Video Matters

Posted by Rahna on May 28, 2009 under Digital Branding, Social Media, Strategy | Be the First to Comment

I’ve been focusing on on-line videos this week and thought I should share some of what I’ve discovered. 

 

Here’s the bottom line:  VIDEO MATTERS.

 

Whether you are a small business wanting to add a little mini-documentary video to your website or you are a large advertiser looking for new uncluttered channels on which to convey your message, on-line video is a rich area to explore. 

 

If you’re a skeptic about the power of video, I have two words for you: Susan Boyle.

 

In case you missed it, Susan Boyle exploded onto the worldwide web in April as a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent.  In the past two months, she has racked up over 100 million views — remember, the Super Bowl is viewed by something like 93 million!  Suffice it to say, her life has been permanently altered by YouTube.  And as we move forward, yours will be too.

 

In fact, it very likely already has been (especially if you are 18-34 years old).  How many of you have seen amazing videos where men are bonding with lions or cats are hanging from ceiling fans?  I’d bet a lot of money that the majority of you have.  See my previous blog post for more quantitative info on trends and growth in on-line video.

 

Want another concrete example?  Okay, a friend of mine is in charge of Digital Media & Marketing for Hyperion Books and spends her days leveraging the power of the internet to let people know about the wonderful books Hyperion publishes.  Does she use video?  You bet.

 

She recently worked with author Kelly Corrigan to develop a short but moving video on Transcending to promote the paperback release of her book The Middle Place.  Upon posting the video, she and her team started to spread the word by sending an email to 50 of their interested friends.  To date, the video has enjoyed over 4.4MM views and, more importantly, the book sat at #2 on the The New York Times Bestsellers List  for many weeks.  That’s low-cost, high-impact marketing.

 

So what does this mean for you?  As I said at the start of this article, video matters.  Consider advertising on-line as a viable alternative, and develop a video strategy for your digital efforts.   Do you have any video on your website and/or on other websites?  You should consider what the benefits could be for you. 

 

Video allows you to:

·         Discuss your topic with passion

·         Take advantage of sight, sound, and motion

·         Engage with your audience more thoroughly

·         Show your thought-leadership

·         Develop your brand more distinctly

·         Entertain, inform and delight your consumers

·         Improve your SEO rankings

 

Here are a few tips:

·         Be really compelling: make sure the topic is relevant to your business

·         Be succinct: most people will willingly sit through an engaging one- or two-minute video

·         Be proprietary: embed the video on your own site

·         Optimize: pay attention to meta data and Google Video map details

·         Market your video: there are tons of video-sharing sites out there to post on

·         Spread the word: use other media (both digital and non-digital) to spread the word