More reasons to have online video

There are other reasons why you should consider online video as part of your PR strategy. You could for instance be wanting to drive traffic to your website. A growing number of online marketing specialists is already doing just that. They make a point of telling you “face to face” how good their new product is before directing you to their landing page. But it's also good to get other people to say how good the product is so that it's not just YOUR opinion – after all, you're biased! This leads to another good reason for making a video – increasing your sales. The two are closely linked but you need to use different measures to work out how effective they've been. If you're after increased traffic, you have to use analytical tools to work out where the traffic's come from, especially from YouTube. Google's own analytic tools can help here. Sales are much easier to measure. Just keep an eye on your bank account.

Why a business should be making online videos

Businesses should never make videos just for the sake of making one or seeing it as a “me too” thing to have. Just because your competitors have videos on their websites or on YouTube does not mean that you have to follow. You must have a reason for doing so. However, there are lots of reasons open to you. For example, all companies need to build their brand image. That's why they should have a public relations strategy, especially an online one. Third party endorsement is much more powerful than any advertisement. The videos need to support this. The production of video case studies is one way of doing this but there are others. The video news release is an option, not as an alternative to the traditional form but in addition to it. It doesn't have to be broadcast on the BBC, ITN or Sky to have an impact. The fact that it's on the web, both on your own website and on YouTube and the other aggregation sites can help boost your profile and your rankings on Google. But, just like PR, you also need to find some way of measuring the impact. The number of views actually doesn't mean very much since that doesn't tell you whether you're meeting your PR targets or not. It probably means doing some market research and finding out from customers where they say the information and the impact it had on them. But then, you're doing that anyway, aren't you?

A lesson learned

I've been using Pinnacle Studio (part of Avid) as my video editing software for about three years now. I originally bought it becase I had to transfer material in a hurry from old VHS tapes (remember them???) and that was the simplest solution. I got used to the layout etc and, although I tried other solutions, none of them seemed to work so easily. However, I downloaded the latest version yesterday morning. The layout was different but nothing too complex. There were aspects which were actually easier to use. But when I started to edit video shot for a client the day, I discovered that certain features had changed dramatically. The facility for adding captions for instance wasn't anything like the previous versions. And of course I'd downloaded the software so the manual was online rather than in my hand (sometimes a book is so much simpler to use than a screen). So the lesson is -- don't use a new version of a program when you've a project to complete in a hurry. It's not good for the blood pressure!

The proof that video brings business benefits

Final thought for this week. IT'S OFFICIAL!!! The McKinsey Quarterly’s “Global Survey”, a universally trusted organ I would hope, reports that, when it comes to the the benefits of using a range of the new “Web 2.0” tools, video comes close to the top. Having surveyed a host of companies, it found blogs to be the most useful – 51% of responding companies worldwide said they produced measurable benefits, followed by video-sharing and social networking, at 48%. More details can be found here Article on the McKinsey Report

Do you really want "corporate video" any longer?

Is there a difference between a traditional corporate video and one made with online in mind? The answer is almost certainly “yes” but how many organisations appreciate it? The traditional model is expensive; you probably need a minimum budget of £20,000+! It's also much longer than anything anyone would tolerate watching online – some are over 10 minutes long. With “made for online”, you are talking about having to spend hundreds rather than thousands of pounds. And the videos have to be short – no more than 3 minutes long at most. But how many organisations still think they can have a “one size fits all” video made for them. Should they really be thinking about using the same feature-length piece for the AGM, for a presentation to staff and for YouTube? Or should they be looking at buying “horses for courses” and tailoring their video to the audience they have in mind?

Networking does pay

This morning's session at 4Networking was really interesting. For those who haven't come across it, it's a business network with a difference. For a start, everyone gets the chance to make an “elevator pitch” to the room and, after breakfast, there are 10 minute one-to-one sessions with other members who want to find out more about you...or vice versa. What was fascinating was the number of smaller firms who are wanting to get a video presence on the Web, either for their own websites or through YouTube. Financial services, training, personal coaching – they're all moving rapidly to the decision that they need to adopt this new form of marketing. Why? Because they recognise that, if potential clients can see and hear them before a first meeting, they've a better chance of turning them into actual clients.

