Photo and Video Sharing Sites

Sites like YouTube and Flickr are popular, there’s no doubt about that. They’re also a joy to use. By going to YouTube, a user can experience a kind of “YouTube time rot” where they continue to keep watching videos from users all over the world. YouTube’s tagging system ensures that every time a user watches a video YouTube will suggest similar videos to the user immediately following the clip. Some people find that after what seems like only a short time, they’ve wasted hours watching streaming videos on YouTube.

This kind of devotion to a web program like YouTube is something that marketers have been trying to fully harness for years. Some have succeeded and some have failed, but the general popularity of these sites suggests that a marketer’s efforts could be rewarded with a little work. Some marketers use YouTube to post videos promoting their products. One successful example was a company that manufactures blenders. They would periodically post videos of their blenders blending up non-food objects, displaying the power of the blender motors. For instance, they might blend a box of chocolates or a stuffed animal for Valentine’s Day. People began to watch these videos and followed their progression. The blender manufacturer, on the other hand, enjoyed great exposure at a very low price, for only the price of a camera, a computer, and some software.

YouTube videos can now host ads in their margins, so affiliate marketers can use the site to further their affiliate marketing exposure. Users of sites like Flickr can also gain valuable exposure at a low cost. Many photographers use the site, which allows people to post their pictures online to gain exposure. Companies can use this method to gain exposure by posting interesting photos that anyone can access.