Gain a Competitive Edge with Web Video By Jim Miller, Owner of After Five Productions
Imagine having your best salesperson waiting to talk to every customer as they enter your business — and having your best customers sharing the benefits of using your company or buying your product with everyone they know. Finally, imagine your customers seeing your product working in a real-life application without ever having to leave their office. A few years ago, this dream would have been impossible. But today, with the help of web video, it's a reality.
Web video allows you to communicate a compelling message to your customers and prospects every time they visit your website. While statistics show that consumers are now using digital video recorder technology to fast forward past commercials on broadcast TV, many of these same consumers are choosing to view video content online.
Target Your Audience with Video
Video content presents distinct advantages for businesses. First and foremost, web video provides a method to communicate targeted messages about products and services to your customers. Since content is prerecorded, messages can be fine-tuned to ensure that every word, every image, every frame of video enhances the brand of your company. Plus, the combination of audio and visual stimulation increases the probability for retention of a message, making web video an extremely effective communication method.
Web video can also supplement customer service operations. While we may never completely eliminate the anxiety that accompanies the phrase, "some assembly required," businesses can incorporate how-to and troubleshooting video content as an additional resource for customers. This content can enhance a customer's experience and decrease traffic to more traditional support channels.
For consumers, web video provides the opportunity to get to know businesses with a minimum investment of time. Hearing directly from members of your team can help build confidence and trust in your company and help position you as a trusted advisor. Web video also provides opportunity to add personality to your website through the effective use of music, voice-overs, animations and graphics.
What Video Should I Make?
There are many different types of web videos that can be produced, however, there are few that seem to be more popular than the rest. These include:
Customer Testimonials: There is no better advertisement than your best customers in their environment talking about the benefits of your company. Typically, testimonials videos are between 45 and 90 seconds in length.
Product/Service Videos: The focus of these videos is on the benefits and features of a particular product or services. These videos generally run between 1 to 2 minutes.
Video Introductions: Many businesses have pictures of one or more team members online. Replacing these pictures with videos allows customers and prospects the opportunity to meet team members and develop a level of comfort with your company's professionalism, expertise and/or philosophy.
So what about viral videos? How can we make one of these? Simply put, you can't. Viral video is not a production methodology — it is a result. The more important question is "What is a viral video?" Wikipedia suggests "A viral video is a video that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through Internet media sharing websites." Keep in mind that the key to a video becoming viral is widespread distribution — not just the number of views. Despite the hype around these videos, I question the value of some of these productions principally because I find them high in shock or comic value but often low in marketing message. In my mind, some viral videos miss a very basic goal — to sell or promote a brand, a product, or service.
So when is the right time to start using online videos? For many companies the time is now. Web video has experienced exponential growth in recent years and many experts expect continued significant growth in the future. Despite this growth and the popularity of this content, we still see many industries where none of the local competitors have web video content. So when companies do add video content to their marketing strategy, it presents a significant opportunity for a competitive difference.