Some new questions...

What's the value in making an online video? Making one for its own sake seems a pretty pointless exercise. Simply putting it up on a company's own website also seems fairly ineffective. Can you get real commercial value from a video? Some companies have proved it can be done. The latest figures suggest that the Does It Blend? YouTube campaign has received something like 32m views and is claimed to have increased Blendtec sales by 500%.

So where does video fit in the corporate promotional mix in the UK? Does it sit as part of a firm's online PR strategy? Should it lie with marketing... or advertising? As mentioned before, the straight advertising approach doesn't really work as the online viewer doesn't seem to like the hard sell in any form. That tends to suggest that video should be seen as part of the PR or marketing budget and the producers should therefore be sitting alongside those teams, delivering the strategy. Do you agree?

Some final questions for this week...

Sticking with the property market, how well are property developers marketing, not necessarily the actual buildings, but the innovative technology they're now adopting? A company like Mactaggart & Mickel has some excellent videos – but at the moment, they're on DVD rather than online. That company is one of several now building most of a new house – or even block of flats – in their factory and then taking hours rather than days to put them up on site (Deeside Timberframe and Scotframe come to mind as well). Shouldn't they have videos up showing what they're doing, rather than have (as happened at a recent housing conference) the Housing Minister say we needed to import the technology from Scandinavia? Shouldn't the architects be telling the world about the novel ideas they're coming up with, knowing what local firms can do? The Scots companies are just as innovative, just as efficient – but almost invisible it seems. How can we change that?

More questions than answers

The property market should be an obvious one when it comes to using video. But why do so many firms in the market still use static photographs when they can walk potential clients through a house, an office or warehouse? Are any (many) of the Solicitors' Property Centres or estate agents using it? The housing market's been depressed for months, so what's the best way of encouraging potential bidders to view? Might the same be true of the home rental market? A lot of people rent when moving to a new area or when they're moved by their employer into a new city for a fixed time. Wouldn't it help them to make up their minds from a distance – at least in selecting the ones they want to view when they arrive? There's also a growing number of “workspaces” for small firms – one thinks of the Waterfront at Telford College or the Strathmore Business Centres (both in Edinburgh). Shouldn't they promote their services through a combination of video walk-through and case studies with satisfied customers?

Are Scots professionals using video?

How many professionals in Scotland are using online video? Research from the US (OK, it's a different market but what they do today, we may do tomorrow) suggests that having video on a website greatly speeds up the consumers' decision when choosing a lawyer. Has anyone on this side of the Atlantic found the same? Have they even tried yet? Very often, the American attorneys are not making a direct pitch – they're using video to educate people about their area of expertise. Have many (any) solicitors or advocates (or even solicitor-advocates) thought about doing the same? One US legal marketing expert (Larry Bodine) claimed video was “…a great opportunity to present how you look, how you talk, what you’re like, and make yourself more attractive to clients. It’s a great business-getting technique.” Is this a universal truth – or just one for the US legal market?

Some more thoughts on music

When it comes to music for a production, I used to use commercial CDs and then clear the rights with the Performing Rights Society (the organisation that makes sure that composers get paid!). As a performer, I have great sympathy with the artists...but it can be both complicated and expensive. In some cases where the video is either to be used online on a company's intranet or for training in seminars, the PRS wanted to know how many people would view the feature and how long it would be used for – and set the rates accordingly. The trouble is, you can't always estimate either very accurately and that could potentially land you with problems. However, a growing number of online organisations are offering “copyright free” and “royalty free” tracks from as little as £10. You buy the track and use it in your video as often as you want, with the production viewed by as many people as you like without any further paperwork needed. A good example in the UK is AKM music (http://www.akmmusic.co.uk/) whose tracks have a quality feel to them.

