Before I list and explain some jobs in online advertising I would first like to acknowledge the skills that are preferred and usually required to work in the industry so that maybe we can all see what we need to work on before we hit the real world. I would like to emphasize that creativity, abiltiy to work under pressure, high energy levels, and good team work skills were mentioned in every job description I read. While having the technical skills is important, it seems that developing the above mentioned skills and creating your own style and good attitude about your job is what is going to put you above everyone else in the business. But moving on what are these technical skills online ad agencies are looking for? Knowledge of: Flash, powerpoint, word, HTML, scripting, and excel all hold levels of importance in developing the appropriate skills to work with online ads. Also, developing a background in web design will definitely put you ahead. Good writing skills, and a love of working with people as well as the ability to adapt to change quickly are also very important too. Soeme job openings that I discovered were for search engine optimizers which involves optimizing web pages, submitting websites to search engines, monitoring keyword performance and page rankings, and generally increasing traffic to the clients website. An online marketing speicalist is another position looking to be filled which will recquire you to design divisions to develop online marketing solutions for your client and will involve people skills since you will be talking with clients, making sales proposals and giving presentations. There are also opening for copywriters, account managers, who oversee entire projects, web developers, online media planner/buyer, free lance proof readers and much more. In all of my research what I discovered is that there is alot of oppportunity for employment in online advertising which to me is an implication of an opportunity for success.
INTOWEB had an excellent site for job opportunites that really shows what companies are looking for and are all about: http://www.etraffic.co.za/article_advertising_jobs.html
Ad 1 for bud select: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QivBS3EnYuI
Ad 2 for iPhone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_dJMIq_tOc
A3: for proactiv: http://www.proactiv.com/index.php?acnt=MSPd126c
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Online Video Advertising: Give the people what they want when they want it.
As we all know the Apple iPhone is pretty much an amazing piece of technology that connects people to the world with a touch of the finger. And so the fact that such a cool and up to date piece of technology would have a direct access to youtube right on the options display says alot about the popularity of online video among people today. While I enjoy indulging in some youtube surfing I know other people who are completely obsessed and are always filling me in on the latest video they have found. I think the popularity of online video is pretty amazing and will only continue to grow hand in hand with online video advertising.
Besides the novelty and entertainment aspects of online videos causing this up and coming media to be all the rage, it is also the work of media giants and the news media that make online video almost impossible not to interact with. There are large numbers of people who get their news off the Internet everyday. Most large and or popular newspapers are now online and make subscription easy. A perk of having the paper online is that articles are now not only accompanied by images but now by videos. Also, there are many times that their is simply a short clip being showed on the screen with a headline and the video replaces the article all together. It is this use of online video that links many different types of users and people who may not even go on sites like youtube, but read the news everyday. Also, media giants owning film making corporations have also developed the online video industry by making films available to Internet users and not only films but T.V. shows as well. T.V. shows that are put online actually appeal more and have much higher ratings with younger audiences than if they were only put on television. It is because of the consistent use of online video that advertisers see an opening for an excellent business opportunity to develop online video ads and create a powerful new arena for online advertising. However, some people may question
such high regard for online video ads because alot of the content of online videos is user generated. This creates a problem because a company could advertise on someones unprofessional video and end up being associated with content they do not want people relating to their product. On the other hand, I think that having ads on videos that are not so commercial could make certain ads seem more personal and with the targeting abilities we have now in online advertising and the use of good research there is definitely a window for successful ads.
The large issue that is faced with online video ads is that people do not want to be bothered or interrupted while viewing their videos and may become annoyed and opposed to the video ads. Advertisers have been doing alot of research on how to fix this problem and have been developing some good strategies. One strategy is to get rid of the pre-roll that users are forced to watch before the video and have the ad come one at the end of the video. The pre-roll, instead of being terminated, could also simply be shortened which has been much more successful than full 30 second or even 15 second ads. There is also the option of using skins that surround the video but do not interfere with playing the video so that a consumer can choose whether they want to click on the ad before, during, or after their viewing. Bugs and news type tickers across the bottom of the screen have also shown some positive results. Bugs specifically are a graphic design that come across the bottom of the screen that can be clicked on or left alone without affecting the movie. Animated bugs have also been developed and have been making even more headway than before.
All in all I would have to say that online advertising is nice because there are alot of options and alot of ways to customize the ads to viewers. A very important point to be made which is huge in all types of advertising is that creativity and giving the consumer what they want is always the most important thing. Jason Glickman, the CEO of tremor media, makes some excellent points in his interview about online advertising ( http://video.about.com/onlineadvertising/Jason-Glickman.htm#t), that put emphasis on the importance of everything coming down to how creatively we can develop this media and innovate online ads.
