Which Video Sites Deliver the Most Views?

YouTube dominates, with fierce competition among the rest.

Thursday 17th of July 2008 12:00:00 AM

YouTube's market share is large, but less clear is whether a typical video uploaded to YouTube gets more views than videos uploaded elsewhere. Curious, we turned to the data, which is unequivocal: on average, videos uploaded to YouTube consistently get more views than any other site, regardless of category.

 

Methodology

Taking a sample of 200,143 videos currently being tracked by TM, we compared average cumulative views with respect to different video sites and categories. To prevent a video's age from skewing the averages, the time period was fixed at the first 90 days since the video was originally published. The following sites were compared: Crackle, DailyMotion, MetaCafe, MySpace, Revver, StupidVideos, Yahoo! and YouTube (newer partners such as Viddler, Howcast and Vimeo were excluded because we are just beginning to collect data for them).

 

Results

Average 90 day cumulative views, broken down by site (and rounded to the nearest tenth):
 

Site	Average Cumulative Views - 90 Days
YouTube	3092.2
Yahoo!	699.9
Veoh	662.8
MetaCafe	518.2
MySpace	343.7
DailyMotion	219.9
Revver	188.9
Crackle	142.3
StupidVideos	126.1

 

 

Averages by video category:

 

Category	Average Cumulative Views - 90 Days
Autos	1501.8
Entertainment	1293.1
Comedy	1267.2
Arts & Animation	1106.3
Animals & Pets	1075.1
Science & Technology	794.6
Sports	745.1
How-To	432.4
Video Games	418.8
Family & Kids	328.1
News & Blogs	302.8
Vlogs	259.1
Travel	157.3
Commercials	124

 
 

 

 

 

Conclusions

YouTube's dominance is clear enough from the data, but equally interesting is the fierce competition on the periphery, with Veoh, Yahoo! and MetaCafe all vying for top spots. Out of 15 video categories, Yahoo! came in second place six times, followed by MetaCafe (five) and Veoh (four). MetaCafe's performance is particularly impressive, given that they have a stricter definition of what counts as a "view," only counting one per IP address (see our other research report here).

 

Broken down by video category, some results are surprising. MySpace, for instance, only ranks fourth in the music category, behind YouTube, Yahoo! and Veoh, respectively. "Autos" received the greatest average views per video out of all categories in the sample, making car-related content perhaps the most neglected category out there. "News" having such a low average seems mostly to be caused by a glut in news content: 13.4% of all videos in the sample are categorized as news, making it the third most commonly-occurring category.

 

While YouTube dominates the averages, sites other than YouTube still control a great deal of the audience out there. Adding up the site averages, a video producer could almost double their audience by also distributing to the additional sites listed.

        

Most of you (the one's that sell cars for a living) may have to make a concentrated effort to look past the way you like to sell cars in order to answer honestly. With any luck, everyone that comments will do so from the perspective of a consumer.

Is there anything in the traditional or expected car shopping/buying experience that consumers really like? I've had dealers, General Mangers and salesmen tell me over and over for years that "buying a car is an emotional experience." Those words are always spoken with an "I'm so smart and I really understand people" kind of tone. Do I disagree? Yes and no. Buying a car obviously involves some emotion, but the truth is that it's primarily negative emotion. Car dealers and the typical way they run their businesses create tension, worry, frustration, anger, fear and depression often before the customer has even considered them.

Not that any of you read the newspaper, watch the boob-tube, listen to the radio or use the internet, but if you did then you'd know that car dealerships advertise in these places. Have you ever seen a TV commercial advertising a vehicle at what seems to be an impossible price? Have you ever seen a newspaper ad doing the same? Can you say loss-leaders? Can you say trickery, manipulation, coercion? So, what's my point? When dealers market and advertise themselves in these ways they're already stirring emotion in consumers. Guess what kind of emotion?

Check out these videos for some humorous, relative perspective.




So... what do consumers want in a car buying experience? I have my opinions, but I want yours. You took the time to read this, so send me some dang feedback!

Shaun

        

Perhaps you're one of the majority that can't hear what consumers are saying regarding their internet behaviors and preferences.  Maybe you truly believe that every effort should be focused on "getting them in."  Sleep soundly my friend, but know that your ship is taking on a lot of water!
 
If you sat through the seemingly 17 hour movie Titanic, you probably remember the scene when the musicians kept playing while folks were being loaded into the life boats.  Are you deceiving yourself by thinking that you can keep baiting, controlling and intimidating customers the same way dealers have been for years and years? 

