Most video contests receive only 50 to 250 entries. But don’t be discouraged. It’s the total reach that really counts, according to new Forrester Research.

The research company uses the example of Wilkinson Sword’s “Xtreme Shaving.” Even though the video contest generated only 26 entries, the videos were viewed 214,000 times.

The key is to remove barriers to entry and encourage users to pass videos around virally.

Forrester suggests:

HIT THE ROAD And don’t forget the video equipment. CareerBuilder.com toured college campuses with a mobile video booth, making it easy for 18- to 24-year-olds (the group most likely to upload video content) to create videos. Students rose to the occasion, creating more than 5,000 videos, the most Forrester has seen for any user-generated contest.

CREATE A VIRAL EFFECT Make sure the contest goes viral by encouraging users to pass along their videos. Contests decided by popular vote offer a strong motivator for pass along. For example, create a “cheat sheet” with tips for users on how to generate more votes, or offer prizes for the “most viral” videos.

INVOLVE A CHARITY It just makes people feel better and could lead to additional promotion if the charity jumps in and notifies its constituents to generate entries and votes.

CHOOSE A PREMISE TO REUSE THE VIDEOS Stretch the value of the contest by making sure the videos can be repurposed for TV spots, or provide compelling marketing content for Web sites or positive brand messaging when discovered on YouTube. Ski resort operator Sunshine Village’s “Ski & Shoot Sunshine” contest resulted in a permanent archive of videos and photos showcasing the mountain’s terrain and snow conditions.

DID YOU KNOW?

• 6% of online users upload video each month.

• 13% of users ages 18 to 24 upload online video monthly.

• 21% of U.S. marketers and 19% of European marketers last year ran online ads asking users to contribute content. Twice as many plan to run such campaigns this year.

• If you’re targeting users older than 35, run a photo contest, not a video contest.

Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

Your watch tells you the time. It may even tell you the date. But does it inspire you?

Clinical psychologist Brenda Ellner advised patients to write down their goals and aspirations on a note card and read it four to five times a day.

The tactic worked therapeutically, but her patients grew to dislike the cards and wished she’d come up with another device that could accomplish the same purpose.

That led her to start HourPower, a marketer of watches containing a secret chamber for inserting inspirational messages, photographs and the like.

“I started thinking about it. Walking the beach one day, it became clear that it had to be in a watch because it was an indispensable item,” says Ellner, president of the Cleveland-based firm. “On the outside you could see the time and on the inside you [could have space for] a message.”

Today, HourPower (www.hourpowerwatches.com) has a base of more than 20,000 customers who come from the Internet, jewelry stores, corporations and some nonprofit agencies, says Ellner, who no longer sees patients.

“This has become a full-time position,” she says.

HourPower is using search, press releases and word of mouth to promote the business.

“We’re just moving into podcasts and all the kind of guerrilla tactics a small company can use,” she says.

Publishers and other marketers looking to get their customers’ and prospects’ attention might want to put on a show — a video Webcast, to be specific.

A study released last month by ON24 Inc., which offers Webcasting and rich media marketing products, shows that people like to watch: The average number of registrants per video Webcast rose 45.7% last year, while the average number of registrants per audio Webcast fell 3.03%.

Once they register, are they really showing up? Last year, attendance for video Webcasts jumped 47.06% but audio Webcast attendance dropped 9.58%.

However, while they’re there they might not want to play. Across all types of Webcasts, response by survey participants dipped from 33.12% in 2005 to 22.04% in 2006. Q&A participation was up, though, climbing from 6.68% in 2005 to 7.21% last year.