March 2010 Archives

Psychster Presents Our Latest White Paper Examining Online Video Production Values

By Nick on March 31, 2010 1:53 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Hot on the heels of our recent study of social media ad types, Psychster is pleased to present our latest publication: Are Highly-Produced Online Videos Watched Longer Than Simple Videos in Business Contexts?

The paper, a collaboration with AllRecipes, examines the impact of production value upon individuals' willingness to view them. Do higher production values result in increased viewership? The answer to this question is key to minimizing the expense of producing online videos, while maximizing their effectiveness.

Some of our findings from the study:
 Highly-produced videos were watched 30%-50% longer than simple videos, a significant increase. 
 A point of limited returns was reached where additional production elements did not result in longer viewing times. 
 Highly-produced videos were more likely to be recommended to others than simple videos, except when a professional script was paired with a simple production. 
 Subjective ratings of the likability of the videos were generally high and not strongly related to how long the videos were watched. 

Before you produce your company's video content, read our newest white paper and see why clients come to Psychster who don't want to waste their resources on experimentation - and who know research can help predict success and avoid costly blind alleys.

Buzz: Media Reports on Our New White Paper

By Nick on March 30, 2010 11:04 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Psychster is back in the news - this time, for our recently-published white paper on social media advertising types.

The study, co-authored with AllRecipes, looks at seven different types of social media advertising and gauges their efficacy. Some of the findings from our study currently highlighted on Mashable, MediaPost, MarketingPilgrim, iMedia Connection, Econsultancy, Bluhalo, Inc. and numerous other online publications:

  • Sponsored content provides the most user interaction and is the least likely to be perceived as advertising; however, it also triggered the lowest level of purchase intent and the fewest viral recommendations.

  • Corporate profiles are effective, but become more effective when users can become a fan of the profile and add a logo to their own page.

  • Regardless of format, the most effective advertisements are those most relevant to the content on the publisher's website (i.e. a soup advertisement on a cooking website).

  • Of the seven advertising types, banner ads and newsletter links are the most successful at encouraging purchase intent.

Find out for yourself what the news is about - read our latest white paper and see why Psychster is a pioneer in exploring the psychology of social media!

Making Sense of Danger: Why Best Practices in Digital Strategy are Hazier than Ever

By Nick on March 11, 2010 2:05 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Professionals in every field are acknowledging that a strong online presence is more necessary than ever. However, when can this presence actually hurt your cause? 

Clinical therapist Lisa Brooks Kift has wrestled with this concept repeatedly on the World of Psychology blog. "Some of us [therapists] have websites (with pictures...), some of us list ourselves in directories (again, with pictures), some of us use social networking platforms and some of us are writing and blogging." Professionals in this field - one that only a generation ago would have considered it unforgivably gauche to advertise, let alone advertise with photos - are starting to see that online visibility and presence can further their professional aims. "However," asserts Kift, "the change in landscape has not occurred without controversy around issues of personal disclosure, therapist-client boundaries and the 'digital footprint' left online, which cannot easily be removed."

Even in fields more straightforward than clinical psychology, professionals struggle to have a lucid digital strategy that aligns with the way people actually use the modern social media-oriented Internet. News organization Reuters, in the new edition of their reporter handbook, delineates strong restrictions upon their reporters' usage of social media, going as far as to prohibit any sort of indications of personal bias. On the other hand, news organizations like the BBC are mandating that their reporters must have a social media presence, and encourage "collaborative work" on their stories. Part of the BBC writers' "assignment" now includes "aggregating and curating content with attribution" - effectively making personal social media presence an extension of the news bureau itself. Both approaches have come under fire - but which strategy is advantageous?

The considerations for online presence management are less straightforward than ever before - and many companies with solid content are failing to get the expected returns on their digital strategy budget, or in the case of the aforementioned therapists accidentally going against their own best interests. This is precisely why our research, such as our our latest white paper Comparing User Engagement across Seven Interactive and Social-Media Ad Types, is critical for companies and professionals looking to align their online engagement with human nature. Psychster's innovative and groundbreaking research offerings are changing the way many companies approach social media strategy - and companies that want to stay on top of the game are taking notice.
 
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