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VIDEO METADATA: ENGAGING AUDIENCES WITH INTERACTIVE VIDEO

bsp-admin-1 on June 13, 2023

For years, the primary goal of publishers and platforms has been viewer acquisition. But with today’s viewers becoming overwhelmed with options, engagement has taken center stage in the battle for more viewers, more loyal viewers, and increased revenue. No longer can publishers live by the maxim “build it and they will come.” Rather, it’s about delivering viewing experiences that are transformed from passive to active, broad to localized, and generic to contextual.

It’s against this backdrop that interactivity becomes a true competitive differentiator. And metadata has emerged as the key ingredient that drives it.

WHAT IS VIDEO METADATA?

Before we can understand the potential metadata holds for engaging your audiences, let’s start by understanding what it is. In its simplest form, video metadata is the descriptive information that is embedded within a video file. Essentially, it is data about data. It answers content questions such as:

  • What was created?
  • When was it made?
  • Where was it created?
  • Who made the content?
  • How should the content be shown?
  • Which platforms should the content be shown on?
  • Why was the content made?

WHY IS VIDEO METADATA IMPORTANT?

For video, there are three crucial roles that metadata plays.

ENABLES SEARCH ENGINE INDEXING

Just as with metadata from websites and other uploaded content, video metadata tells search engines what the content is about. It helps them determine which results content should show up in based on a user’s query, and ultimately how it will rank compared to other related content. Three key parts of this metadata to consider in terms of search engines include the title, description, and tags.

  • Title. Make sure your title includes essential keywords that users are likely to search for. However, the title should also accurately reflect the content in the video to help ensure longer viewing times, which lead to higher rankings in the search engine.
  • Descriptions. Since search engines don’t “watch” your content, descriptions are needed to tell search engines what the content is about. These descriptions are often included in search engine results and can help videos rank better on some platforms.
  • Tags. Tags help search engines better understand what the video is about, which will also aid in search engine discoverability. They also play an important role in helping publishers organize content in logical ways that align with how users search. And finally, as your content library grows, they’ll be essential in helping you to internally organize and quickly find content.

IMPROVES USER EXPERIENCE

Metadata also offers a better experience on video sites and OTT apps. On these platforms, metadata helps viewers better understand what the video is about and whether they should invest the time to watch. It also helps optimize the organization of content and increases discoverability as users browse through genres and episodic content.

INCREASES AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT

Perhaps the most interesting role metadata plays is its potential to increase viewer engagement. It’s the foundation for creating the interactivity today’s viewers want.

HOW VIDEO METADATA CAN DRIVE INTERACTIVITY

Keep in mind that while interactive video is highly engaging, it should not be incorporated into every piece of video content. It’s important to build the combination of the right video for the right audience and the most engaging interactive experience. That said, there are four use cases where interactive video can be particularly potent, especially when driven by metadata.

SPORTS

Sports is a powerful use case because of the huge amount of metadata that is generated during a typical game, match, or season. Combine this with the historical data that can be mined and utilized for both live broadcasts and video on demand (VOD) and you can start to see how it can enrich the viewing experience in a variety of ways. Common areas where it’s used include displaying player and team stats in real time, instant replays, and highlight reels.

For example, the German Football League media hub, which stores all video and metadata related to German football matches, has 11 petabytes of data within the hub—the equivalent of 2.75 billion smartphone photos. The metadata generated includes all the official match data, live logging of action types, and data driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence.

When building out an interactive framework for sports, there are several important questions to consider.

  • How does the metadata you have access to support the game or match?
  • Is the game being broadcast live, or will you only have access to VOD?
  • How often will the metadata be updated during the game?
  • How will you get this data to the content and the audience?
  • How will you show this data to the audience in a way that is meaningful but also doesn’t distract?

But the biggest challenge with sports is that the data and interactivity have to sync with what is happening in the game. Audiences will expect scores and points to be updated in a livestream in the same way as in a TV broadcast. Because of the numerous systems involved and gates to pass through in the workflow, this can be quite tricky.

ENTERTAINMENT

Metadata can be an effective way to enrich the viewer’s experience during their favorite TV shows. Interactive features like actor bios can provide a new layer of depth and additional context that encourages engagement. It also offers publishers new revenue streams through product placements and targeted and contextual advertising that’s closely aligned with the content itself.

Implementing metadata-driven interactivity into entertainment content has its own set of considerations.

  • How will you ensure the metadata supports the content as well as the target audience and their interests?
  • How can you make the interactions seamless and meaningful by adding new layers of context and depth?
  • What will be your approach for ensuring the interactivity aligns with both viewer preference and the overall nature of the content?

While metadata-driven interactions are relatively straightforward on web and mobile platforms, there can be challenges when bringing this experience to living room devices—where long-form content is typically consumed. Current operating systems, app frameworks, SDKs, and ad servers may not fully support this as an optimal user experience. However, as these technologies continue to evolve, we’ll see even more engaging metadata-driven experiences on the web, on mobile, and in the home.

NEWS AND WEATHER

Metadata is already changing the way we consume news- and weather-related content. It provides the opportunity to personalize the viewing experience without disrupting the livestream by adding localized context to live news feeds and weather reports.

When implementing metadata-driven approaches for news and weather, you’ll want to consider the sophisticated workflows you’ll need. They should be capable of serving metadata in real time across different locations in order to deliver a personalized, immediate, and local experience.

However, this isn’t without challenges. Naturally, viewers expect their news and weather to be both accurate and timely. Given their dynamic nature, having metadata that’s rich enough to add real-time context can be particularly difficult.

EDUCATION

In an increasingly remote world, metadata offers the opportunity to transform traditional university lectures into interactive experiences for virtual students. As professors give live lectures, metadata can allow them to incorporate links and overlays into the content. Common examples could include linking to supplemental materials, related web pages for further research, or additional context to aid the comprehension of a particular lecture.

Institutions should take into consideration the detailed level of planning this can entail. Instructors will need to meticulously prepare the links and overlays and preload them into the livestream using timestamps. Otherwise, the metadata-driven interactivity you aim for can actually become counterproductive if there are unnecessary interruptions that distract students from the lecture itself.

It’s important to note that incorporating metadata will require a fair amount of technical proficiency from the lecturer or the educational institution since this isn’t a typical workflow. A workaround for this could be utilizing Brightcove’s Simulive Player and pre-recorded lectures to incorporate interactivity. This allows instructors to still benefit from the interactive elements while maintaining the real-time effect of a live session.

SETTING UP METADATA-DRIVEN INTERACTIVITY

VOD

Creating an interactive player using metadata is very straightforward with Brightcove, as long as the data is well structured and complete.

