Everyone has heard the phrase, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” If this is true, how many words is a video worth? According to a study conducted by Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research, the value of a one-minute video is worth 1.8 million words. That translates to roughly over 3,600 web pages.
With one hundred million Internet users watching online video everyday, videos are playing an ever-growing role in how all companies—big and small—position and promote their brands and their products. No matter what level within an organization, professionals are using corporate video to find the products and services to enhance and advance their business.
Even with all the research and data supporting video as a critical part of an organization’s communication mix, many professionals are intimidated by the prospect of creating videos to support their business. Truthfully, everyone is capable of taking the first step towards effective integrating video communications into your marketing mix. This first step is identifying the type(s) of video(s) that will best communicate the value proposition of your products and services.
Start with the type of video best suited for your business needs. Unfortunately there isn’t a one-size fits all video. Before diving in, organizations need to determine what type of video will best communicate their message. There are several different categories and directions you can take to use a video to market your business.
Here are just a few out of the different types and examples of ways video can be used.
Customer-Preference-Based Videos
Customer Testimonials – Praise “straight from the horse’s mouth” is an extremely compelling way to share your value proposition. Having the viewer see and hear someone touting your business or products is much better than you saying it so yourself. A current customer that is willing to say so on a video says a lot about your company and your product. Even a short testimonial video can be extremely effective in showing the positive impact of your product to a potential customer.
Success Stories – Similar to customer testimonials, success story videos have more of an interview format to them. Due to the interview nature of these videos, these can be longer and have much more of a narrative approach. Grouping success story videos with testimonial videos is a nice one, two punch to share the ultimate impact of your product and services in the marketplace.
Man-on-the-Street – The cynic in all of us may look at customer testimonials and success stories and may discount these claims as just being coached up by the organization to say just the right things. The spontaneity of a “man-on-the-street” approach helps counter the sense that the compliment is staged. This spontaneity provides the viewer with the sense that this person isn’t being paid or coached up to say something positive about you.
Product-Based Videos
Product Demos – There is no better way to tout the effectiveness of your product than to show how well it works. Product demo videos are the best way to show how your product is better than similar products, the ease of use of the product and how your product can help the viewer. An actual demo of the product allows the viewer to personally see the advantage of the product with his or her own eyes.
Roundtable Discussions – Place your partners or yourself as a source of authority on your brand or product by releasing a roundtable discussion. When you or your partners position yourselves as experts in the industry, while talking about trends and your brand, it will make you seem like you’re the only viable source in the industry. Potential customers will want to work with you more than someone else.
Corporate-Based
Corporate Overviews – Organizations with a wide range of products or a multifaceted mission can leverage overview or mission statement videos as virtual brochures touting the width and breath of your company. These videos cover usually touch on key products and services, the company history, and executive biographies. Watching a video overviews is much more appealing than reading a five-page brochure of text.
PR/Promotional-Based Videos
Video Press Releases – Instead of the standard four-paragraph press release that is circulated though traditional PR channels, you can consider stepping outside of the box and creating a video press release. This is a much more personable approach that allows you to tell a much more compelling and engaging story rather than hoping someone reads your news.
(video not produced by Oswego Creative)
Next steps
Once you have determined the type(s) of videos that best address your communication needs, your next step is to formulate a strategy to take your vision and make it a reality. This is where many companies get in trouble as they try to save time and money by trying to take on the video production themselves. As much as creating a video for your organization may seem no different than shooting video in your personal life, it actually takes much more to produce a video to the quality level to effectively promote your products and services.
Something that is initially done as a way to save time and money usually results in costing more and taking more time. As much as hiring an outside video production expert may seem like an unwanted expenses, if you want to maximize your video ROI it is best to leverage the experience and expertise of a firm that has a firm understanding of what it takes to produce high quality video. Leveraging a professional video organization allows you to focus on the messaging specifics and how to maximize the impact of your video assets.