VIDEO MARKETING: TESTIMONIALS STILL KING

VIDEO MARKETING : TESTIMONIALS STILL KING

Marketing your business or organization in this online-connected era includes a large dose of VIDEO. Study after study, report after report bear this out. Anyone who has surfed the web understands why. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million!

Visitors to web sites, blogs, FACEBOOK pages and the like are looking for those million words in the form of a clear, concise professionally produced video that they can connect with. Why? Because it’s E A S Y. Why would anyone want to wade thru pages of static text, attempting to find the solution to their situation, be it a product, service or just educational material, when they can simply click the white triangle and get the information they are looking for fed to them? These days this really a no-brainer. Let us assume we are all in agreement that effective communication in 2014 means a healthy heaping serving of video. But what should the content of said video be? How can the odds of a successful result be stacked in your favor? Here’s a few brief ideas.

1- Video speaks to the individual much the same way the internet does. Your message should be constructed to speak to one person’s needs at a time.
2- Your message should be crafted with the same care and attention to detail that you would afford your potential client. If you can’t even get your video together, why would anyone assume your product or service is worthwhile?
3- According to an article in the SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMINER, written by Cindy King and dated Jan. 1 2014, “With the hundreds of thousands of products launching every year and the amount of digital noise increasing exponentially, brands need a solution that allows them to distinguish themselves from that noise. I see it happening two ways: either they have to consistently produce a viral hit (the chance of which is slim to none) or create a powerful advocacy engine that sparks sustainable word-of-mouth. WORD OF MOUTH ! The more things change the more they stay the same. Ms King continues, “In the age of infobesity, advocacy becomes the most relevant filter. And by advocacy, I mean the highest expression of brand love by a brand’s consumers, partners and employees. In the social era, the right form of advocacy becomes true influence.
Thusly I ALWAYS suggest that clients creating videos for online use include TESTIMONIALS, or in some cases do separate TESTIMONIAL videos. This is particularly effective in the B2B arena, as business people tend to put more credence into the words of other business people, even over the words of so-called “experts”. Studies show that Word of Mouth recommendations are the primary factor behind 20-50% of ALL purchasing decisions. Enough said. Record a solid TESTIMONIAL!
4- The rules of the marketing road that apply to traditional marketing in many cases apply to these new online avenues and video is no exception. You need a clearly defined target audience. If you’re selling chicken cutlets, banner ads on the vegan web site probably won’t do you much good. If you are trying to reach separate market segments, trying to cram all of your offerings into one video is not a good idea. And remember, though you are intimately involved and interested and immersed with your own product or service, the casual visitor is not. Keep your message short, clear and to the point. No one is going to sit through an overly technical or wordy presentation (unless that’s specifically what you’re selling. Keep it short (2 minutes or less seems to be the magic number before the eyes start to glaze over)

The key to success, as it has always been, is effective one to one communication and these days that means VIDEO.

Joe Refano is the President of MEDIA MECHANIX, an award-winning Long Island based VIDEO/AUDIO production boutique for over 25 years. For more information
Visit www.media-mechanix.com. They are also on Facebook.

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