How to Monetize Internet Video

You Tube announced today that it is dropping its 10 minute cap of video posts in a trial for its partners. As the Silicon Valley Insider reports, this is all about trying to monetize videos… more time = more real estate to sell ads.

Once again, I dissent. This still is saying that engagement with the video, and interrupting (or intruding upon it) will be a good monetization strategy. It will not. The only thing this can lead to (in my humble and opinionated perception) is DE-scaling. Increased costs to store and deliver the long form video, without similar (linear or greater) increases in revenues. All in all a loosing proposition.

I do wish the test luck though… it will prove/disprove my hunch.

Try this idea on for size instead. Do not insert ads into the video; make ‘components’ of the video clickable.

Break a video down into visual components and make those retrievable ‘advertisements’…. What you ask?

Examples will help:

• You like the shirt the person is wearing, click on the shirt, and it takes you to the site where you can buy it
• You wonder what the person is drinking, click on the glass, and it takes you to the product page
• You wonder how they played that guitar series, click on the guitar and it takes you to a lesson site

What does this accomplish?:

• It reduces the intrusion of the advertising, and invites the customer to interact with the video
• It provides a qualified lead when someone clicks
• It is ultimately trackable and usable data

Yes, this is a technology shift, and requires some extremely smart programming so it can be seamlessly attached to the video, but is doable. Think about what programmers can hide in pixels of web elements. Think about how today computers can insert ads into sporting events (like behind home plate on the back wall) seamlessly.

This idea also shifts power in the model to the producers of videos. Great! That is what it is about. Empower the people to be creative, and help. User generated content. User generated advertising. User generated recommendations.

Companies like YouTube (and even Flickr could do for pictures) can be the software engine to enable, and the platform to deliver…. Similar to GoogleAds on your blog.

Now that can scale.