1) 1) TITLE/NAME/DATE
Social Media on RECord: How video has played a role in social media.
John Winkler
12/15/11
2) 2) INTRODUCTION AND SYNOPSIS OF THE ISSUES YOU WILL COVER.
With social media’s explosion in global popularity we see a whole new world to the means of communication. Communicating and connecting with people has become easier then ever due to the progress made in social media. One of the most intriguing and entertaining forms of social media is video sharing. The use of video in social media has played a major role in the advancement of social media as a whole, as well as the way we communicate. Everyone from people to businesses realize the importance of video sharing and the major role it play’s in social media today.
3) 3) IDENTIFICATION OF THE CASE STUDY YOU ARE EXAMINING. PROVIDE ALL DETAILS REGARDING THE NEWS ARTICLE OR OTHER SOURCE OF THIS CASE.
Almost everyone everywhere is using social media sites these days. Social media sites are so widely popular because of how easy they are to use and because of the wide range of services they provide. Everyday people love to share and be shared with over the internet, and now with constant access to social media sites via cell phones, computers, MP3 players, etc. the sharing never stops. However, the general public aren’t the only ones enjoying the outburst of social media sites, companies are greatly benefiting form using these sites to reach out to their customers as well as bring in new customers with advertisements. Video sharing has become one of the key uses of social media sites for both parties.
These days it’s become common to routinely carry around recording devices. Everything from cellphones to MP3 players to hand-held digital video cameras can and are being used to spontaneously capture images, events, and experiences from everyday lives and social encounters. Everyday people are increasingly learning how to record, edit, and circulate their own video productions on the Internet. With the burst of people posting their videos on sharing sites such as “YouTube” or on their own personal sites, it’s hard not to notice the increasing rise of video in social media. Steve Garfield and David Meerman Scott’s book “Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business,” explains the importance of video sharing and how to be successful with it.
The general public is not the only one increasingly using video as a form of communicating through social media. USA Today’s article titled “Start-ups cue up for mobile video-sharing,” gives us a look into how the general public’s constant access to videos through social media sites has influenced companies to take part in video sharing. Companies have joined in on the rise of video sharing, using it effectively for both gaining customers and general advertisement. Noticing the drastic change in marketing over the years, companies that want to succeed have no choice other than to jump on the video sharing bandwagon. Jennifer H. Selke, PHD.’s article, “Social Marketing: Where should you start?” and Metrixlab’s case study “Gillette: A YouTube Case Study” explain the importance of marketing through video streaming on social networks and the overall importance of “YouTube.”
4) 4) SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS. PROVIDE EXAMPLES.
Social media sites have made communicating and connecting with people easier then ever before. Video sharing has become a major aspect of social media and has literally changed the way people look at things. Whether it is the general public trying to communicate with the world or companies trying to promote their product, video sharing has played a huge role in succeeding. The importance of sites like “YouTube” and the easy accessibility of such sites have exploded the use of everyday video sharing. Video is the present and future of social media success and may soon leave normal text and photography in the dust.
5) 5) RELATE CASE KEY POINTS TO INFORMATION IN YOUR TEXT. PROVIDE EXAMPLES. INDICATE CHAPTER AND PAGE OF TEXT REFRENCES.
Amber Mac made clear how major of a role videos play in the world of social media. Her book “Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business,” gives an in depth look to the major aspects of social media. She explains the different forms of video sharing that have been used successfully through social media. The video streaming sites are a huge success; she claims “YouTube is getting substantially more daily eyeballs than the top television networks in the United States combined.” (Mac, Chapter 4, page 65) “YouTube” is clearly the god of video streaming, giving life to the video-sharing craze. “As of early 2009, there were thirteen hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute. The video-sharing site was also ranked as the world’s second largest search engine, just behind Google.” (Mac, Chapter 4, page 65) “YouTube” is a breading ground for film enthusiasts, and advertisers looking to reach the general public. In fact, according to Mac, when “YouTube” first started it was attaining 30 million views a day and quickly jumped to 1 billion a day.
