properties followed in fourth place, with Fox, Megavideo, and ABC on their heels.  ESPN, Blinkx, and the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network complete the top ten.

Oddly, Facebook - which moved from tenth place in September to third place in October - was absent from the November rankings.  We've got an email out to Nielsen on the matter.

Have You Read This?

> Online Video Viewing Continues To Boom

> Hulu Is Seeing Record Numbers

> Facebook Catapults Into Third Place Among Video Sites

What Americans Did Online In July

In July Americans went online searching for information about green initiatives related to automotive transportation driven by the launch of the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program, with visitations to green sites growing 15 percent in July to 17.5 million visitors, according to comScore.

Auto manufacturer sites saw growth as well, jumping 14 percent to 27.1 million visitors, representing a high for the category in the past year. General Motors lead the category with 7 million visitors (up 20%). Toyota landed in the second position with 6.9 million (up 46%) and also ranked second among the top gaining properties in July. Ford ranked third with 6.2 million (up12%), followed by Honda with 4 million (up 23%) and Chrysler with 3.1 million (up 20%).

"The 'Cash for Clunkers' program contributed largely to the growth of Green sites and Auto Manufacturer sites in July," said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president.

"The combination of owning a more fuel-efficient car while receiving a cash-back bonus really sparked the interest of many Americans, who were prompted to visit these sites to gather information on the program and ultimately determine whether it was something from which they might benefit."

Visits to toy sites saw a surge during the month attracting 18.6 million visitors, representing a 14 percent increase over June. Toy R Us led the category with 6.6 million visitors, followed by LEGO with 2.9 million and Disney Shopping with 1.6 million.

Visits to teen related sites also saw a spike in growth, with the category up 10 percent to 29.7 million during the month. Alloy Digital Network was the most popular attracting 11.6 million visitors (up 15%). Zwinky had 6.8 million visitors (up13%), followed by myYearbook with 5 million visitors (up 8%) and Nickelodeon Teens with 3.2 million visitors.

Google sites remained the most visited property in July with nearly 158 million visitors, followed closely by Yahoo sites with 156.5 million visitors and Microsoft sites with 129 million visitors. Facebook moved up again in the rankings to the number 5 spot, making its highest-ever ranking. Answers site climbed 5 spots to #26 with 28.4 million visitors. Gorilla Nation moved up 4 spots to #31, while Twitter moved up the rankings to the #42 position with 20.1 million visitors.

AOL's Platform-A led the July Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91 percent of all Americans online. Yahoo Network ranked second, reaching 88 percent of the population, while ValueClick Networks ranked third with 83 percent reach.

Yahoo sites and Microsoft Media Network each climbed one spot grabbing the #5 and #9 positions, respectively. Google climbed two spots to the #8 position with a reach of 77 percent.

Dirty Trick #20: Let’s Go Through This One More Time

Fitting that this would be my last “dirty trick” since it always comes at the end of a sales page, huh? But, what IS this one all about? It’s about repetition, plain and simple.

If you have children and you’ve ever watched Nickelodeon’s pre-K programs, then you will be familiar with what I’m about to say here. And that is “People Are Programmed To Learn Through Repetition”.

Which is what makes this dirty little sneak such an important one. In a nutshell, you are repeating the important details of your product or offer in a small but informative summary that should be placed right before the order button.

This summary can take the form of a bulleted list, a little “Yes! I Want To Take Advantage Of This Offer” form, or something similar. The main point here is to remind your potential customers of exactly what they will be getting. Marketers will often refer to this as a “recap”.

My advice, if you aren’t already using this dirty trick, you had better start! Anyone selling anything anytime can benefit from this one.

All these dirty tricks have one major thing in common. Can you guess what that is?

THEY ALL GENERATE CURIOSITY AND A DESIRE TO TAKE ACTION.

To sell something successfully, you have to create curiosity from your customers to want to learn more about what you’re selling.

These dirty tricks work. They do. Give them a chance and see if you don’t find at least one that will have a positive effect on your profit margin.