  • Create a data feed. This can be done using XML or JSON. You can also use WebVTT, which is used for closed captions. You’ll want to create a reusable feed so that it can be leveraged across multiple videos. A sports feed can usually be generated from sports data platforms such as Opta Sports.
  • Upload the feed. Add the data feed to an internet-accessible server or bucket. Alternatively, you can use Brightcove’s Media module and CMS API to ingest the feed to create cue-points within the video.
  • Develop a player plugin. This plugin will control the interactivity users experience. The UX would be built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The plugin can be used to retrieve the feed from the server or bucket and pull down the data to power the UX. It can be hosted on Brightcove within the Player module.
  • Publish your custom player and associated videos. Now you’re ready to embed the player on your webpage.
  • Synchronize the player plugin and the video. During video playback, the player plugin will control the interactivity UX, metadata, and associated timestamps.

As mentioned, the plugin can read the data feed to power the UX, or cue-points can be created in Brightcove. For a more robust and complex interactive experience, it would be best to use the plugin method as you have more control over the complexity of the data sets.

LIVE STREAMS

Livestreaming is a little more complex than VOD as you need to ensure that the data is in sync with what is happening in the live broadcast.

  • Use an Encoder with Cue-point Support. This allows you to insert cue-points and markers into the live stream before it’s ingested. An alternative could be adding ID3 tags to the stream using Brightcove’s Live API.
  • Ingest the Live Stream. Using the Brightcove Live API, you can ingest the live stream. The same API allows you to add ID3 tags via a feed to the live stream.
  • Confirm Timed Descriptions. When adding an ID3 tag, ensure it contains a description of what occurred at a specific time. Once the tag is added, the metadata will immediately appear or display at the time specified in the tag.

Again, a plugin is built to control the interactivity UX and read the ID3 tags in the live stream. Based on what is present in the tags, the plugin will display the metadata at the right time and in sync with the content.

METADATA: THE ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR INTERACTIVITY

The power of metadata can deliver new levels of interactivity and engagement that’s much needed in today’s ever-competitive content landscape. It offers the perfect marriage of engagement and personalization that’s required to build and maintain a loyal user base.

Beyond the interactivity itself, metadata can increase existing revenue by optimizing discoverability both in search engines and within platforms. It can also open new revenue opportunities through avenues like product placement and contextual ads.

From delivering rich interactive VOD experiences or enhancing a live broadcast, we’ll continue to see metadata play an increasing role in many different types of content. There’s no better time than now to start exploring the benefits it can bring to your content and your bottom line.

While the setup, particularly for live metadata-driven experiences can be complex, the experts at Brightcove Global Services have the knowledge and experience to help you achieve your content and revenue goals.

WHY EVERY B2B VIDEO STRATEGY NEEDS FIRST-PARTY DATA

bsp-admin-1 on June 5, 2023

The last few years have tested the agility and adaptation of every marketing team. Physical events went digital. Digital events had to get interesting. Video marketing became more important than ever, and teams had to think about how the sales process worked in both remote and hybrid environments.

B2B video marketing is moving beyond awareness and driving engagements and conversions at each touchpoint in the marketing funnel. In fact, when we interviewed marketing leaders, the topic of discussion wasn’t whether video marketing could drive conversions. It was about the strategy and tech stack needed to do it.

Learn more in our PLAY episode, “What’s New, What’s Not and What Matters Most to CMOs Today.”

RETHINKING THE HYBRID EXPERIENCE

Traditional digital media and video marketing tactics like webinars aren’t keeping people’s attention or driving conversions.

That’s what Margaret Franco, CMO of Finastra, realized as she helped her team adapt to a digital-first environment during COVID-19 lockdowns. Part of the reason is that video marketing, for many teams, is still focused on driving top-of-funnel activities like awareness without building the relationship afterwards. Without in-person meetings and industry events, the Finastra team knew that the customer journey across video marketing had to be personal. From brand awareness to conversion and retention, video had to break through a noisy digital environment where everyone was remote and often distracted.

For Finastra, the video content strategy started by rethinking the video marketing tech stack. As Finastra’s VP of Marketing, Joerg Kleuckmann, puts it, “It all kicked off from an experience I had when COVID started. I was clicking on an ad from a competitor because they had a digital event, and I thought it was our event, and I got confused.” Not only that, when people did access video content from Finastra, they got distracted by something else on YouTube.

Many marketing leaders dealt with similar challenges. Latané Conant, CMO of 6Sense, says that every marketer has to be an “octopus.” They have to cover different disciplines and teams in order to understand what type of video is best for the company and the customer.

Paige O’Neill, Chief Marketing Officer at Sitecore, believes that content is still the biggest challenge, whether a hybrid or digital or in-person format: “How do we connect the dots between the two and serve up that experience for customers?”

In a hybrid environment where people engage online and offline, marketing teams must provide an ongoing journey customized to what personas need the most. B2B video marketing must be more like events, and events must be more like digital multimedia. Both tactics require a lifecycle strategy that builds a relationship with attendees before, during, and after the experience.

To reinvent the team’s B2B video marketing strategy, Finastra launched Finastra TV in 2022 to broadcast video content related to the banking industry. The channel allows viewers to find the content most relevant to their industry and engage with it at their own pace.Finastra TV Interface“We’re going to build the Netflix for the financial services industry,” Franco says. “Finastra TV is always promoting. It’s always engaging.”

Most importantly, first-party data became the foundation for the new video marketing strategy from the start.

Learn more in our PLAY episode, “Finastra TV: Building Your Own Company Channel.”

VIDEO MARKETING WITH FIRST-PARTY DATA

Streaming platforms like Vimeo or YouTube can host video content, but they offer limited analytics tools. The same goes for social channels, where marketers can measure views and understand viewer demographics but not how qualified they really are as prospects. This is why measuring the success of video marketing often only goes as deep as top-of-funnel metrics like views, social shares, and time watched.

To create a B2B video marketing strategy with the personalization power of Netflix, marketers must focus on collecting first-party data from viewers. By understanding individual prospect behavior across all video content, marketers can better understand people’s interests and viewing habits and follow up at an individual level.

The first step for this kind of video marketing is simple: create video content that your prospects want to view. As Conant explains, teams should organize video production in the same way that “media companies deal with content.” By starting with the market fit for the product—and the content that establishes that market fit—teams can plan content for each persona.

At Finastra, the team created a content strategy based on different seasons and topics that consist of 10 to 15 episodes per topic. The goal was to build a digital stage that drove opportunities, not just views. Every viewer who accesses Finastra TV fills out a form once with relevant contact information and then has the freedom to watch all the episodes. This first-party data is automatically routed to Finastra’s CRM, which in turn scores the lead based on viewing activity.Types of Data“We developed a custom solution on the channel where we dropped a cookie behind the user’s first Marketo registration form,” Klueckmann explains. “Gating is a thing of the past. Forms are a thing of the past.”

