Marketing with Video: The Good and The Bad

After creating the videos for the Becoming A Better Marketer series I learned a few things about using videos for marketing purposes.  I’d like to give you my thoughts on whether or not you should be using video on your site.

Now when we talk about marketing we aren’t just talking about selling something.  Providing useful content on your site for the purpose of gaining and keeping customers is a legitimate marketing function.

So, customers need and want information that is helpful and informative.  Customers also want information that is clear and concise so that they can make their buying decisions much more easily.

The amount of information overload consumers are bombarded with can cause a state of ‘freeze’; so many choices and too little time to research them all.

Consumers like my brother who research every purchase can get frozen just trying to pick out a new TV.  Plasma, HD, 1080, inputs, outputs, this, that and the other…  Choosing between a Samsung with gadgets one, two and three and a Sony with gadgets two, three and five can be the breaking point.  It took my brother months to decide on the TV purchase.

I on the other hand use referral sources and some research.  I skim a few sites, read a few reviews then I start asking people what they think.

When my beloved Sony tube TV died, I was heart broken.  I asked my friends and they said “go to Costco, get the LG”.  So I did.  I mean I did do a little comparison shopping but only in the Costco store.  If my friends were happy with it then I would likely be too.

The point is, every consumer is different and if you plan on selling stuff online in any capacity video is an excellent way to compare products for your customers visually.  Short blurbs of info on the good and the bad can be a very effective tool.

Even if you simply intend to educate your potential customers, video can be a real eye-opener for them and for you.  Choosing to produce a short video can open your eyes to the things your customers see and perceive.  The exercise alone will teach you something about marketing to your customer base.

A short video comparison of the TV’s offered at Costco, online, may have helped me to make a more educated decision.  I think it would have also un-froze my brother!

The Good

Video allows you to visually communicate with your audience.  Because you can simply show them what you mean, you help the customer to avoid confusion.  Video can build credibility for you and your business.  Putting an actual voice and moving person in front of your audience can help them to connect with you more easily.  We like doing business with people we like and we like learning from people we like so it’s a win-win.  Simple video can be very cheap to produce.  Flip cams can be had for $100.  Software to edit and publish your videos can run the gamut from freeware to very expensive but software programs like Camtasia are easy to use and only cost $199.  If you don’t want to use actual video footage, you can create a PowerPoint slide presentation and import that into programs like Camtasia adding effects and audio.  Video is no longer out of reach.

The Bad

Video can be time consuming.  Depending on the effects, the amount of editing and the size of the video, expect to spend some time putting it all together.  Video is also very memory intensive.  The files are large and not everyone has a high speed connection.  Using places like youTube to host your video is one solution; however there are size and time limitations; something I ran into when I went to publish my videos.  I ended up having to spend additional time editing the videos and splitting them to fit within the time constraints youTube has in place.

Finally…

All things considered, getting video up and running is an effective and cost friendly tool.

The Become A Better Marketer series would not be as effective had I not been able to include visual aids.

Whether you want to educate your customers, present new products, compare products or even just share information, video is a great way to do it.  It has its drawbacks but I think the benefits far outweigh any potential negatives.