About.com also interviewed alot more people about online ads and there are some really good interesting insights on: http://onlineadvertising.about.com/od/videointerview1/Video_Interviews_on_the_Use_of_Online_Advertising_Videos.htm
Besides the novelty and entertainment aspects of online videos causing this up and coming media to be all the rage, it is also the work of media giants and the news media that make online video almost impossible not to interact with. There are large numbers of people who get their news off the Internet everyday. Most large and or popular newspapers are now online and make subscription easy. A perk of having the paper online is that articles are now not only accompanied by images but now by videos. Also, there are many times that their is simply a short clip being showed on the screen with a headline and the video replaces the article all together. It is this use of online video that links many different types of users and people who may not even go on sites like youtube, but read the news everyday. Also, media giants owning film making corporations have also developed the online video industry by making films available to Internet users and not only films but T.V. shows as well. T.V. shows that are put online actually appeal more and have much higher ratings with younger audiences than if they were only put on television. It is because of the consistent use of online video that advertisers see an opening for an excellent business opportunity to develop online video ads and create a powerful new arena for online advertising. However, some people may question
such high regard for online video ads because alot of the content of online videos is user generated. This creates a problem because a company could advertise on someones unprofessional video and end up being associated with content they do not want people relating to their product. On the other hand, I think that having ads on videos that are not so commercial could make certain ads seem more personal and with the targeting abilities we have now in online advertising and the use of good research there is definitely a window for successful ads.
The large issue that is faced with online video ads is that people do not want to be bothered or interrupted while viewing their videos and may become annoyed and opposed to the video ads. Advertisers have been doing alot of research on how to fix this problem and have been developing some good strategies. One strategy is to get rid of the pre-roll that users are forced to watch before the video and have the ad come one at the end of the video. The pre-roll, instead of being terminated, could also simply be shortened which has been much more successful than full 30 second or even 15 second ads. There is also the option of using skins that surround the video but do not interfere with playing the video so that a consumer can choose whether they want to click on the ad before, during, or after their viewing. Bugs and news type tickers across the bottom of the screen have also shown some positive results. Bugs specifically are a graphic design that come across the bottom of the screen that can be clicked on or left alone without affecting the movie. Animated bugs have also been developed and have been making even more headway than before.
All in all I would have to say that online advertising is nice because there are alot of options and alot of ways to customize the ads to viewers. A very important point to be made which is huge in all types of advertising is that creativity and giving the consumer what they want is always the most important thing. Jason Glickman, the CEO of tremor media, makes some excellent points in his interview about online advertising ( http://video.about.com/onlineadvertising/Jason-Glickman.htm#t), that put emphasis on the importance of everything coming down to how creatively we can develop this media and innovate online ads.
About.com also interviewed alot more people about online ads and there are some really good interesting insights on: http://onlineadvertising.about.com/od/videointerview1/Video_Interviews_on_the_Use_of_Online_Advertising_Videos.htm
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
There are many things that can be done to an individuals website that will create depth and much more traffic. For example, including links to other websites, linking to other blogs, applying things like google analytics and adsense, using meta tags, allowing youtube videos to be viewed on your site, and much more. This week we signed up for google adsense, and my site was just accepted!! I have not made any money, but I think it is very cool that all I have to do is my homework and possibly make some cash while I am doing it. Also, we were told to use meta tags on our site and so I went about figuring out exactly how to do that. Meta tags are an html code that is hidden from viewers of the site, but is read by web spiders and search engines. These spiders read your meta tags and then use that information to guide people to your site. It is important to use meta tags if you want your site to show up in most search engines and even then the chances of that happening can be questionable because some search engines filter meta tags out. I know we were supposed to put in keyword tags, however, I have to say that keyword meta tags are not the most popular thing out there. It seems that keyword tags really do not raise the popularity of your site and actually are fading out. People would try using the same keyword over and over when creating the meta tag in order to increase popularity. However, spiders now filter out words used more than twice and they are disreguarded. I think discription meta tags are better than keyword tags because it gives more information about what your site is all about. I enjoy that meta tags allow you to track your site and see what kind of response your getting and if it is rising in popularity.
Some negative thoughts on meta keyword tags. http://www.searchnewz.com/topstory/news/sn-2-20060926KeywordMetaTagsPointless.html
Some good information to know about those little creepy crawling robot spiders.
http://www.webhostsonline.com/featuredarticles/webmarketing/robotsagentsandspiders.html
Some negative thoughts on meta keyword tags. http://www.searchnewz.com/topstory/news/sn-2-20060926KeywordMetaTagsPointless.html
Some good information to know about those little creepy crawling robot spiders.
http://www.webhostsonline.com/featuredarticles/webmarketing/robotsagentsandspiders.html
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