Online Video Is an Experiment; Here's What's Working Los Angeles CA

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Originally published at Internet.com

Online video is still in its infancy and several companies are experimenting with content, form, and advertising to find out what works best.

To discover what's being tried, we turned to online content expert Will Richmond. As the president and founder of Broadband Directions, a market intelligence and consulting company for the broadband video industry, Richmond is paid to know where online video is headed.

"Experimentation is rampant today in the online video business," says Richmond. "All the players are scrambling to build usage and monetization as quickly as they can."

The Experiments
What's being tried with online video? Here are the content experiments Richmond sees going on today: * Longer Form
So far, one- to two-minute quick clips have been the key to success, but some creators are testing their audience's attention spans with longer videos of five- to ten-minutes. Others are even putting full-length programs online.

* Ad Ingenuity
While the 15- or 30-second pre-roll ad is the current standard, there's a lot of experimentation going on with different forms. Look for 2- to 3-second bumpers, bugs (which place a small logo on the screen for the entire length of the video), and sponsorships (which place ads on the page around the video).

* Downloadable Video
Free content is typically ad-supported streaming content and paid content is typically downloaded. Some creators, however, are experimenting with free downloadable video that incorporates some type of pre-, mid-, or post-roll advertising.

The Successes
Those are the experiments, but what's actually working so far? Here's what Richmond sees: * Short-form clips * Pre-roll ads * Action-oriented content * User-generated content with an authentic feel * News, sports, and entertainment clips

Why Experiment?
If the only successes so far are part of the already-established online video formula, why bother experimenting? Because there's room for growth, and there's plenty that hasn't been tried yet.

"I think people realize that there's a ton of opportunity, and we're still in the first inning of what's going to be a long game for the evolution of online video," says Richmond. There will be new forms that take off, and many creators want to be proactive about leading the charge.

Companies out in front on experimentation include YouTube, Scripps Networks, ABC, ESPN, Blip.tv, and VideoEgg, says Richmond.

"The key to innovation is, I think, invest a little, learn a lot," says Richmond. "Experiment in a cost-effective way by trying a lot of smaller things, learn as quickly as possible what works, and invest in what's working."