Mac also brought up cases where companies have found huge success using videos to promote themselves. In one instance, “Blendtec,” a high-end blender manufacturer decided to post videos of its blenders blending various unusual objects. Because the videos required no actors or scripts or special effects, they seemed like a great way to get some cheap advertising for Blend-tec. According to Mac, The idea turned out to be genius. Very quickly the videos were raking up views online. “Blendtec publicly credits these videos with helping to drive sales of the consumer blender up 500 percent in 2007.” (Mac, Chapter 4, page 67)
Mac goes on to explain more important ways to use video in social media in order to be successful. She talks about the success of the video podcast claiming, “creating a video show on the web is getting less expensive than ever, making it feasible part of many companies’ strategy.” (Mac, Chapter 4, page 74) While speaking of her own video podcast show she even claimed “(she) couldn’t but that type of exposure, which took place in an authentic way online.” (Mac, Chapter 4, page 73) Also she touched upon how successful she thinks video tutorials can be; and how “Flip Video Cameras,” “Web Cameras,” and “Digital Cameras” are all on her list of the top 5 social media gadgets.
6) 6) RELATE CASE TO A MEDIA THEORY THAT COULD BE USED TO EXAMINE THE CASE. PROVIDE EXAMPLES. EXPLAIN THE THEORY AND RELEVANCE TO THE CASE.
One interesting theory on the world of social media and the direction it’s headed comes from DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg. According to Katzenberg, the future of social media “moves from text-based communication to video and audio-based, making it more intuitive and instinctual.” Katzenberg believes that in the future social media will be more reliant on the audio and video aspects of sharing and communicating which will in turn make social media more spontaneous and natural.
Video is believed to be the best way to communicate via social media networks. This is believed due to the fact that seeing and hearing someone online is just as personable is talking to someone face to face in everyday life. Viewers get a sense of authenticity through video sharing, equaling a better ability to relate to the video and the people in it on a more personable level. This is what Katzenberg was referring to when he said media would be more “intuitive” and “instinctual” in the future because of video. Video is both the present and future of social media. The role it plays is clear.
7) 7) LITERATURE REVIEW: INTRODUCE US TO RESEARCH STUDIES THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO RESEARCH IN THE FIELD. CITE 2 OR MORE SCHOLARLY JOURNALS, AND 2 OR MORE POPULAR SOURCES (NOTE: POPULAR SOURCES MUST ALSO BE OF HIGH QUALITY – E.G. THE NEW YORK TIMES, ETC.). RELATE CLEARLY THE LINK BETWEEN YOUR TOPIC AND THE PREVIOUS RESEARCH. PROVIDE EXAMPLES.
Scholars who have researched the importance of social media agree on the major role video plays in social media success. Steve Garfield and David Meerman Scott’s book “Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business,” and Jennifer H. Selke, PHD.’s article, “Social Marketing: Where should you start?” are two forms of scholarly research that show us the importance of video in social media sites for both the general public and for businesses.
Steve Garfield and David Meerman Scott’s book gives insight into the power video has in the social media world. They claim that video has an ability that other forms of social media don’t. Stating that what may be the most important power of video is “the ability to make a connection with a viewer.” (Garfield, Scott, page XV) “Video allows you to tell a much richer story than you ever could with just words or pictures alone.” (Garfield, Scott, page XV) Many social media site users have become their own business with themselves, trying to draw in “friends,” “followers,” etc. As long time video bloggers they say video helps viewers feel like they can actually get to know the person posting on a much more personal level than text or photos can offer. “Video enables you to engage the viewer emotionally. It’s the same reason why TV became popular – video stimulates more of your senses.” (Garfield, Scott, page XV)
Jennifer H. Selke PH.D.’s article on the significance of social media for business gives a good look on the importance of video sharing and “YouTube.” Interestingly, Selke focuses on the camping business in her article. Camping an event that generally requires no technology has its campsite business owners being told the importance of social media. She claims “Marketing has changed drastically over the last few years. We are now in an era where brands are expected to be online — listening and engaging with their customers.” (Selke, page 36) She stresses the importance of video sharing for these businesses saying, “YouTube is where your camp needs to be because it offers social sharing features and is the second largest search engine.” (Selke, page 37) Selke also gives guidelines to making your “YouTube” promotions successful. It is important to make sure your video account and videos are good quality, titled correctly, not to short or too long, constantly updated, and are rich in content. According to her the importance of the video is to gain recognition, and the main way to through that is by being able to connect with your customer.
Other research includes USA Today’s article titled “Start-ups cue up for mobile video-sharing,” and Metrixlab’s case study “Gillette: A YouTube Case Study.” These studies look into the accessibility of social media today and how it’s positively affected video sharing. As well, as showing how one can be successful using video sharing to be successful.
