As seen on Ragan.com
Are you making the most of video?
YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine. The value of one minute of video equals that of 1.8 million words, according to Forrester Research.
Is your company using video to make its marketing more engaging and share your organization’s story with the world?
Whether you are already using video to share compelling content with your target audiences or you’re evaluating what types of video are best suited to your product, service or cause, consider how these three formats can make your marketing more meaningful:
1. Q-and-A with the CEO, the CMO, or the 20-year employee who was once an intern
Video deepens people’s connection to a company or cause. It also offers target audiences access to people with whom they might not ordinarily interact.
For example, maybe your CEO works out of Chicago and you have offices in 10 states. Your local market clients won’t get to interact with him or her at most, if any, of your networking and community events. It’s essential that clients and prospects in these markets understand how the leadership affects your culture, client service and brand innovations.
A professionally produced executive profile video can bring these insights to remote audiences, while providing provide fresh content for your YouTube channel, Facebook updates and your monthly e-newsletter.
2. Event footage
An event is much more than just a venue, a featured speaker and noteworthy guests. It is a shared experience that strengthens stakeholders’ connections to causes, cultivates audiences and fills the pipeline with donors and leads.
Events afford great opportunities to showcase new videos and gather visual content for future projects. If you’re hosting a signature event, consider investing in a professionally produced video. Try to capture the mood and atmosphere of the event, highlights from featured speakers, special presentations and moments that epitomize your brand.
Identify and extract smaller, poignant vignettes from the full-length video. Post these little gems on your YouTube channel, and share them on social media. They can also enhance your organization’s future events or presentations. These steps increase the ROI of your efforts.
3. Stakeholder-generated videos
Many organizations hold video contests to gather user-generated content, such as video PSAs and videos that advocate for a cause, as well as lighthearted content such as entertaining pet footage.
On the upside, user-generated videos can be an economical way to collect a high volume of content. On the downside, organizations don’t have stringent control over the brand message, as they would with video they produced themselves.
Collaborate with your marketing team on clear guidelines for gathering user-generated video. Secure releases from the creators, so you can use the videos as you wish.
In an increasingly visual world, video is crucial for helping organizations demonstrate value to their target audiences. Whether you create one show-stopping event video or a short series of poignant video interviews, focus on quality, clarity and impact.
Your video will live online for years to come, so make it a brand asset you are proud of today, next year and beyond.
