Simon Parker
Video advertising will become more prevalent in Australia, with new data showing more Australians are spending time on YouTube at the expense of other social networks, including Facebook.
And some agents are already cashing in, according to Domain.com.au.
In an international study into the use of social networks by online competitive intelligence service Experian Hitwise, Facebook remained the most visited social network in Australia in August with a 51.8 per cent share of visits, although this was down by 5.09 percentage points when compared to August 2010.
At the same time, more people visited YouTube, which grew its share of the Australian market by 6.58 percentage points to 21.49 per cent in the year to August.
“The study shows that whilst Facebook continues to be the most widely used network in Australia, brands should not underestimate the importance of YouTube in deeply engaging with their audience,” said Matt Glasner, general manager of Experian Marketing Services.
“With video advertising set to become an even more popular channel for brands in Australia, they need to develop an understanding of how they can capture the active YouTube market to deliver content in an effective way,” Glasner concluded.
Video is becoming increasingly important in the real estate market, with Domain.com.au reporting increased activity in this area.
"From a consumer's perspective, we're seeing video being accessed more and more," Tony Blamey, general manager – real estate, at Fairfax Media - owners of Domain.com.au - told Real Estate Business.
Listings that incorporate videos are proving to be extremely popular with prospective buyers, he said.
"We're seeing listings with video attract around three times the page views and enquiries of listings without video,” he said. “So the engagement level is much higher."
He also pointed to the recent success of Domain TV, which in its first six months of operation yielded 2.7 million video streams.
"From an agent's point of view, suburb TV has [also] been a relatively new thing that we've launched, and that's been well received by agents,” he said.
“It allows agents to sponsor their own suburb and it is video content that showcases the local area, and it's hosted by the real estate agent. It allows them to position themselves as the authority in that area, and they talk about the lifestyle aspects of a particular area."
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