Although Web 2.0 is still in its infancy on the IT Web, there are some stellar examples of best practices worth a second look. In my opinion, Cisco.com’s innovative use of video mediums is one of these cases.

As Bill Roach and I have written in several recent siteTrends reports, Cisco.com’s video datasheets are a unique video format that sets new standards across the IT industry. In addition to creating visual interest and interactivity on pages, these videos explain Cisco.com’s oft-complex (and sometimes arcane) products in ways that the rest of us (read non-engineers) can understand. It’s truly a case where a picture’s worth a thousand words.  As important, these videos seem to be getting real traction beyond visitors and buyers on the Cisco.com site. We hear through the grapevine that these videos are hugely popular with Cisco’s salesforce.

Last week Cisco.com added to its best practice video behaviors with a new twist on the theme. It has started posting videos that allow Cisco’s product engineers to comment back to customers who post comments on the site. This, of course, not only tells visitors that Cisco is listening and cares what customers have to say. It also illustrates that real people are willing to provide real answers. A classic example of this new approach (a Cisco engineer responding to a customer’s request about a product’s features) can be seen here.

SITEIQ VIEW |  It’s beyond me why more companies don’t harness the real power of videos, instead of frittering away these budgets with soft marketing productions that would make Cecil B. DeMille blush. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent watching and listening to videos that are a visual feast—and an absolute waste of time and page real estate. Although Cisco.com’s videos are hardly the beauty contests seen on most other sites, they have a clear and compelling purpose. They are short (under 4 minutes), to the point—and focus on the kinds of product information and expert discussions that prospects need when they are making a buying decision. For that reason, I give Cisco.com’s current video strategy and behaviors an A+.

GOODIES | In addition to Cisco.com’s leading behaviors, we recently reviewed a great video practice at IBM.com. This PDF document summarizes what we found. www.siteiq.net/InsideTrackBlog/siteIQVideoBestPracticesExcerpt.pdf