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Internet video is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. While this growth has provided advertisers with many opportunities, it has also raised the bar for the level of quality and engagement that advertisers must reach with video. In an interview with WebProNews, AJ Vernet of the Digital Broadcasting Group talks about current trends and misconceptions regarding advertisers and online video.

While advertisers realize the need for customized and engaging content, they do not always understand that their video may not go viral. Vernet said a viral video is “a real moment happening.” Although competing with viral cat videos is difficult, advertisers can succeed by using creativity to create good online content.

The 30-second spot doesn’t work online. Instead, advertisers need to look beyond traditional tactics and look for new opportunities. Vernet said: “I think what advertisers have to do is start thinking outside the box and say, how do I associate my brand with a cool piece of content or a theme…”

In the future, Vernet sees users going directly to the Web for content and being able to find a particular show on multiple sites across the Web. He believes the future is online and advises advertisers to invest more money toward online advertising and targeted video content.

Nielsen Online and Ad:Tech joined together to create a landscape report looking at the global online media. The report compiles Nielsen Online data in the areas of online video, social media, audience, mobile, and more.

Typically, the online space doesn’t change dramatically from month-to-month or even year-to-year. But according to Charles Buchwalter, the Senior Vice President of Research Analytics at Nielsen Online, in the past 5-6 years, “this industry has transformed itself.”

The growth is evident not so much in the number of users, but where users are spending their time and how much time they are spending. Not surprisingly, the two biggest areas of growth over the last 2-3 years are online video and social networks. The significant growth of these two areas proves that innovation is still happening despite the current economic climate.

Additionally, there are other areas that are showing positive developments in the midst of the recession. Healthcare, packaged goods, and telecommunications were big spenders in traditional media and were slow to come online. However, those industries are now stepping up their efforts on the Web.

Since the online marketing space is still relatively new for so many businesses, SitePoint approached Brandon Eley and Shayne Tilley about writing a book on the subject. The book called Online Marketing Inside Out provides an introduction to Internet marketing and explains why it is important for businesses to embrace.

WebProNews caught up with Brandon Eley who discussed specific elements of the book. Each chapter covers an area of online marketing such as search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, email marketing, social media, and more. In the end, the book ties all the areas together and offers advice for creating an online campaign and tracking the results.

Many businesses have a website but do not know how to make it visible to their audience. Eley said this is one of the biggest challenges businesses face. The book provides answers to this challenge and also gives tips that encourage customers to act.

If you would like to learn more about Online Marketing Inside Out, you can purchase it at any major bookstore or on Amazon.

Borrell Associates conducted a report showing all local online video advertising will account for 371 million dollars this year, totaling five percent of online ad spending. “The New Frontier: Local Online Video Advertising” report estimates in 2012 that amount will go up to 5 billion dollars and account for 35%.

Competition among newspapers and TV stations encourage the growth. Another factor relates to the reasonably priced online advertising versus TV advertising. Borrell Senior Vice President Peter Conti explains why he thinks online advertising thrives.

“These are the people who can’t afford TV advertising. It’s that kind of video and that kind of marketing that they’ve never been able to do or afford before, and it’s affordable on a much more effective and efficient medium.” Conti considers the growth in local video comes at the cost of banners and classified ads. Conti believes local advertisers will target video ads because they have not had the power to do so offline. The report states that newspapers lead local online video advertising at 81 million dollars over TV broadcasters at 32 million dollars.