I am in my third decade working in marketing. That means I’ve been through the turn of many tides and trends in the business of promoting businesses.
In the 90s I was a writer and self-taught web developer introducing brave early adopters to web marketing. I built dozens of webpages that began as “your brochure on the world wide web” (those are cringe-worthy words today) in a world that still viewed “casting the widest net possible” as a viable strategy. I wrote and designed email newsletters and spent late hours breaking code on web sites so I could learn how to fix it and make it better. I juggled emerging options with traditional marketing while guiding clients through difficult decisions and transitions in their marketing approaches.
The days of being a Swiss Army knife marketer are behind me – I’d guess those days are behind everyone who works in marketing, simply because they don’t make Swiss Army knives with that many tools. Marketing is so vast that everyone declaring themselves a marketer is forced to specialize, or at least narrow their focus to a spectrum of skills in order to serve clients responsibly.
After an entire career built on creating marketing messaging in the midst of unprecedented change in information science, I’m declaring with great confidence that there is one content type that rises above the others. There is one type that has grown to embrace versatility, economy, intelligence and speed. One that supersedes all others in quickly getting the message out, specifically targeting its audience, evoking engagement and response.
Unlike the traditional marketing of bygone days, it’s entirely measurable. And frequently credited for making overnight successes (or failures) out of unsuspecting businesses.
For all it’s good and bad results, video content reigns supreme and here is why.
- Video is versatile. It thrives on any distribution platform, is consumable in every environment from desktop to mobile. It can be long form documentary or a micro-short six-second blip. It can be repackaged, repurposed, and republished to fit the content need of the day.
- Video is easier than ever to obtain. You can call us today and have a video to review tomorrow. That’s one benefit of using a seasoned professional production company. Most of our clients opt for long-term video production because it fits their budget, addresses their needs for powerful messaging that generates immediate response, offers measurable results, and doesn’t take a lot of work on their part.
- Video has lasting impact, but it doesn’t have to be evergreen. One video shoot can spin off multiple videos with different messaging and calls to action. Working with a production crew who knows how to plan for the long-term helps. In our experience, being an integrated part of our client’s marketing team ensures that we’re also thinking about the next video a client needs as well as ways to improve upon a video’s performance.
- Video stimulates emotional, intellectual and visual senses. Video is evocative and speaks on many levels. Humans are hardwired to act when they see and hear something that grabs their interest. Video provides many ways to engage viewers on different levels.
- Video is the perfect tool for outreach to audiences on every social network, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Easy to share and instantly engaging, video is the closest thing to a face-to-face introduction that a company can get next to being there in person to deliver a message to an audience.
Let’s place these five reasons to use video in the context of today’s typical viewer: Viewers have the ability to filter the messages they see and block ads altogether. This happens in a world where the average viewer is hit with over 5,000 brand messages daily. Where viewers see your message, how viewers respond, and scripting those responses are key considerations for everyone with a marketing budget.
It is the power of video and the response of viewers that is driving the marketing industry to align on definitions of performance measures like engagement, which takes many shapes depending on its sharing platform. Video may be easier than ever to use, but it isn’t uncomplicated.
It is the most powerful tool for communication that exists today, with some of the most startling and exciting developments in tools and techniques (robot drones, anyone?) Paired with the affordability and accessibility of video, we have a hard time coming up with any type of business that wouldn’t want to rely on video as their bread and butter marketing strategy.