Finastra TV, which is built with Brightcove, now offers the sales teams an opportunity to follow up based specifically on which videos the lead viewed with a CRM integration that analyzes who is most engaged based—and what conversations may be most relevant to them. Event content is repurposed to make it video-first and, since then, Finastra TV is fully integrated with the customer journey.

A TRANSPARENT JOURNEY

COVID-19 taught teams valuable new digital tactics to persevere through an unprecedented challenge. The next step is to integrate those tactics with real-world events and interactions. This all starts with understanding the tech stack that you need to see each customer touchpoint as it happens, whether online or offline.

“We’re in a hybrid journey right now,” says Paige O’Neill from Sitecore. “How do we bring the best of digital but go back to those customer interactions?”

By offering Finastra TV, the team saw a 26x increase in ROI from physical events, capturing the potential of a hybrid customer journey in new ways. This wouldn’t be possible without the first-party data integrations that help Finastra understand exactly who is watching what and passing that information to the sales team.

As B2B video marketing follows the success of streaming platforms, the importance of customer data is only going to grow. By building a data-first multimedia strategy, you can ensure that video content is fully integrated from the first touch of the customer journey to the last.

HOW TO BUILD INTERACTIVE LIVE STREAMS CORRECTLY

bsp-admin-1 on May 30, 2023

While interactive content and shoppable videos are nothing new, the demand for live commerce and live interactivity videos continues to grow. Not only are viewers showing higher engagement rates, brands and retailers are recognizing their potential to drive higher conversions, connect with younger buyers, and boost sales.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that live commerce has been shown to generate up to 10x conversion uplift. In fact, the U.S. livestream commerce market is projected to account for $35 billion in sales and 3.3% of all U.S. e-commerce by 2024.

However, the technical complexity of live streaming, particularly when incorporating interactive elements, can be daunting. Furthermore, understanding the nuances of interactive videos can be especially challenging for some content creators.

In this post, we’ll take a deep dive into the benefits, the technical requirements, and the challenges you’ll need to navigate. You’ll learn how to harness the power of live interactivity and ensure you get it right to maximize its potential.

BUSINESS BENEFITS OF LIVE INTERACTIVITY

For starters, adding interactivity to your live events helps you stand out from the millions of videos that are uploaded to the internet every day. But there are several other ways it can benefit your business.

DEEPER COMMUNITY BUILDING

Interactivity plays a crucial role in helping viewers feel as if they are truly a part of your community. This community-building can extend beyond your brand and products by fostering connections between like-minded viewers who are engaged with your video. Allowing them to actively participate in the content facilitates social interaction and creates a more dynamic and enjoyable experience for all.

BETTER AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Another key benefit of interactive video is the ability to gather instantaneous feedback and insights. Traditional metrics such as video views are table stakes by now and by themselves are no longer sufficient. Today’s creators must understand which aspects of their livestream resonate best with viewers and incorporate these understandings into future content. Data gained from interactivity, like viewer behavior, preferences, and demographics, will offer insights that can also help achieve other key goals like sales, subscribers, and retention.

ENHANCED USER EXPERIENCE

Moreover, live interactivity can enhance the overall user experience by integrating seamlessly with various technology ecosystems, such as Learning Management Systems (LMSs), e-commerce platforms, marketing technology (martech), HR platforms, and Over-the-Top (OTT) media platforms. Adding interactivity to any of these platforms should be an essential part of the viewer’s overall digital experience. Using that interactivity to deliver greater personalization creates a unique end-user experience tailored to your company and specific to each viewer’s journey.

IDEAL CYCLICAL JOURNEY

When implemented effectively, live interactivity can propel users into the ideal cyclical journey: content consumption, engagement with your digital experiences, positive response to calls to action, and brand affinity growth. Successful completion of this cycle will encourage users to share their experiences with others. The end result is amplified reach and increased impact of your interactive video content, bringing even more users into the cycle where it can repeat and continue.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF LIVE INTERACTIVITY

With a thorough understanding of these benefits, you may be ready to level up your live interactivity but questioning what it takes to start implementation. Short answer: that depends. Why? It may be helpful to break the technical requirements down into two categories: basic setup and advanced setup.

BASIC SETUP

A basic setup has a couple main requirements. Online video platform (OVP) for content distribution and playback Platform capable of handling video overlays and calls to action (CTAs) However, this only scratches the surface of live interactivity’s potential.

ADVANCED SETUP

To truly unlock the power of live interactivity, creators need to go beyond the basics and integrate their interactive video platform with other systems, such as e-commerce platforms, LMSs, and marketing technologies. An advanced setup in this sense means more than simply connecting the two. Rather, it should enable interactivity that is personalized and unique based on specific attributes of a user’s profile pulled from the system you’re connecting to.

An advanced setup will open up new possibilities, for example:

  • Connecting with e-commerce platforms to allow users to buy a product from within the video without having to navigate to a purchasing page.
  • Personalized calls to action based on previous purchase history.
  • For internal use cases, like training, the LMS system and player working together to create in-player quizzes, establish success criteria, and determine whether the user passed.
  • Create customized content recommendations based on user behavior within the LMS.

These scenarios offer a glimpse of the potential, but there are countless additional opportunities for your particular use case. By producing a well-integrated interactive video experience that communicates with other technologies, it greatly enhances the end-user experience and becomes an invaluable asset for creators.

HOW BRIGHTCOVE CAN HELP

Brightcove Live Interactivity simplifies the advanced setup. With features including surveys, polls, quizzes, real-time chat, and shoppable e-commerce, you’ll be fully prepared to deliver captivating experiences that boost live audience engagement.

For example, Brightcove’s proprietary chat technology allows you to incorporate chat into live videos and provides greater control over branding and user experience.

With mobile web-first interactive player overlays, you can also create a consistent and visually appealing experience that aligns with your brand while seamlessly integrating with product management platforms. Retail and e-commerce businesses will also appreciate the easy-to-manage events console that gives you the ability to add product information to the livestream in real time.

Although live-streaming can be stressful and challenging, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t realize the many opportunities and benefits it holds. If you’re nervous about truly going live but still want to incorporate live interactivity features, Brightcove Simulive and/or Cloud Playout could be the answer. These solutions allow you to pre-record your content, air it as “live” when you choose, and then simulate a live experience complete with live interactivity features. They essentially combine the best of both worlds while mitigating the risks and costs. Additionally, these features will be automatically transitioned from your live event to a video on demand (VOD) asset that can continue to drive value over and over again.

For creators looking to take their interactive experiences to the next level, developer events and APIs allow you to customize and build upon these features.

With the rich analytics on both a user and aggregate level, you’ll be able to understand which of these interactive elements are driving the most engagement.

