Visibility

Everyone is jumping into online video, but are you doing it right?

We’ve all heard how great and efficient social media is for your business and how today it’s a must in your marketing mix optimization. Whether by engaging with Twitter, incorporating YouTube, or creating interactive visual content in the online space, brands have been enhancing their online presence. Specifically, it’s the creation of high quality online brand videos that have been visibly popping up all across the digital world. Yet some business owners are still skeptical about online video benefits and ROI, while others are rushing into it simply to keep up.

So do marketers really know the value of online video? As the consumer becomes smarter with a shorter attention span, steeper pockets and vastly increased options, the brand should aim for a solution that includes customer interaction. And today, it looks like social media and online video marketing is the paramount way of doing so….
One of the main reasons businesses are hesitant about investing marketing dollars into digital is because they simply do not know the best way to break into the online world with success or do not have enough knowledge about the industry. Here are a few steps to help those souls out…

1. Identify (and know) your consumer.

Consumer research, insight and marketing are at the core of marketing communications. Yes, online video is the future and relevant to about 90% of markets but if you’re advertising primarily to women in their 70s, perhaps online video isn’t the best way to go. Then again, it also completely depends on the product. Either way, understand your market.

2. Define the role of online video in your marketing mix.

Clearly know what it contributes to brand objectives. Online video exposure resulted in 44% aided brand favorability (compared to 35% for TV) so the high impact and preference is apparent. However, this doesn’t mean you must completely abandon traditional media marketing. Integrate and optimize!

3. Create advertisements relevant to the medium.

Say you do decide to integrate your television and online video campaigns. Make sure you do not simply distribute the same video on TV and online. TV advertisements for the most part fail to establish a deeper relationship with the consumer where as online strives on building that same consumer relationship. By producing separate more interactive content, you will only win in the long run.


4. Create a measurement plan.

Now that you fully understand your target market and have a clearly defined role for online video, measure your success. Quantify your goals and exactly what you want to achieve through online video. Is it to increase brand awareness? Improve perception? Share a story? Drive sales? Prioritize your goals and make sure the video is distributed through the correct platforms maximizing the reach.

5. Hire experts in the field as your production team

A media production agency plays an integral part in your marketing campaign and creation of the most effective online video for your brand. Your creative, production, distribution, and strategy all rely on the team you hire so it’s everyone’s best interest to hire experts in the field. Suggestion: VMG Cinematic is an online video production company that is sure to deliver.

 You have your online video, now what?

It’s also important to mention out that there isn’t much point in putting out high quality content if there are no guarantees of who’s going to see it. The secret to gaining more targeted eyeballs on your well crafted online video productions, broadly speaking, relies on how much marketing dollars goes into your video distribution strategy.
Many people believe in so called “viral distribution” where once the content is uploaded to YouTube, a chain reaction of views will follow. The reality is that fewer than 20% of YouTube videos achieve 500 views and only 4% of videos exceed 10,000 views or more. With that being said, successful online video campaigns require the same level of planning and consideration that outline clear goals and objectives – the same as a traditional marketing campaign.  Objectives should include a targeted distribution strategy that guarantees exposure to the desired, most relevant audience.
Digital media firms such as VMG Cinematic specialize in online video production and distribution. They help in coming up with ways to achieve desired results is by focusing your distribution strategy on the places where your most relevant consumer resides. Your video content may not get a multi-million view reach, but once targeted, the views that it will get will be from the audience most likely to respond.