USA Today’s article gives us a look into how the general public’s constant access to videos through social media sites has influenced companies to take part in the video-sharing craze. It explains the dramatic rise of camera-equipped smartphones has popularized personal videos. And companies are rushing to develop mobile apps to help consumers capture, edit and share those videos across all social media platforms. These companies are all working to develop apps that will enable people to post their videos directly from their phones. According to the article Klip, Vlix, Socialcam, Tout, BlipSnips, Vibop and Viddy are some of the companies developing free mobile video apps. Some of these companies are looking to make a good profit by charging to use the service. “Some start-ups are banking on users' willingness to pay extra for premium services. Vlix, for example, eventually wants to provide premium editing effects for an added cost.”(USA Today, page 01b) Another form of profit would be through selling advertisement spots in the app for other companies eager to reach the video crazed audience. “Online video advertising is forecast to grow 52% to $2.16 billion in the United States for 2011, according to eMarketer. Industry analysts say the rise in adoption of video ads by advertisers is driven in part by the ability to better target and measure the impact of the advertisements vs. those on TV.”(USA Today, page 01b)
Metrixlab’s case study explained Gillette’s 2010 promotional campaign via “YouTube.” The intent of the campaign was to build awareness and association of Gillette with the World Cup and it’s champions (men’s Italian soccer team.) The studies showed that “YouTube delivers increment net reach over TV.” (Metrixlab, slide 22) It’s campaigning on TV was not as successful as it’s campaigning on “YouTube.” “YouTube” was able to reach more of it’s target audience more efficiently by streaming it’s video through the social media site than by TV. According to the research, “YouTube is significantly more cost efficient than TV.”(Metrixlab, side 22) Gillette’s campaigning on “YouTube” gave it more “bang for its buck,” by increasing its exposure and decreasing it’s cost to advertise.
8) 8) PROVIDE MULTIMEDIA EXAMPLES AND LINKS THAT ILLUSTRATE YOUR CASE.
Cloverfield- Viral marketing case study on YouTube:
The importance of Video & Social Media Marketing
9) 9)CONCLUSION: SUMMARIZE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ALL OF THE PREVIOUS SECTIONS AND HOW THEY IMPACT YOUR CASE STUDY. PROVIDE YOUR OWN VIEWS, OPINIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS REGARDING THE CASE. USE EXAMPLES.
In conclusion, social media’s explosion in global popularity has opened up a whole new world to the means of communication. Communicating and connecting with people has become easier then ever, and almost everyone everywhere is using social media sites these days. One of the most intriguing and entertaining forms of social media is video sharing. The use of video in social media has played a major role in the advancement of social media as a whole, as well as the way we communicate. Everyone from people to businesses realize the importance of video sharing and the major role it play’s in social media today.
Research and studies show the huge impact video has had in social media. Both people and businesses have benefitted from accessibility to video through social media. Both the general public and businesses have been able to use video sharing to promote themselves to the world. Businesses specifically have reaped the benefits of video sharing, cutting their advertisement costs and wildly increasing their exposure.
“YouTube” is the god of video streaming giving life to video sharing craze. People and businesses have fallen in love with the social media titan. It is much more than just a good way to achieve entertainment; it has become a powerhouse for maximum exposure. It harbors all different sorts of videos, giving the audience ultimate choice to what they wish to view. And in some cases it gains more exposure than television.
In my own personal opinion I believe video plays a momentous role in the world of social media. Video adds something that text and photography don’t; the ability to make a real connection with the viewer. A picture has moved me, and I have been touched by some text; but I have never been completely overwhelmed and engulfed in either of those like I have been while viewing a video. I believe Katzenberg was right when he talked about the future of social media. Although social media is a relatively young concept we have seen the future and it’s video.
10) CITATIONS. PROVIDE FULL CITATIONS AND HYPERLINKS.
Garfield, Steve, and David Meerman Scott. Get seen: online video secrets to building your business. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.
Metrixlab: Global Online Consumer Research. "Gillette a YouTube case Study." Upload & Share PowerPoint presentations and documents. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. <http://www.slideshare.net/MLNL/gillette-a-youtube-case-study>.
Selke PH.D., Jennifer. "Social Marketing: Where Should I start?." Camping Magazine Nov. - Dec. 2011: 36-39. Print.
"Start-ups cue up for mobile video-sharing." USA Today 5 Dec. 2011, sec. Money: 01b. Print.
