In a recent article we looked at the increasing importance of online video to marketers and publishers. You probably recognize YouTube, a free video-sharing platform, which was bought by Google for $1.65 billion in 2006. You Tube is open to anyone, from politicians to makeup artists. If you are a marketer who wants to capture the advertising power of online video in a more targeted way, take a look at these three companies.

Fliqz
Fliqz was founded in 2005 and is based in Emeryville CA. The company offers a video hosting platform for marketers, who use it for advertising or education purposes. Fliqz CEO Benjamin Wayne says his company is not involved in the creation of video, but focuses on managing video assets and driving more traffic for their customer companies thru search engine submission. Fliqz offers video analytics such as number of views, times shared and times posted elsewhere on the web. Mr. Wayne says video will soon be commonplace on cell phones. His company plans to expand to mobile platforms, online publishers and international markets.

Ooyala
Ooyala, which means cradle in Telugu, a southern Indian language, enables content providers and publishers to offer targeted video to their users. Ooyala offers their platform as a service. The company offers a full-service platform including analytics, video management, syndication, and integration with ad networks.

Ooyala announced Jay Fulcher as their new CEO on August 11. Co-founder and previous CEO Bismarck Lepe is reported to have encouraged the search for a new CEO, although such claims have not been validated.

Wistia
Wistia is a video marketing and sales application. According to Wistia, their video analytics can help a company better gauge a prospect’s interest and accelerate the sales cycle. Wistia recently launched its video heatmap solution, which helps companies identify how much a video engages a user, and what interests users most.