How Companies Are Building Their Brands with Video

Transcription

1 How Companies Are Building Their Brands with Video By Todd Johnson Your company spends time and money to develop a unique brand that will resonate in the minds of your customers. The brand is more than a tagline or a slogan. It is what your customers think of when they hear your name. But developing the brand alone is not enough. For your branding efforts to actually bring you more business, you must effectively build the brand. Building the brand is crucial to every business. If done properly, your brand can become strong enough that your current customers will turn into advocates for you. Think how your business will grow when those happy customers recommend your product or service to their friends and colleagues. There are different outlets available to help build a brand. Companies use print media, broadcast media, online media, social media and face-to-face customer contact. Many marketing strategies involve a combination of these. This white paper will examine how video can offer companies a particular advantage in reaching potential customers and influencing their buying decisions. Copyright 2010 Point Across Media -1- pointacrossmedia.com

2 Market Trends While some mediums are losing influence during the down economy, use of the Internet continues to grow. Average US Internet Use Per Person: Month of June 2010 Source: The Nielsen Company Websites visited Web pages viewed PC Time per person Time spent per web page Consumers count on the ability to research online before they make a purchase or book a service. Companies that do the best job of telling their story on the Web stand to benefit the most. Video improves online visibility and drives more action online than plain images and text. Viewers engage more after watching a video, with clicks for more information increasing by 30-40% and phone inquiries by 16-20%. 1 1 Reel SEO (February 25, 2010). BIA Kelsey Group study. Copyright 2010 Point Across Media pointacrossmedia.com

3 The online shoe retailer Zappos.com provides a good example of how video can impact a business. Zappos started adding videos to their website in They use the videos to describe and demonstrate their products with real Zappos employees, not models or actors. Zappos says the videos have increased their sales by 6 to 30%. 2 Creating Customer-centric Video It s a simple set-up for a successful business: Someone has a problem. You come up with a solution to the problem. You tell other people with the same problem how you helped the first guy. And now everyone wants to hire you to help them. You might say the key to this story is the solution itself. But any good marketer knows what really makes the business grow is the part where you publicize your solution. There s nothing original about using your company s success stories to generate more business. Testimonials or references from your best customers are powerful tools to give you credibility. Many companies include testimonials on their website and in printed sales collateral. Instead of just putting them in writing, video is the perfect medium to take testimonials to another level. In testimonial videos, your customers tell the real story of how they benefit from your product or service. Their words are authentic. Best of all, potential customers gain confidence in you by hearing from existing customers. 2 Zappos.com Content Team Senior Manager Rico Nasol interview (December 2009). Streaming Media West Show. Copyright 2010 Point Across Media pointacrossmedia.com

4 There s another reason to use video testimonials that may surprise you. The customer you ask to be in your video is often flattered to be chosen. It makes them look good and strengthens your relationship. 6 Ways to Maximize Your Video ROI You have decided that a professional video would be a good tool to help market your company. What should you do with the video to make the investment payoff? 1. Your Own Website: The first step should be to place your video front and center on your company website. This may seem very obvious, but you would be surprised how many organizations fail to take advantage of their video asset by burying it deep in their website or hiding the video link somewhere on the menu bar. With video, the length of visit to your website increases dramatically. People will watch your story, especially if it is engaging. But not if you make them work to find it. 2. Social Media: Your video is a great way to highlight your message on your company s Facebook fan page or YouTube channel. It is fairly easy to pass along the link to your video on Twitter. You can add video to your company s page on LinkedIn. Best of all, using social media distribution outlets doesn t cost you a dime. 3. Newsletter: What do you do with all of those addresses you collect from current and prospective customers? An newsletter is a simple approach to reinforce your brand and feature new products or services. A visual video link in your newsletter will encourage your customers to click through and invest the time to watch your story. 4. Internal Communication: A short video is a compelling tool to make sure your team is aware of your latest marketing campaign. Video can also be used to build team spirit by reminding everyone Copyright 2010 Point Across Media pointacrossmedia.com

5 what the company is all about or by hearing what your current customers like best about you. 5. Recruiting: Video lets you put your best foot forward to prospective employees and showcase the corporate culture of your organization. 6. Trade Shows: Video at your booth or display allows you to capture the attention of trade show guests. You can also hand out DVDs of your video as part of your sales collateral. The possibilities with video are almost endless. We live in a visual age. Video should be a part of every company s marketing strategy. Finding the Right Length for Your Video How long should my video be? It is one of the first questions that come up for companies who want to add video to their websites and social media sites. There is no stock answer. It depends on the details of your story and what you are looking to accomplish with your video. There are some parameters to keep in mind. A typical TV commercial is 30 seconds. A radio spot runs 60 seconds. The average story by a reporter on a TV newscast is 90 seconds. The more compelling your content, the more likely you will capture attention of your visitors. Many businesses start with the idea of including as much as possible in their video. They view it as a one shot opportunity to tell potential customers everything they can. Problem is by the time they list all of the things they would like to see, we re quickly on our way to an epic War and Peace-like production for the computer screen. There are plenty of good purposes for a long-form video production. Putting it on your website is not one of them. The key to using online video effectively is to create a short and powerful Copyright 2010 Point Across Media pointacrossmedia.com

6 story. The goal of a well produced online video should be to leave the viewer with a favorable impression that makes them want to contact you. More and more companies are recognizing the need to take advantage of the Web as a place to share their message through video. Cisco estimates that video will represent 90 percent of all consumer internet protocol traffic by Once you ve decided to use video, telling the right story in the right amount of time is key to making it work for you. What to Look For in a Video Production Company When seeking a company to produce your story on video, be sure to look for the following requirements: Storytelling experience: Does the company know how to create a memorable business story? Interviewing skills: Is the person who will produce the story experienced at interviewing people on camera? Does he or she know the best ways to help my team look good on camera? Collaborative process: Will the company include my ideas and be open to suggestions or changes? Quality production: Does the company shoot highdefinition video? Do they understand the best formats for my needs? Online video competency: Does the company have a background in producing storytelling video of the most effective length for viewing online? 3 TechCrunch (June 9, 2009). Cisco: By 2013 Video will be 90 Percent of all Consumer IP Traffic. Copyright 2010 Point Across Media pointacrossmedia.com

7 The Point Across Media Advantage Point Across Media is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of companies who want to build their brands with storytelling video. Our creative team has a distinguished background in television news, including more than 30 years of experience in producing 1 to 3 minute videos under daily deadline pressure. We have developed the Point Across Method, our exclusive framework designed especially to help companies collaborate with us to form their story on video. Point Across Media shoots video in both high-definition and standard definition. We use advanced techniques in editing that allow every story we produce to have maximum impact. To find out how Point Across Media can bring your story to life, us at contact@pointacrossmedia.com or visit us online at About the Author: Todd Johnson is the CEO and Executive Producer of Point Across Media. Todd has more than 20 years experience in television news, including 13 years on-air at KOMO- TV in Seattle. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a degree in geosciences from Mississippi State University. Copyright 2010 Point Across Media pointacrossmedia.com