Why Your Brand Needs to Move to Online Video

February 28, 2012 7:58 pm

Why Your Brand Needs to Move to Online Video

Thinking back to when I was a kid and watching some of the first corporate videos produced by Delia Associates, I’m really amazed at how far this marketing format has come, and how influential it has become. Video production used to be a highly involved, drawn out and somewhat unreliable process, with fairly large associated costs, and unexpected complications at every turn. Then, once you finished, getting people to actually watch the video was an even greater challenge. Clunky VHS tapes were followed by user-unfriendly CDs. At one point, I had almost given up on video; Almost . . .

Then came the YouTube era, driven by improved Internet connectivity and more powerful gadgets. This ushered in a virtual video explosion. Today, all of our clients either have an online video presence, have videos in production, or are about to embark on an online video program. Here’s why:

VIDEO HUMANIZES YOUR BRAND

The number one reason most of our clients believe in and invest in online presence is simple: to create an off-line conversation. Online video allows you to humanize your brand, and to start enabling viewers to form those first, important and powerful impressions. As you watch my video, hear my voice, see my mannerisms and style, I’m no longer a complete stranger. I’ve opened up and I’m now approachable. Having that offline conversation seems less foreign now.

MULTI-CHANNEL DEPLOYMENT MAXIMIZES VIDEO UTILIZATION

Online video is also a powerful awareness builder, with multiple methods of deployment now at your disposal. In addition to placing videos on your site and on YouTube, you can also deploy links via email, play from QR Codes, take them to tradeshows, and embed them into interactive presentations. We encourage and help our clients with maximum utilization of each piece of video content.

OPTIMIZED ONLINE VIDEO REPRESENTS HUGE ADVANTAGES IN SEARCH

When you do a Google search, you see the standard search engine results pages, but any video content shows up with a visual thumbnail image, which represents a stronger call-to-action. Plus, if optimized correctly, your video has a far greater chance of attaining page one positioning in a Google search, when compared to static content. This has given rise to a new sub-category of online marketing that we’ve been working in for several years now: video SEO.

STILL NOT CONVINCED?

Here are a few stats about online video for you to consider:

1. YouTube viewership has grown from 8 million views a day by the end of 2005, to over 3 billion views a day in 2011, according to the company’s data.

2. 105.1 million Americans now watch videos online each day, up 43% from 2010 (comScore 2012 US Digital Future in Focus Report)

3. 65% of U.S. executives visit a vendor’s website after viewing a work-related online video (Forbes survey, October 2010)

4. With proper optimization, video increases the chance of a front-page Google result by 53 times. (Forrester, January 2010)

5. Video in email marketing increases click-through rates by 96%. (Implix 2010 Email Marketing Trends Survey)

6. Visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not. (Internet Retailer, April 2010)

7. According to a study by the Content Marketing Institute, 50% of manufacturers surveyed had established a YouTube presence for brand-building and connecting directly with consumers. (Industrial Marketing Today, 2011)

8. The average online video duration is up to 6.1 minutes (comScore January 2012); it was approximately 5 minutes a year ago, indicating an increasing willingness to watch longer form content.

9. 23% of B2B marketing professionals worldwide consider video to be the most valuable content type for supporting marketing objectives (Focus Research, Benchmarks, June 2011)

With improved technology and in-house expertise, today we are able to produce complete productions quickly, effectively and affordably. If you’re thinking about online video, drop us a line.

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About The Author

We specialize in b2b, supporting the clients who are the "The Brands Behind the Brands." These are the supply chain partners of brands, either in Tier 1 or Tier 2 positions, who drive value through the delivery of goods, services and technologies. We enjoy blogging about all things related to Branding, Marketing, Inbound, Tradeshows, etc... And we're always happy to talk about any ideas you may have that might Get You To Your NEXT!