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Little Orchard are constantly advising businesses on how to use video in their marketing. And if you don’t believe it can work for you, here’s something from BT Tradespace 30 June 09 that could change your mind…

There’s something to be said for face to face contact. But time is short and there’s hell of a lot of people/customers to get to in an ever decreasing 24-hour day. But for those of us, who thrive on knowing who we’re talking to, understanding what people are about or just connecting with others, the answer is here and it’s online video.



Online video viewing and usage is fast becoming one of the fastest growing Internet trends, with Hitwise reporting UK Internet traffic to Video websites has increased by 40.7% over the last 12 months. Websites like YouTube and BBC iPlayer are among the top most popular websites and You Tube alone has 15 hours of video uploaded to its site every minute.



This trend demonstrates that – 1, video is now a key component on the online landscape and 2; that consumers are using and behaving differently on the web. Where once inaccessible, video is now within their grasp as faster broadband connections have made it easier for audiences to engage with this channel. After all, it’s everyone’s opportunity to 15 minutes of fame.

Now, here’s where your business comes in. At the end of the day, customers want to engage in the way that they want – in their own time and space using the channels they are most comfortable with. And online video represents businesses with that channel. As it is with consumers, online video for business is accessible, personal and one of the most powerful marketing mediums at your disposal.



So just why is video such a successful medium? It’s simple really, ultimately, as people we need to connect with other people. Trust is a big consideration for users spending their money online, where piracy and online theft is rife and it’s hard to trust a faceless business. Put this need for people to buy from people, together with the trend of UK Internet traffic to video sites having increased 37-fold and what you get is the opportunity for every business to put a face to the name and a voice to the message.

What’s so great about business video?

In a nutshell, here’s why you should be thinking business video:

• It lets you speak your customers’ language but in a highly effective, targeted way.• It puts a face and adds personality to your business plus increases trust in consumers because you’re effectively saying to them – ‘you know who I am now, come buy from me’.• It allows your customer to engage with you as they would in face to face contact building a community. A community of customers – what more could you want. • Once you do video, it’s forever – you can reuse your video again and again. • By uploading your video to community sites like BT Tradespace, (and YouTube) you are suddenly reaching a whole new market – every one of those users is a potential customer.• It’s easy – with a reliable, flexible, professional production company [like Little Orchard for example]



How can I get it right?

- Have a plan. Don’t go at it blindly, know what you want to put before your audience. Videos can be sales led, educational, informative, or just plain entertainment. If you’re doing a product demo, then that would be informative. If you’re doing a video on how your business is ethical and green, then that’s an educational video. If you’re introducing your team, then that’s fun and entertaining while building trust.



- Write down your script but don’t learn it. The best videos are natural and from the heart; so while it’s important to know what you’re going to say – don’t read it out as it will drive your viewers away.

- Keep it short and sweet. We’ve recommended between 30 seconds to a minute for videos in our video competition but three or four minutes for your business videos should be fine.



- Think relevancy. Think better search engine ranking. The main way for users to find your video is through search – so from naming your file, to writing the intro to your video – think relevant keywords.

OK, it’s a long one but goes to prove that everyone’s thinking about it. So why not do it too? If you want to find out what type of video is best for your marketing mix, talk to Lewis or Nikki on 0845 838 7396

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 2:15 pm and is filed under marketing video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.