CHALLENGES OF LIVE INTERACTIVE EVENTS

Clearly integrating live interactivity into video content offers significant benefits and opportunities. However, it’s important to be aware of the challenges and pitfalls that could occur when incorrectly implemented.

First, it’s important to strike the right balance. While incorporating interactive elements is appealing, overuse or poor implementation can distract viewers from your content. It can also inhibit the actions you want viewers to take as a result of viewing the content.

You should also keep in mind that interactivity goes well beyond merely incorporating shoppable video within a player. The most effective interactive experiences are those that integrate seamlessly within the user’s journey across your digital properties. Interactive elements shouldn’t be jarring or overly apparent, but designed to subtly enhance the user experience and gently guide them towards desired actions on your site.

LIVE INTERACTIVITY DONE RIGHT

Successfully implementing live interactivity requires having the right mindset that focuses on creating a seamless user experience. In addition to the right technology, it also requires that all of the systems work together harmoniously. Brightcove Live Interactivity offers a comprehensive solution that delivers everything you need to enhance audience engagement and create captivating interactive experiences in your live events. By leveraging Brightcove’s powerful features and adopting a user-centric approach, you’ll unlock the full potential of live interactivity to help achieve your goals.

GROWING OTT AD REVENUE WITHOUT LOSING USER ENGAGEMENT

bsp-admin-1 on May 23, 2023

Today, we are witnessing the equivalent of cable “cord cutting” when it comes to users forgoing purely subscription-based streaming in exchange for AVOD (Advertising-based Video on Demand).

More and more users are increasingly choosing to watch ads in exchange for discounted or free streaming video content. In fact, by the end of 2023, over half of all U.S. internet users (50.7%) will be engaging with content via AVOD services.

Further, Deloitte Global predicts that almost two-thirds of consumers in developed countries will use at least one AVOD service monthly by 2023’s end. A year after that, half of major streaming providers are expected to have launched a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service. As OTT providers adjust to this new reality, ad sensitivity has become front and center in the conversation on how to cater to today’s budget-conscious viewers.

THE NEW CHALLENGES OF OTT

In the rapidly expanding AVOD landscape, Ad Ops teams must find the right balance. On one hand, they need to maximize the opportunity by increasing the frequency of ads and ad pod duration. On the other, they must ensure any changes in ad policy don’t alienate the loyal viewers they depend on to maintain and increase the price of their ad inventory.

But striking this balance can present challenges as platforms strive to maximize OTT ad revenue and increase user engagement.

For starters, Ad Ops teams are faced with the challenge of navigating non-uniform tech stacks. They’re forced to try to piece together data from a variety of tools like Google Analytics and other measurement tools to get a complete picture from multiple data sets. This lack of uniformity creates inefficiencies and further adds to the operational burden for those in charge of cleansing, normalizing, and actioning the data.

Additionally, the OTT advertising landscape is continuously evolving. The specialized technical and business expertise needed to stay competitive creates additional challenges as teams struggle to keep up with the latest developments, tech updates, and best practices.

Unfortunately for many, the issues go beyond being challenges and evolve into insurmountable barriers. As noted in research from Caretta, the complexity of ad tech systems and the sales process can cause streaming services to forgo AVOD, and the potential revenue it can generate, entirely. And for those who attempt yet fail to overcome these challenges, the impact can be equally damaging. Poorly executed ad strategies can lead to buffering and excessive ad loading and repetition, causing viewers to abandon the content and potentially the streaming service altogether.

The research points to how services like Brightcove Ad Monetization help platform operators transition into ad-funded streaming quickly while minimizing cost and risk. This Revenue-As-A-Service, as they call it, bridges gaps for newer platforms by combining industry expertise with the insights needed to help avoid common pitfalls.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES

To overcome these challenges and maximize revenue, OTT and Ad Ops teams need a streamlined approach that can provide unified yet robust analytics to optimize and balance their ad strategies.

However, the best approach will offer more than normalized data and unified measurement. Actionable insights are needed to understand the effects of ad policies on both revenue and viewer experience. In particular, a clear understanding of ad sensitivity will be critical for ongoing success. In its simplest form, ad sensitivity is a measurement of the optimal number of ad breaks, the quantity and length of ad pods, and various playback conditions that minimize ad abandonment. Clearly, ad sensitivity will vary across different segments and content, as Deloitte noted way back in 2018. But it nonetheless affects user engagement, loyalty, and, ultimately, potential ad revenue. And with this foundation, the most effective ad policies can deliver a triple win: increased revenue, better ROI for advertisers, and the best experience for viewers.ad-insights-dashboard-800x450

It’s for these reasons that ad sensitivity is a key metric in Ad Insights, a core component of Brightcove’s Ad Monetization service. Ad Insights correlates ad frequency/intensity and session length/session return frequency to help you measure and assess the changes to your ad policies. So, not only can you easily measure ad sensitivity, you can achieve the optimal balance between ad frequency, ad pod duration, and viewer engagement.

By consolidating ad measurement, Brightcove Ad Insights simplifies ad strategy optimization and the implementation of timely changes, all from within Brightcove. No more endless and unreconciled spreadsheets. Ad Insights intuitive visualizations show how advertising policy affects audience engagement over time and across dimensions like playback device, content length, viewer region, and more. This enables users to dial in a yield-optimized ad policy tailored to the viewer experience that maximizes engagement.

A BETTER APPROACH TO OTT

Incorporating Brightcove Ad Insights into your OTT advertising can bring a variety of benefits, including increased revenues, better user engagement, and more demand from advertisers.

By utilizing the insights to optimize your advertising strategies, you’ll have much better visibility into which advertising strategies align best with audience preferences and content types. This delivers a more engaging viewer experience that leads to a higher consumption of content. In turn, you’ll see higher returns on your ad inventory from advertisers who are willing to spend more for an engaged audience. It’s a truly effective way to deliver the triple-win scenario for your advertisers, engaged viewers, and your bottom line.

MANAGING EMPLOYEE-GENERATED VIDEO CONTENT

bsp-admin-1 on May 16, 2023

No one knows a company better than its employees. They know the best benefits candidates should know about, which SOPs are the most up-to-date, and which coffee maker won’t ruin your morning. They also know how to use a smartphone and record videos, which makes them the best content creators your company isn’t using.

Employee-generated video content (EGVC) is a growing trend, and for good reason. We already know that video gives employees a better experience; four out of five told us so. But did you know that EGVC can increase your candidate conversion rate by 34%? What are you waiting for?

If we had to guess, you’re probably waiting to leverage employee-generated content because you need to manage all those employees—and all that content. Ask any video producer and they’ll gladly tell you all the headaches they’ve encountered. But it doesn’t have to be that way. And with the right technology, EGVC can practically manage itself.

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE-GENERATED VIDEO CONTENT?

To be clear, EGVC isn’t hiring a producer to film one of your employees. Employee-generated video content is about unleashing employees as content creators.

