Video online is’ the most cost effective marketing tools in the world ‘and it’s proving to be one of the most successful venues to engage an audience; in view of this it is neither wise nor good business acumen to ignore video in your internet marketing strategy.
Video is a relatively new medium to be employed as a marketing/ PR tool; it’s popularity is partly because it allows you to communicant with your existing client or inform your next client on multiple levels. When you combine visual imagery, music, maybe VO (voice over) , the spoken word, perhaps visual text, all of this may sound like you’ve enrolled in a Montessori School but after all, this is the way we learn. No matter what our age, the most powerful and effective way to learn is to be ‘entertained while we are informed’… the more of the senses you can involve in the imparting of information the better your messages are recorded and later recalled by the viewer.
This is the very method that has been successfully used in the creating of legendary brands. Do you remember the entertaining commercial created for Raisin Bran? And isn’t it still easy for you to recall those raisins dancing and singing to Marvin Gaye’s tune ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’? That commercial moved more Raisin Bran off the shelves than all the ‘buy one-get one free’ coupons printed in all the Sunday papers all over America! It entertained- it informed…most of all, it sold..and think of this, that commercial was only 30 seconds long and it won hosts of international awards.
When you compare the traditional approach of internet marketing to the more powerful use of video in marketing/ PR efforts, you’ll no doubt recall how annoyed you’ve been when a paid search listing or a cheap banner ad asked or induced you to forward some content to a friend. Video doesn’t do that. It delivers. You see it, hear it and if it’s well done, you respond to the ‘call of action’ and you buy it.
With the use of internet video you can reach out to a world wide audience if you want to…and the beautiful thing is that the investment is so minimal; when you stack it up against other investments…. print advertising… bill boards… radio and TV advertising… direct mail… get a few quotes on that, and some current statistics on the predicted response levels, and you’ll be an instant convert to internet video production.
Have a look at the current stats on the Interactive Advertising Bureau: more than 50% of the US population will actually ‘choose’ to watch internet video, in fact, more than half of the entire population of America, will actually go out and seek internet video, advertising and PR video, and want to watch it! This is a very arresting statistical fact and it is arrived at and supported by very reputable sources. 155.2 million Americans. Now we are not counting the rest of the world…just the US population. One of these sources, ComScore claims that their research and gathering of statistics supports that in the month of July, Americans watched 9 billion online videos. Did you hear that…? In the month of July, Americans watched 9 billion videos online. AND they actually chose to get online and do that! That amount of viewers cannot currently be claimed for radio, TV, newspaper… maybe, billboards, I don’t know, because that’s more difficult to measure, but all else you can measure.
Video portals do not charge for posting your videos; these portals, like YouTube, Revver, MetaCafe, Google, Yahoo, MSN are all free.. but how do you get your target audience to watch your video which is tailored to them?
Come back in a few days and read Part 2, thank you for your attention.