A silent minority is now the spark.  Underdogs are gaining ground because they are changing the way they do business and offering consumers what they want and making a profit too! Will you be known as a dealer that really takes care of their customers?  Will you be a dealer that doesn't have to pay for referrals because your customers enthusiastically tell people about how great you are?

Don't let your fear paralyze you! 

For the love of ChristmaChanaKwanza, please try a few of my holiday tips. 

WARNING: My holiday tips will prove to be next to impossible for many, so be sober, open-minded and honest or the tips will fall on deaf ears.

• Treat your customers exactly the way you like to be treated.  Your mom will be proud of you, you'll sleep much better and Santa might move you back onto the "somewhat decent" list.  Seriously, when you receive excellent service or treatment at a restraurant or when buying something, you're appreciative, you recommend them and you return based on your experience.
  

• Take some advice from God and Google and avoid doing evil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIKXzuNLiX8&feature=related

With encouragement and hope!

        

This topic still comes up often with dealers that I work with and dealers that I do not work with.  I thought I'd share some of the actual content found in the Dealer Advisor Simplicity Sales Process Guide.  The manual contains the kind of information that is easy to understand and implement.  When it comes to the topic of offering price or not,  I hope you find this excerpt helpful.

From the Simplicity Sales Process Guide:

Don’t Be Afraid To Offer Price
Here are some reasons why:

Many successful internet departments have found that by offering price, they immediately increase their prospect’s comfort level.  Remember, most internet shoppers fear being the next victim of the old-school-car-sales tactics.  It doesn’t matter how much you reassure these people, you have to earn their trust!  Delivering the selling price helps eliminate their fears.

However, if you put your prospect on the ceiling (sticker shock) when you offer the price, you will be able to determine their seriousness much quicker and eliminate wasting valuable time.

How Can Your Dealership Create A Plan And Structure For Delivering Price?
Here’s the road map to help simplify the process:

Establish menu pricing for all models and trims

Agree on a pricing structure or range for all vehicles

 

You’ll see these benefits:

Quicker price quotes

Standard info now available for all sales people

Cut-down on extensive calculations

Boosts prospect’s satisfaction level

 

Dealership Management Should Empower The Internet Department

 More benefits:

Instills confidence in your potential customers when it appears that you have pricing authority.

Cuts down on time required by sales managers for internet deals.

 

Management Must Buy-In At The Appropriate Levels To Be Successful

 More benefits:

Forces frequent and better communication between the internet department and sales managers.

Empowers internet department with authority to deliver the sales price.

Encourages management support.

 

How Do You Deliver Price?

THE BEST WAY TO OFFER PRICE IS RIGHT DOWN TO THE PENNY!

 Don’t quote dollars over cost or invoice, or percent over cost or invoice.  Mr. Internet shopper will likely perceive this as an old school selling tactic.

Why Deliver The Price On The Phone?  Won’t People Use It To Shop Me?

Some of your internet prospects may use your price to shop around, but the only way to stop them is by not providing a price quote.  Unfortunately, you’ll end up losing more sales by not offering price than by offering one.

People use the internet because they want information NOW.  They are trying hard to avoid the same old, run-around at the car dealership.  They want simplicity.  If you want to sell more cars through your internet efforts, you'll need to learn how to sell the value of a process that does not include negotiation, hassle, pressure, intimidation, manipulation and stress.   Ask yourself this question, isn’t it easier to find out early in the process that your potential customer will not or cannot buy, than it is to find out later?

Do you have questions or comments?  We want to hear from you.  If I can be of assistance please feel free to contact me anytime through the information found at wwwdealeradvisor.com

With Encouragement & Hope!

Shaun Raines

Dealer Advisor

        

The lead comes in and the customer has left comments for you not to call, what do you do?  You still call.  Why? 

If you only want phone calls, take every form off of your website and stop buying third party leads.  Point all of your effort towards getting people on the phone and see how many pleasant customers you end up with. 

We've got to start getting closer to meeting consumers expectations or we're going to be selling coffee not cars.

Make sure your process is customer friendly and accommodating.  Stop forcing, manipulating and tricking your potential buyers.  People hate that!  Let's take the power back from the old school guys that should be in prison and start bringing integrity into selling cars. 

Try to work these words into who and what you are inside the dealership and out:

• Humble
• Compassionate
• Honesty
• Caring
• Kind
• Fair
• Helpful
• Sincere
• Likable

With encouragement and hope!