Just like user-generated content (UGC) features customers sharing what they love about a brand or product, EGVC puts the spotlight on your employees. Whether they’re talking about why they work at your company or just explaining what they do, you’re empowering your employees to be spokespeople.

Also similar to user-generated video, no one expects employee-generated video to have a high production value. This kind of content works precisely because it doesn’t look produced. A video shot selfie-style with a smartphone looks like something the person wanted to say, not something a marketing team wrote for them to say. And that authenticity is one of the main reasons why every company needs it.

WHY YOU NEED EMPLOYEE-GENERATED VIDEO CONTENT

EGVC benefits more than HR goals; it has a measurable effect on business goals. Regardless of how you use it, employee-generated content is valuable to both the company and the employee.

  • Authentic. This is why UGC is so effective. We’re surrounded by advertising messages carefully tested and crafted by marketers (like us) to drive us to take a certain action. Just as hearing directly from customers invites less skepticism about a product, we’re more likely to trust what employees say about their company. Furthermore, video adds to the authenticity because you can see the person speaking their truth without the edits of a clever PR team.
  • Cost effective. High-quality video is expensive. Not only does it cost your marketing team time and resources, producers aren’t cheap and editing takes time. And that’s just for one video. Conversely, most of your employees are already equipped to be video producers by virtue of owning a phone, so there’s no one to hire. Add on the latest in cloud-based technology, and the workflow time can be mere minutes.
  • License-free. Another benefit of EGVC’s lower production value is it doesn’t need the licensed content often used in highly-produced video content. Beyond additional cost, the licenses for stock footage and music beds vary in use and duration. Many providers differentiate between commercial and creative uses, and they often require renewals every year. Employee videos not only save you the cost of this content, they save you the hassle of tracking those licenses.
  • Employee engagement. In the right contexts, giving your employees a voice can be much more effective than any well-crafted piece of marketing content. But it also benefits the employees, as well. Maintaining employee engagement can be challenging, especially with distributed workforces. But encouraging employees to participate in the company’s branding demonstrates an interest in their feedback that many will appreciate.

HOW TO USE EMPLOYEE-GENERATED VIDEO CONTENT

There are several ways your company can effectively use EGVC, but it’s important to recognize why many aren’t using it yet: video management can be complicated.

MANAGING THE VIDEO CONTENT

When something as beneficial as employee-generated video isn’t widely adopted, it’s usually because the implementation seems intimidating—and indeed, it can be.

Content and creative directors know well that video management brings new challenges, primarily due to extraordinary file sizes. Believe it or not, the fastest way to transfer assets from a producer to an editor is by mailing external hard drives (not emailing, going to the post office). Add more than one producer or editor, and now you have drives and files in several physical and digital locations.

With EGVC, you’re managing dozens if not hundreds or thousands of video producers. It’s like trying to organize company documents without a secure server or marketing assets without a Digital Asset Management system (DAM). And even if you do have an online video platform (OVP), odds are most of your employees won’t have access to it, let alone know how to properly upload the assets.

At Brightcove, we have a simple solution for managing employee-generated video. All you have to do is ask your employees to upload their videos to a Google Drive or Dropbox folder. That’s it. At least, that’s all you have to tell them.

On the backend, Brightcove integrates with both Google Drive and Dropbox, allowing you to select a “watched” folder. This folder is synced with your Brightcove account so that any new video file will be automatically uploaded.

This is video management made easy. You don’t have to manually gather multiple assets from multiple people and upload them one at a time. Once your employees take a video on their phones and share it to the proper cloud folder, Brightcove will take care of the ingestion.

EGVC can be used in lots of different ways. To take advantage of them, you’ll need a workflow that’s as simple and familiar to your employees as possible.

MARKETING THE VIDEO CONTENT

Employee-generated video content can be used both internally and externally for the benefit of customers, colleagues, new hires, and job candidates. Below are a few of the more common uses and examples of how to activate them.

  • Recruitment. In addition to job descriptions, ask hiring managers to record a short video introducing themselves and why they’re excited about the position. Managers are one of the most important ingredients in job satisfaction and attracting top talent, so make sure you’re marketing your managers along with the positions. Job listings are much more appealing when you can see who you’d be working for. Similarly, employee testimonials can do wonders for building an employer brand. For example, during Women’s History Month one year, Brightcove distributed a montage of women engineers in support of the #BreakTheBias campaign. You could build on our idea and make distribution as easy as ingest by using our LinkedIn integration. Settings like post info and visibility can all be managed through the integration.
  • Learning and Development (L&D). It’s time for internal communications to leverage your internal subject matter experts (SMEs). Start a list of FAQs and ask them to respond to each one with a short video. They’re probably tired of answering the same questions over and over, and with Brightcove, they’ll only have to do it one more time. Using our portals and Smart Playlists, you can create a secure, internal video experience that manages itself. All you have to do is add tags to your videos, set up a Smart Playlist to auto-populate with those tags, and create a portal that hosts the Playlist. Coupled with a Google or Dropbox integration, this means the only thing you have to do is add the tags; everything else is automatic. For longer term development, you might consider giving your veterans a chance to share their experiences. For example, Brightcove has a series called “Navigating the Cove” featuring career success stories from staff around the globe. Using our solutions, you could easily replicate this idea without too much effort.
  • Connection. At Brightcove, Employee Appreciation Day has turned into Employee Appreciation Week. We like to thank each other publicly (and, obviously, through video) because gratitude is infectious. Sharing how much we appreciate each other is part of what connects us and makes us a great place to work. You can take our idea a step further and, like a training portal, create a gratitude portal. Unlike social media or internal chat platforms, team members could easily return to this content whenever they need to be reminded how much they matter to others. Because portals like this are so easy to maintain, you could create more to wish happy birthdays or congratulate promotions. It won’t cost a lot of effort, but it will go a long way in building your company culture.

IMPLEMENTING EMPLOYEE-GENERATED VIDEO WITH BRIGHTCOVE

The only thing holding most companies back from activating employee-generated video content is knowing how to manage it. We don’t blame you. Without the right tools, it can quickly spiral into a time-consuming hassle or an outright mess. But with Brightcove Communications Studio and the proper video content management processes, you can reap all the benefits of EGVC with an easy-to-manage workflow.

VIDEO CONTENT MANAGEMENT: COMMON MISTAKES

bsp-admin-1 on May 8, 2023

Enterprises are adopting video at a rapid pace. Video advertising and shoppable video are more accessible than ever, and internal applications like training and townhalls are also increasing.

At the root of all the flashy features and trendy use cases is an oft-neglected but fundamental component of video marketing: video content management. In fact, this was a recurring theme in The Aragon Research Globe™ for Enterprise Video, 2023:

As demand for both produced video content and user-generated video content grows, video content management, which is how this market got its start, is now more important than ever before.

