If you’re not creating video for your corporate website or for online consumption and applications, then you’re missing out on a digital revolution. The explosion of the digital storytelling age is where the interactive/online and traditional broadcast mediums merge into a dynamic, immersive, and inbound world where the customer finds you. That’s right…the customer finds you.
And when the customer finds you, what will they get? Hopefully, they get something engaging that will make an impression and give them the information they need to make decisions. Studies are showing that the best way to do this is with creative video. With creative video you can make your point in a short amount of time. You can think about what you want to communicate, get your thoughts together, and give Internet users the information they need quickly and easily. You can further establish your brand, exhibit your personality, and effectively make your point. And once you get a rhythm going, you can keep them engaged and informed with more video content. As Tobi Elkin, of eMarketer put it, “Creating an online video presence helps marketers facilitate an ongoing dialogue with consumers, boost brand equity, lure prospective customers and solidify support among brand loyalists.â€
People are using the Internet to make decisions, and who wants to read when you can sit back and watch a great video and quickly get the information needed? Given the choice between watching a video that communicates a message well or having to read through an extensive document, article, or technical data, most people will choose the video. I’m not even sure why I wrote this article… where’s our lights and camera?
You already know the impact that the Internet and social media has had on our economy and culture in recent years, but complimenting that power with digital video is growing just as fast. In a recent article on eMarketer.com, Paul Verna points out that customers are increasingly consuming more and more online video and that custom video production is becoming more important for driving sales. eMarketer.com also predicts that by 2014, the number of US online video viewers will represent 77% of internet users. In short, the advertising and marketing world has shifted and online creative video is the new weapon of choice. Retailers and other businesses and organizations are now increasing the amount of money they spend on online video content as opposed to more other mediums and they finding increase ROI as a result.
So, are you ready to join the digital storytelling revolution?
Good. Here’s what you’ll need to consider:
This means that you evaluate your situation, consider how creative video can work for you, and develop a plan for producing and implementing your new marketing tool.
It’s not about a template, or even polished video with amazing visual effects and graphics. It’s about a complete, well-planned and well-orchestrated work of art that completely expresses the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs an organization or business. And it’s not about being flashy, edgy, or even beautiful. Just because something is beautiful doesn’t mean it’s good. After all, it’s what’s in the inside that really counts, right? When you get down to it, effective communication is about compelling, engaging, and real stories. You need an idea. You need to cut through the clutter and communicate a clear and concise message. As you know, Internet users have short attention spans. It’s important to get their attention and keep it.
Production is about fulfilling the ideas formulated in the previous step. This requires talented and experience professionals that know how to visually represent and produce products that will work. In some cases, production can be accomplished in-house and without a professional studio. You have to consider whether or not you have the time and ability to accomplish what’s needed. And, of course, your budget is a big concern.
Once you have the plan, the idea, and the creative video(s), you must stay the course, stick to your guns, and execute, execute, execute. This can be challenging for most businesses… especially small business… because it’s just one more thing, right? You may say, “This all sounds great, but I don’t have time for this!” Relax. In most cases it makes sense to partner with a reliable professional that can help generate the content and provide guidance.
If you would like to learn more, please contact us for a free, no-obligation discussion of your video and marketing needs…