Shaun Raines

        

        

Today was a lot like most days for me. Spoke with a new vendor that has developed a new technology, visited a car dealer in the Dallas, TX area that I provide internet coaching for and had a near fatal problem with my motorcycle on the ride home.

The vendor that I spoke to has a really good offering and during our conversation I realized that they have something that isn't a matter of if, but a matter of when. If you're reading this, you probably agree with me that car dealers for the majority are late adopters with most technological things. The vendor that I spoke with today will succeed at delivering a very valuable dimension to car dealers, it's simply a matter of when it will take off.

The dealership that I was meeting with today was like most that I visit. Eager to do a better job using all the internet has to offer. However, I couldn't help but notice a "car deal" that was taking place during our meeting. The victims, I mean... customers were a middle aged couple. Based on their age, this must not have been the first time they'd bought a car. Unfortunately for them, the dealer had sat them down to play the same game they've been playing for who knows how many years. Johnny salesman going back and forth to the "tower" while Mr. and Mrs. Laydown grew more and more impatient and frustrated. I can already here some of you yelling at me while you read this saying that the dealer was doing it the right way. Wear them down! Take their heads off! Get them in and manipulate, pressure and intimidate them.

Ok Luke Skywalker, I know you think your Jedi mind tricks (old school sales training) represents the best way to sell cars. I get it! I've been there myself, but I'm not foolish or naive enough to believe that it will continue to work that way forever. These people I witnessed today got the same old treatment. It was back and forth with slightly increasing urgency on the salesman's part, a T/O to the closer, more pressure and insulting questions and so on. People can research, shop and buy almost anything online today. I can buy a real live Pinto Hedgehog online today and have it shipped to my doorstep. There's a $325,000 helicopter on ebay right now with 9 bids so far! Yeah... no one will buy a car online because it's an emotional experience. Give me a break!

It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Be progressive, take risks, invest in the future. Kill your love affair with the past, so you can fully take on today!

        

Do you have any old pictures from your childhood?  Most of us do.  Have you turned them into “videos”?  Probably not.  And the reason is because it wouldn’t really be a video would it?  Taking still images and turning them into “videos” isn’t really the same thing as watching a home-movie, is it?  Do you have pictures of a special vacation, a major sporting event, a concert or a unique event that means more to you than you can describe?  You may also have a video from those events, but they’re two completely different visual experiences, aren’t they? 

 

I think you can pick-up what I’m laying-down by now…you can’t turn still pictures into real videos.  Maybe this is the reason why some of you haven’t seen the pay-off that you expected with the “photo-videos”. (I’m sure some of you are already thinking about your response to post on this article, especially if you’re a “video” vendor, but go with me on this for just a minute.)

 

Memory

If any of you remember the Arsenio Hall Show, you’ll remember a segment called, “Things That Make You Go, Hmm…”  Well, here’s one of those for you; if taking still-pictures and turning them into “video” was as good as a real video…why don’t you see them all over YouTube?  Why aren’t there tons of “photo-videos” panning-in and zooming-out on still images with a robotic voice on YouTube?  I think you’ll agree that they would be lost on most any audience.

 

Get Real

I’m willing to step into the octagon (UFC reference for the fight fans) and say that most of what I see being sold as “video” today is not really helpful to Car Dealers looking for cutting-edge opportunities.  The reason YouTube, Google Video, DailyMotion and others are so popular is based on personal, real footage.  I’m not debating the fact that when a video is available, it will result in more clicks and more time spent on a website.  I just wonder if consumers find them at all valuable.  The same still images are usually on the same page for them to view.

 

No Question

Video is absolutely valuable today and will continue to be an area of growth for automotive websites.  Although, based on this article it may not sound like it, I am a supporter of video usage on Car Dealer websites.  I’m simply encouraging an alternative to most of what I see.

 

Recommendation

Make your own videos.  It’s easy and you can get started with a tiny investment.  Create your own YouTube channel or use other free resources that allow you to create code that you can embed on your own website or send via email to customers.  Start a video testimonial page on your website or on your YouTube channel.  I know a few dealers that are taking video into their own hands to provide great virtual experiences for their customers.  Like most things when it comes to the automotive internet arena, there are right ways and wrong ways.  The right way to succeed with video is to make it personal, creative, engaging, entertaining, captivating, convicting, honest and fun.

 

With encouragement and hope!