The best features will fail without a proper foundation. Before settling on a new or even your first streaming platform, take a moment to review some of the most common video management mistakes. Knowing what to avoid will allow you to get the most out of your platform and set up your video marketing strategy for success.

NO TAXONOMY

One of the most common mistakes in video content management is not having a clear and consistent taxonomy. Imagine throwing cables into a pile in the corner of a closet and wondering why they come out tangled and knotted. Without a taxonomy, video storage can be difficult to manage effectively.

NO TAXONOMY SYMPTOMS

It’s easy to tell if you have a working taxonomy. You usually won’t hear internal stakeholders say, “Ugh, I would’ve used that video in my campaign if I knew we had it!” Missed opportunities are a telltale sign that marketers aren’t able to find your content and make the most of it.

You also won’t hear someone say, “Wait, we already had an asset about that?” Too often, wasted resources are the result of a mismanaged media library. Especially for marketers working against deadlines, it can foster bad habits like producing duplicate content rather than going to hunt and peck for what they need.

NO TAXONOMY SOLUTIONS

Taxonomy refers to the ways in which content is categorized and organized. For example, AV folks inverse wrap cables (to prevent tangling) and sort them by things like length and connector. In the same way, content managers should structure their media libraries by aboutness and use.

Enterprise video platforms like Brightcove offer a couple of different file storage features.

  • Folders. Best used to organize video assets by aboutness, folders are the primary navigation for content managers. External content like products and services, as well as internal content like trainings and townhalls, should all have their own folders. However, not every subcategory needs its own folder. Keep the folders high-level and your library will be easier to navigate.
  • Playlists. Best used to organize video assets by use, playlists are the primary navigation for content activators. Campaigns, channels, and other external and internal initiatives can each have their own playlist. Unlike folders, playlist contents will overlap to accommodate various uses and thus can be more granular. For example, a clip of the CEO from a townhall might fit on both an onboarding playlist and a PR playlist.

In addition to manual playlists, a leading platform like Brightcove also offers Smart Playlists that can be generated automatically based on tags, custom fields, descriptions, and dates.

Of course, Smart Playlists won’t work if any of the necessary data points are missing. Video tagging, in particular, isn’t an intuitive skill and users are prone to over-tag with useless data or freeze up and avoid tagging altogether. That’s why most platforms also offer required fields that prevent an asset’s activation until those fields are filled in.

A rigorously maintained taxonomy is what it will take to stay ahead of the competition in some burgeoning markets. For example, “Aragon feels there will be long-term archival needs for certain types of telehealth use cases (The Aragon Research Globe™ for Enterprise Video, 2023).” In a field prone to legal scrutiny, organizations should strongly consider offering benefits beyond business outcomes.

NO INGEST PROCEDURE

Another common mistake is not having a clear and consistent process for ingesting video content. It’s like expecting a football team to win games with no assigned positions or set plays. Without a proper ingest procedure, it will be difficult to ensure that the right video assets are stored the right way.

NO INGEST SYMPTOMS

One way to tell that your ingest procedures aren’t standardized is by checking your file names. Do they have an ISO-formatted date? Is there any irrelevant information like the producer’s name or the duration? Or are some simply called “project” because someone forgot to title them? Inconsistent naming conventions indicate users are following their own instincts rather than a company-wide standard.

Another indicator is duplicate assets. This means users can’t (or won’t) identify which assets are already in the library, so they’re uploading the same file multiple times. Not only is this likely due to the aforementioned naming issue, it also suggests users are trying to fill a vacuum in the ingest process.

NO INGEST SOLUTIONS

Ingesting refers to the process of transferring video content from the source to the storage location—in this case, an online video platform or OVP. A taxonomy is an important first step, but alone, it won’t help if no one knows to follow it. Once you outline an ingest procedure, there are several features that can help you maintain it.

  • Role-based access. Just like not every football player has the skills to be a goalkeeper, not every employee should have access to your media library. For example, Brightcove’s platform is divided into different modules and allows you to select which modules are accessible to different roles. Restricting the Upload module to select users will improve process compliance and make it easier to identify responsible parties when errors need to be corrected.
  • Replace source file. Version control often becomes an issue when a product is updated or your brand is refreshed. Brightcove makes this easy by offering a button called “Replace Source File.” Whenever you’re done with an old version of a video, just click this button and you can update every instance of the asset. No duplicate files or naming issues. If that sounds like a simple solution that any web CMS already offers, it is. If you’re mad that your current video CMS doesn’t offer it, you should be.

These features will only become more important as microvideo grows. Short (30-second) how-to videos are increasingly popular with customer support use cases. But as media libraries grow, so does the need for businesses to lock down their ingest processes. “Aragon feels that more of them will need a full Enterprise video platform to be able to manage the growing volume of videos over the next five years.”

NO PUBLICATION PROCEDURE

A final common mistake is not having a clear and consistent process for publishing video content. A grocery store would never order produce before coordinating with packagers and distributors; it might rot before getting to the table. Likewise, without a proper publication procedure, videos may start growing (figurative) mold in your library.

NO PUBLICATION SYMPTOMS

Whenever deadlines are missed or the wrong video gets published to the wrong place, your publication procedure is suspect. Delays and errors indicate there’s no established workflow for a video asset once it’s ingested.

Another obvious sign that publishing happens haphazardly is when you try to break out a video’s metrics by audience but can’t find where it’s published. This kind of opaque performance can occur because some may not realize that publication is part of content management.

NO PUBLICATION SOLUTIONS

Publishing refers to the process of making video content available to the public. And despite the fact that it addresses where a video lives outside of the media library, this is still the content manager’s job. Fortunately, good streaming platforms offer some helpful features to make this job a little easier.

  • Portals. Rather than waiting for links, embed codes, or the webpages needed to host them, a video portal can be set to auto-populate based on certain playlists. For example, Brightcove Gallery offers several responsive, no-code templates that can be populated by Smart Playlists. Meaning, you could add “PR” and “onboarding” tags to that CEO townhall clip mentioned earlier, and upon ingest, it would automatically publish to those respective portals.
  • Players. When Brightcove and other platforms allow you to customize multiple video players, we’re not doing that so you can create wacky designs (okay, maybe a little). Players are an opportunity to organize where your videos are published. For example, landing page audiences behave very differently than homepage audiences. But if you have a video published in both places, how do you break out the performance? If you had a designated player for each location, then you could simply filter performance by player. Anywhere an audience behaves in a distinct way is an opportunity for a designated player.

Players are particularly valuable when working with interactive video. According to Aragon Research, “One of the fast-growing use cases is interactive video, which makes shopping experiences more immersive.” But to keep up with that growth, enterprises will need to know where buyers are watching and interacting with videos. Designated players allow them to break out those audiences and refine their strategies accordingly.

