All Hail the King – the Rise of Video

Video is making a comeback. With the recent popularity of sites such as YouTube, and the adoption of modern technologies, video is experiencing an increase in popularity. Corporations are beginning to add it to their marketing plans and are beginning to look at ways of incorporating it into their marketing mix.

Interestingly, the use of video by corporations has been largely influenced by a “grassroots” video movement. The mass popularity of YouTube, a site whose content is generated by a community of users, is one motivating factor in this trend. This online community has launched discussions concerning the corporate use of video in boardrooms across North America and the world.

To be clear, I am talking about the use of online video . Shooting a video and putting it on DVD for distribution or broadcast at conferences isn’t where it’s at. The opportunity to put video online is the real opportunity.

Example

Consider the Will it Blend? series by Blendtec. Terribly clever and frighteningly popular, this is a super example of a corporation using video as a means of marketing their product, reaching new markets / audiences and expanding their brand. We assume this translates into increased revenue, but that has yet to be confirmed.

The Will it Blend? series is its own campaign. You can still visit the corporate BlendTec website for information on their blenders, recipes and more. But it has an obviously more corporate feel.  By launching a separate campaign for the Will it Blend? series BlendTec has used video in a masterful manner. Spoofy, funny, relevant, professional – these videos are engaging, informative and support the brand. They continue to be of interest to people as they use relevant events to create new video segments (i.e. blending the iPhone, blending Seth Godin’s book).

It’s worth noting that the Will it Blend? segments also appear on YouTube and are posting 5+ million hits per segment.

It is also worth noting that the segments are professionally produced. As “spoofy” and grassroots as they may seem, these are nothing less than professional productions.

How do you determine whether video is right for you? Let’s consider some of the best practices around online video coupled with some historical data:

• video on the web is not new but is experiencing a surge of interest due to demographic shift (younger audiences are demanding video format), technology and the emergence of sites like YouTube
• historically the main issues that have impacted the use of web video included plug-in issues and bandwidth. These have both been alleviated with: 1) Flash video being the de-facto standard which does not require a plug in to view when using Windows XP, MAC OS or Vista and 2) hi-speed internet availability and adoption by web users
• the onset of sites such as YouTube have made video more and more popular for communicating messages of all kinds – corporate, comical, musical, political and so on. The sound byte is still by far the most powerful communication tool, and video offers this capability and more. What YouTube has done is made the “sharing” of video content ubiquitous, so more people are apt to see your video message. By ensuring millions see your video, millions are now becoming increasingly expectant of this type of message delivery. This bodes well for corporate use of video
• video works well when conveying virtually any type of content. It allows the human element to be at the forefront and it is perfect for the communication of emotionally compelling content such as testimonials, personal stories, corporate / VP level messaging, successes and so on. Using video in this capacity makes the content more “real” to the user, which in turn makes them identify and relate to it better than other mediums
• as opposed to DVD or VHS delivery, web video is global in reach and has a shelf life that is virtually endless. Historically corporate video was placed on DVD or VHS which limited its viewing reach. As mentioned, sites like YouTube along ,with improvements in technology and bandwidth, have allowed corporations to make full featured video content available online and to the masses
• while there are instances where production values can be equivalent to consumer levels, audiences are far more accepting of professionally produced materials. The use of professional talent, professional lighting and video recording equipment specifically impacts the overall general impression of a video piece
• Web video is becoming a powerful online communication vehicle. The use of web video by the political party leaders leading up to the recent election was unprecedented. Postings on YouTube channels, and party websites showing recent campaign visits, party messages, political ads and more had never been accomplished until this election. The NDP site allowed a tool that would let you embed their video pieces into your website. All illustrating the growing ubiquitous nature of web video

When planning your marketing strategy for 2009 consider the use of video and the power it has to convey a message like no other medium.  Whether it is a corporate overview, a product demo or a spoof campaign, the use of video can touch an audience in a manner an email, e-newsletter or whitepapers cannot. Consider using video as a means of distributing a press release, news release or e-newsletter.

But remember, to be successful you have to put your video online. The DVD sitting on the bookcase behind you isn’t helping your business. Online video is King.

Source: thanks to Pat McGowan of inMotion for his contributions to this article. Article developed by Jennifer MacKinnon and Pat McGowan.