Some thoughts on the use of music

I've found myself watching a number of online videos recently which have used music all the way through. Personally, I found it incredibly distracting, especially in the longer ones. However, music can be very powerful in a video – as in film and TV, it helps set the atmosphere. But as in film and TV, you want it to open, punctuate and close the video. It also needs to be suitable and appropriate. I'm working on a short video right now about the upgrading of a Georgian house. I am using carefully chosen music in the piece – music from the period when the house was built. It only runs for about twenty seconds at the start and then fades under an interview with the owner, explaining what work was to be carried out and why she wanted it done. After that, we just use the natural sound of the workmen as they go about their business, with interviews with them about what they're doing etc. The music only comes back at the end when we see the final result. Contrast that with videos where the producer seems to have picked a piece of music almost at random from the production music catalogues. There's sometimes a discontinuity which can actually turn the viewer off the product – and that's not the object of the exercise.

The Pro-am video mix

I'm indebted to the eBook guru Tiffany Dow for pointing me in this direction. She found a producer called Chris Willow who's making superb video intro's. They're beautifully constructed, well crafted and with atmospheric music to go along with them. He calls them "Killer Sales Videos" http://www.tiffanydow.com/KillerSalesVideo.html. Have a look and see what I mean. But that then raises a BIG question. What expectation does that set up the in viewers' minds about what it to follow? Can you really use a blockbuster intro without a blockbuster video behind it? It might work with some of the videos we make for clients because they're insisting on broadcast standards -- they look like video news releases or short documentaries. The look, the sound, the "feel" are all right. But what if your video is simply a screen-capture tutorial...or worse, a to-camera comment recorded either on a webcam or an iPhone? The viewer will rightly be disappointed, especially if you're in shot wearing a Skype headset with every breath hitting the microphone! There are professional tools out there which really can help companies sell their products. This is one of them -- but only if used in the right way.

The power of video

Online Video, like film and TV, is a very powerful medium. They reach deeper into the hearts and minds of those watching than any other forms of media. I loved building word pictures on radio – but ask anyone later in the day what they'd heard and the chances are they'd already forgotten. The same is true of presentations. You can talk all you like – but you've a much better chance of being remembered if you give moving pictures as well. There's also a growing (I hate to use the word) laziness out there. How many people are willing to put in the effort to read a book when they can get the same information from a good quality webinar – especially one where the presenter is in vision? Why read an instruction manual when you can get someone to explain what you have to do on screen? If you can also stop the video, re-wind and check the information over and over again, you actually end up with a much better level of understanding.

Online Video -- Reaching the Younger Generation

OK -- so a lot of middle-aged people aren't that hot with computers. They use them because they have to, not because they want to. The Silver Surfers come to love them as it lets them keep in touch with their families. But what of the younger generation? You might they were easy because they'd been more or less force-fed IT from birth. But to them, the traditional internet and email are sooooooo uncool!!! They have adopted mobile technology in a big way. They may not be able to afford an iPhone or one of the new Walkman 995s but even a relatively simple Nokia can browse the web or record video and stills, which they can send to another mobile and (of course) text either with SMS or MMS. So if you want to reach that market, that's the technology you need to use. Bear in mind that if you want to trade with parts of Africa, India and South America, this is the technology you'll need as well since those parts of the world are by-passing fibre and landline broadband and going straight to mobile.

GRAMPies or those not to ignore

When thinking about online video, the target market may not be as obvious as you might think. Many members of the 35-60 age group has serious issues with IT. But when people get past 60-65, you suddenly find them joining the Silver Surfers or GRAMPies (those who're part of the Growing Retired Affluent Mobile Population). These are the people who didn't use computers until they retired. Their families live on the other side of the country or even the other side of the world. The only way they can get to see their grandchildren is if they master new technology, including Skype and Webcams. They have the time and the inclination to learn. Many of them are also (even allowing for the credit crunch) really quite well off. They have a lot more money to spend than any teenager today – and almost certainly more than couples with young families. Ignore them at your peril.