Apr
2010
Video officially a mainstream tool for digital marketers: 7 things you should know now.
Posted by Joe Eldridge
http://www.flickr.com/photos/newsbiepix/ / CC BY 2.0
If you were not among the standing-room-only crowd in Waltham yesterday, you missed a great panel discussion with Tim Bradbury, American City Business Journals; Joe Chernov, Eloqua; Judy Gern, Constant Contact; David Meerman Scott, best-selling author; and Dave Toole of MEDIAmobz. Our own Cliff Pollan moderated the session.
The event, sponsored by VisibleGains, Business Wire and MEDIAmobz, and graciously hosted by Constant Contact, generated many insights about the use of video. In fact, there was so much valuable content that we’ll likely explore topics in more detail in upcoming blog posts. For now, however, we wanted to recap some of the important observations from the event in the hopes that it will spark ongoing dialogue.
Here are seven things you’ll want to know right away:
Video is no longer a novelty; it’s a necessity. 100% of those in attendance have watched a business-related video. If you’re trying to sell to any of the more than 100 attendees who were in the room (or companies like them), video would be a great tool.
Video is the new literacy. According to Dave Toole from MEDIAmobz, “we’re just seeing the beginning” of video storytelling. Brands are using it for new product introductions, customer testimonials and to capture real people using their products.
Video has proven power down the marketing funnel. David Meerman Scott underscored the ability for video to drive higher conversion numbers. It’s not just an awareness-builder, it’s a lead generator and sales closer.
Prospects who consume video convert at higher rates. Judy Gern from Constant Contact shared her company’s experience with video, revealing that prospects who consume video become customers at a much higher rate.
A company of authors is a boon for SEO. Joe Chernov from Eloqua said companies should encourage more content contribution, especially optimized video. More authors, including video subjects, within your company means stronger search performance.
Soon everyone will be video “talent.” Cliff Pollan predicts that someday soon “we’ll all be talent.” At one point we all learned Powerpoint to communicate. Soon we’ll all learn to communicate better through video.
Video is key to the future of news distribution. Tim Bradbury and his team at American City Business Journals encourage businesses to add video to news they distribute. Joe Chernov agreed, providing the staggering metric that companies that embed video into their press releases get a whopping 500% more views.
There you have it, seven nuggets to ponder right away. We knew this panel would be interesting, but we had no idea how eager marketers are to incorporate video into the mix and how successfully many are already doing so.
To see more of the commentary during and after the event, please check out this hashtag on Twitter: #bwvidevent.
[...] Video is also an excellent medium for brand storytelling, though most marketers seem to still shy away from it, as many assume it’s too expensive and time consuming to create. The reality is that social video can and should be more casual, more immediate and much less costly than advertising or promotional video. In fact, the most effective casual video is often the stuff shot behind the scenes, which most marketing creatives would leave on the cutting room floor. [...]