When I picked online video content marketing for my inaugral Forrester research report I knew it was a hot topic and an area of growing interest for interactive marketers. But even I was surprised when our data identified that for consumers branded online video content is as engaging as display advertising (read the report for more on this data).

I can guarantee that if I got a group of interactive marketers together in a room and asked for a show of hands comparing how many have a display strategy vs. how many have an online video content strategy, the display hands would vastly out number the video content hands. Seeing the levels of consumer engagement for video outlined in our research (and these days it's all about engagement right?) will hopefully make many brands start to sit up and take the medium seriously.

But how to use online video content?

When you talk to marketers who use video online it can feel a little more art than science. People enthuse that video "can work better than text" but struggle to validate or quantify how that can be. And most successful viral marketers seem to rely on gut instinct to create the next social video hit. No wonder the majority of marketers stay in the pay-to-display area of online video, never exploring content itself.

Here is a picture of a cute cat doing something Internet related! 

(Click image to see larger version) 

That got your attention didn't it? Something else which gets a lot of attention is when customers share stories of exceptional customer service online (if those examples include cats that's just a bonus). This fantastic forum thread  taken from UK ISP Be Broadband is currently doing the rounds. In it the customer complains his wireless network is frequently disrupted by his cat's fascination with the router. After some playful banter that issues with feline "agressors" are a known problem the customer was supplied with a tactical decoy router. Subsequent images of the clearly fooled cat were posted by the customer showing success.

Wow. If you were currently feeling disatisfied with your ISP what would your brand perception of Be Broadband be right about now?

Customer service impacts social marketing

If you didn't hear about it last year I guarantee the platform Pinterest has cropped up on your radar in these past few weeks of 2012. But does that mean it should feature in your 2012 digital marketing planning?

No.

Why it's too early to use Pinterest for interactive marketing

There’s no denying that Pinterest is fun, looks great, and a lot of people love playing with it. That is also true of kittens but no one’s rushing to include them in their 2012 marketing plans (except for maybe Karl Lagerfeld).

A couple of talking points circulating are getting way out of proportion:

• Rapid growth: The Hitwise figures released before Christmas show undoubted growth as a social network, but it’s nothing compared to the current growth of Google+. Pinterest is also lauded for making a list of Top 10 Social Networks in November which, while impressive for the little upstart, can’t be that meaningful if marketers aren’t deploying tactics for established Top 10ers like Tagged and Yahoo! Answers

After more than seven years in marketing, media, and tech — four of which were running my own marketing and social media consultancy — I’ve landed at Forrester as an analyst serving Interactive Marketing Professionals (EMEA) based in London.

My role at Forrester will start to focus on content as content creation becomes more and more vital to the interactive marketer. Content will also apply in a multitude of ways to mobile, online video, search, and across interactive brand ecosystems.

My first report is underway and will look at online video content in your marketing. If you have anything to contribute please get in touch dahrens@forrester.co.uk. Also if you have suggestions for anything else related to the area of content drop me a line.

Three things I’d love you to do:

1. If you’d like to speak with me, have information on a product or service, or have an idea relevant to my research areas you can Request a Briefing (simply write my name in the ‘Preferred Analyst’ box on the form) — PR contacts, this includes you!
2. If you’re a Forrester member and would like to connect I’m now available to take Inquiries. Topics I can discuss are social media marketing, online video, community management, content strategy.