SOLVING VIDEO MANAGEMENT WITH THE ENTERPRISE LEADER

Managing video content can be a challenge, given video’s cascading growth in volume and use cases. Avoiding the common mistakes can keep your content well organized so your streaming platform can propel your marketing strategy to keep up.

Video Content Management graphic

To be clear, the solution to poor video asset management is having a clearly defined and adopted strategy. Tools and features can’t create that strategy, and they only work as well as the people using them understand that strategy. But they can make executing that strategy easier, especially if you’re using an analyst-named leader like Brightcove.

For two years in a row, the Aragon Globe has named Brightcove Leader in enterprise video.

Download The Aragon Research Globe™ for Enterprise Video, 2023, to learn more about why Brightcove is leading the way in enterprise video.

Aragon Research does not endorse vendors, or their products or services that are referenced in its research publications, and does not advise users to select those vendors that are rated the highest. Aragon Research publications consist of the opinions of Aragon Research and Advisory Services organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Aragon Research provides its research publications and the information contained in them “AS IS,” without warranty of any kind.

THE EVOLUTION OF LOW-LATENCY VIDEO STREAMING

bsp-admin-1 on May 1, 2023

In the past few years, the video streaming industry has seen immense interest in low-latency video streaming protocols. The majority of interest is on delivering videos with a sub-five-second delay, making them comparable with delays in live broadcast TV systems. Attaining such low delay is critical for streaming live sports, gaming, online learning, interactive video applications, and others.

DEVELOPING THE TECHNOLOGY FOR LOW-LATENCY STREAMING

The delays in conventional live OTT streaming technologies such as HLS and DASH are much longer. They’re caused by relatively long segments (4-10 seconds) and a segment-based delivery model, requiring complete delivery of each media segment before playback. Combined with the buffering strategies used by the HLS or DASH streaming clients, this typically produces delays of 10-30 seconds, or even longer.

To combat delays, recent evolutions of HLS and DASH standards, known as Low-Latency HLS (LL-HLS) and Low-Latency DASH (LL-DASH), have introduced two key tools:

  • Chunked video encoding. This is an encoding strategy that produces video segments structured as sequences of much shorter sub-segments or chunks.
  • Chunked segment transfer. This is an HTTP transfer mode that enables transmission of shorter video chunks to streaming clients as soon as they are generated.

A streaming client can join a low-latency live stream from any Stream Access Point (SAP) which is made available by the live transcoder on segment boundaries or chunk boundaries. Once joined, a player would only need to buffer the latest video chunk generated by the encoder before decoding and rendering it. Considering that each segment can be split into several chunks (typically 4-10), this reduces the delay significantly.

Several open-source and proprietary implementations of low-latency servers and players are currently available on the market, including one by Brightcove. Many of them have demonstrated lower streaming delay when only a single-bitrate stream is used and when they stream over high-speed network connections. However, their performance under more complex and realistic deployment environments has not been well studied.

TESTING THE PERFORMANCE OF LOW-LATENCY STREAMING

In our paper published in ACM Mile-High-Video 2023 (link forthcoming) as well as a presentation at Facebook@Scale, we reported some results after testing the performance of low-latency video systems.

First, we developed an evaluation testbed for both LL-HLS and LL-DASH systems. We then evaluated various low-latency players using this testbed, including Dash.js, HLS.js, Shaka player, and Theo player. We also evaluated several of the latest bitrate adaptation algorithms with optimizations for low-latency live players. The evaluation was based on a series of live streaming experiments. These experiments were repeated using identical video content, encoding profiles, and network conditions (emulated by using traces of real-world networks).

Table 1 shows our live video encoding profiles for generating the multi-bitrates, low-latency DASH/HLS stream.

Rendition Video resolution (pixels) Video codec and profile Bitrate (kbps)
low 768 x 432 H.264 main 949
mid 1024 x 576 H.264 main 1854
high 1600 x 900 H.264 main 3624
top 1920 x 1080 H.264 main 5166

Table 1. Live video encoding profiles

Figure 1 shows the workflows of our low-latency DASH and HLS streaming testbeds.

LL-DASH toolchainLL-HLS toolchain

Figure 1. System setup used for evaluation of low-latency players.

Figure 2 shows the available network bandwidth of our emulated LTE mobile network. The download bandwidth of the low-latency players is controlled by our network emulation tool and the network traces.

Low-Latency Streaming Test - Network Bandwidth

Figure 2. Available bandwidth of emulated LTE mobile networks (Verizon and T-Mobile)

A variety of system performance metrics (average stream bitrate, amount of downloaded media data, streaming latency) as well as buffering and stream switching statistics were captured and reported in our experiments.

These results have been subsequently used to describe the observed differences in the performance of LL-HLS and LL-DASH players and systems.

A few plots from our study can be seen in the figures below.

Bitrate - DASH TMobileBitrate - HLS TMobile

Figure 3. Dynamics of bitrate switches reported by LL-HLS and LL-DASH players.

Latency - DASH TMobileLatency - HLS TMobile

Figure 4. Comparison of variations of latency reported by LL-HLS and LL-DASH players.

Performance statistics – T-Mobile LTE network

Player/Algorithm Avg. bitrate [kbps] Avg. height [pixels] Avg. latency [secs] Latency
var. [secs]		 Speed var. [%] Number of switches Buffer events Buffer ratio [%] MBs loaded Objects loaded
DASH.js default 2770 726 3.06 0.21 10.4 93 38 7.99 352.2 256
DASH.js LolP 3496 853 5.65 4.59 22.7 70 53 21.96 369.4 210
DASH.js L2all 3699 908 4.14 3.18 19.9 5 19 7.99 368 147
Shaka player (dash) 3818 916 4.92 2.06 0 16 5 4.66 360.3 155
THEO player (dash) 4594 993 6.16 0.01 0 27 0 0 418.7 152
HLS.js default 2020 1763 562 10.08 10.91 8.1 26 2 9.8 130.7 589
HLS.js LolP 2020 1756 560 5.97 0.2 6.1 24 0 0 148.1 688
HLS.js L2all 2020 1752 560 6 0.23 5.9 34 0 0 133.1 686
HLS.js default 2023 3971 895 8.93 1.13 0 8 0 0 360.8 613
Shaka player (HLS) 3955 908 7.18 2.23 0 14 7 3.8 230 475

Table 2. Performance statistics – T-Mobile LTE network

EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF LOW-LATENCY STREAMING

While LL-HLS and LL-DASH worked well in unconstrained network environments, they struggled in low bandwidth or highly variable networks (which are typical in mobile deployments). Observed effects included highly variable delays, inability to prevent buffering, and frequent bandwidth switches or inability to use the available network bandwidth. Some players simply switched into non-low-latency streaming under such challenging network conditions.

As promising as LL-HLS or LL-DASH are in theory, there is still some room for these technologies to mature.

At Brightcove, we are continuing to work on best-in-class implementations of algorithms for low-latency streaming clients as well as encoder and server-side optimizations. We intend to make our support for low-latency streaming highly scalable, reliable, and fully ready for prime time.

This blog was originally written by Yuriy Reznik in 2021 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF INTERACTIVE VIDEO FOR E-COMMERCE

bsp-admin-1 on April 24, 2023

Forget “try before you buy.” Today’s consumers are all about watching before they buy. Research from Brightcove shows that 85% of consumers worldwide use video content in some way to inform their online shopping decisions.

The next generation of e-commerce video marketing is here now, too: interactive video. More than eight in 10 shoppers who spend the most money online agree that interactive videos with features such as click-to-purchase links are helpful as they shop online.

The challenge for brands looking to seize this opportunity is that most video platforms don’t offer interactivity directly in the platform. However, Brightcove is one of the few online video platforms (OVPs) that offers interactivity out of the box (OOTB). For a feature designed to improve the customer experience, the benefits of in-platform interactivity are undeniable.

BENEFITS OF OOTB INTERACTIVITY

There is, of course, one key benefit to using third-party interactivity: It’s platform agnostic. Most vendors work with a variety of OVPs. While switching video platforms might seem like a hassle, the many benefits of OOTB interactivity (like Brightcove) make it worthwhile.

  • Seamless integration. Features are designed to work with the rest of the software, reducing the amount of time and effort required to get the system up and running.
  • Consistent user experience. There is a consistent user experience for interactive elements, reducing confusion and improving customer engagement.
  • Lower costs. Unlike third-party features that require additional licenses for fees, the cost is included in the software subscription, making the rates more transparent and cost-effective.
  • Greater security. There are more robust security features in place to protect systems and data. You can take advantage of them without having to implement additional security measures for third-party integrated features.
  • Easier maintenance. Interactive features are maintained and updated by the OVP, reducing the burden on you to maintain and update it. Plus, feature enhancements aren’t time-consuming or costly for you—they come with the package.

INTERACTIVE VIDEO FEATURES

While OOTB interactivity is still uncommon among OVPs, several features have become standard across interactivity offerings. Overlays, quizzes, chapters, polls, external links, and in-video branching are available on most solutions, including Brightcove.

However, Brightcove has the widest interactivity feature set, including several advanced features that many other platforms do not. The standard features are a step in the right direction, but the following advanced features further interactivity’s goal of making video behave more like the web.

  • Sentiment. A high-performing product video clearly demonstrates interest. But without knowing the customer sentiment, you won’t know if that interest is related to purchases or returns. Embedding a video with sentiment options like thumbs up/thumbs down, star ratings, or emoticons can help you discern the difference.
  • Video-to-video branching. If streaming services have taught us anything, it’s that consumers like the video experience. With video-to-video branching, online shoppers never have to leave. Instead of returning to a menu, they can continue browsing similar or related products from the comfort of your video player.
  • Time triggers. One of the most important rules of interactive video is giving the viewer time to react. Opportunities for feedback or browsing different product videos can quickly become opportunities for frustration if the video continues before the viewer can take action. Time triggers allow you to pause the video at certain points, or skip to another part of the video if no action is taken.
  • Personalization. If your website offers a store login, you can further refine your customers’ viewing experience based on the first-party data they submitted. Like the restaurant server who remembers your name and order, your video player could do the same.
  • Chat. In stores, getting your questions about a product answered is easy—just ask someone. Overlaying third-party messaging programs onto your video provides a similar, digital experience. Why lose an immediate sale when you answer questions in real time?
  • Custom content. Embedding custom forms means that RSVPing to a launch party doesn’t have to wait for a follow-up email. Whether you use Google Forms, Mailchimp, Typeform, Calendly, or Eventbrite, feel free to collect form data without asking your customers to click off the video.

INTERACTIVE VIDEO PLAYBACK

The most advanced interactive features are worthless if your customers can’t play or properly view the video. Thankfully, interactive video has come a long way; most platforms offer web playback on all the major browsers as well as mobile web playback.

Especially with almost half (42%) of e-commerce now happening on mobile, it’s critical to ensure the video experience is seamless on every user’s device. Unlike some interactive solutions that only offer lightboxes, Brightcove provides inline experiences. While lightboxes are notoriously unresponsive on mobile devices, inline provides a much more user-friendly experience.

Most platforms also allow interactive playback in standard landscape orientation, and some, including Brightcove, allow portrait.

INTERACTIVE VIDEO ANALYTICS

Interactive video not only provides a better video experience for online shoppers, it gives marketers more granular behavioral data about their customers. Most solutions offer this through platform analytics, CSV export, API access, and the ability to integrate with Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics.

The metrics offered will vary, but you can expect most platforms to include metrics related to activity stream, aggregate performance, conversion, and overlay clicks. However, few offer stop watching/exit metrics like Brightcove. Similar to a video’s engagement rate, these metrics are key to knowing how your audience is responding to your interactive elements.

For example, just as too many interactive elements can be distracting, so can the wrong element at the wrong time. Stop watching metrics can help you test and isolate the optimum time in a video to place a Buy Now button or a related product link.

Thanks to native MAP integrations, Brightcove also offers user-level reporting like click-through rate, navigation rate, and response rate. If this sounds like an absurd amount of data, it is. This is actually one of the biggest issues with interactivity providers: great data but poor insights.

Marketers don’t just need more data; they need the tools to quickly interpret and act upon it. This is why Brightcove also offers Audience Insights, the leading customer data platform (CDP) specifically designed for video. With proprietary metrics as well as fully aggregated user-level data, Brightcove offers more actionable interactive video insights than any other platform on the market.

HOW TO COMPETE WITH INTERACTIVE VIDEO IN E-COMMERCE

E-commerce brands know that video can make or break a product purchase. But with so much video content, it’s hard to stand out. And even when you do, it’s often hard to figure out why. It’s not enough knowing that a video was viewed or a call-to-action was clicked. Brands must focus on why a viewer took the next step or dropped off.

While other platforms can produce engaging, interactive videos, most aren’t innovative enough to meet the data-driven demands of e-commerce strategies. Brightcove Interactivity offers everything enterprises need to compete in today’s highly personalized, audience-centric market.

What is a platform that supports video-first marketing measures? – For content marketing and video production staff –

bsp-admin-1 on April 18, 2023

When content marketers are in charge of video marketing, they are often also responsible for the production and management of video assets for marketing purposes. Some may be struggling to find the budget for video production, while others may not know how to manage video. In this article, we will explain how the Brightcove platform can support these marketers’ challenges.