Business Monitor Film and inspire
It’s a three dimensional world. We see in 3D; we think in 3D (most of us, anyway); we tend to devalue anything that is not presented to us in 3D. How many people would watch TV or go the cinema if the promise was two dimensional images supported by screeds of text to be read? Nobody, I suggest. Marketing expert, Paul Clapham, reports.
B
ut this is essentially what marketers expect their customers to do. When was the last time you saw or heard an ad in any main media that didnʼt make a pitch for ʻvisit our websiteʼ? OK, smartarse, it was this morning but you recognise the point Iʼm making. The problem is that when the prospective customer does actually visit that website he is, as above, reading text and looking at 2D pictures. OK, heʼs used to this because itʼs the basic structure of 90%+ of websites. So imagine how delighted that customer would be to find the message presented in 3D. Remember this is about customer expectation. The fact is that most business owners are terribly proud of their website(s) even if they set world records in dull. In truth, most businesses, including those with serious marketing budgets, fail the ʻdull testʼ.
Honesty time Itʼs honesty time. List your four/six/pick a number toughest competitors and fillet their websites. Above all do they feature video? If they do are those the toughest competitors? If they are, youʼve got your answer. Equally look at websites you rate in other sectors. Again do they include video? I predict that they do. So is adding video to your website
| 22 | December 2018
going to turn you into a zillionaire? Come, come – marketing has no such silver bullet to offer. But it will increase the effectiveness of your site. You will get more hits and they will tend to be more profitable.
Right about now any sensible person will be asking: whatʼs it going to cost? In the same way that TV advertising requires a film to be produced, so too an online video presence. Thatʼs not cheap but if you have multi pound signs putting you off, donʼt think the worst – the cost of video has fallen steadily.
Investment products You will have heard people selling their product or service referring to it as an investment. Itʼs intended to make you the customer feel good about signing a cheque. You arenʼt spending money no, no, no! Nothing remotely as common! Youʼre investing in your business. How wise of you! (Wisdom and investment often appear in the same sentence). I would however say that video as part of your website genuinely is an investment, one that will show rapid returns. The reasons are simple: it will make you stand out from your competitors; it will encourage repeat visits; it will lead to referrals; it will make you look cutting edge. All of those factors help to drive increased levels of enquiries and then sales.
If you are into social media in a big way, video is an important factor in that succeeding. Itʼs vital for YouTube and important on other platforms. If your target audience is young they increasingly expect to see video in websites and your social media posts. You should aim to tell a story with video – this is a film after all. Cut down on the amount of sales pitch – not many would expect me to write that – because the message will go home more completely if customers are not just being sold to. Video is full of emotive power. Use it to appeal to peopleʼs hidden desires and needs. 20% of viewers will click away from your video inside 10 seconds. Little wonder that the video experts recommend ʻshort and to the pointʼ. Get straight to the nitty gritty right at the outset. Answer the question “why should I watch?”. Will it teach them something new, will it convince them to act or will it entertain them. Aim to make it the best minute of their day and the first 10 seconds the best ever.
Avoid being dull Donʼt take yourself too seriously – you are not aiming to win an Oscar. But something a bit risky is a good idea. Above all avoid being dull. If all the marketing messages watched on the web by a client are dull, except yours, guess whoʼs going to sell?
As ever with the web, SEO is critical. No point spending serious money on a good video and nobody being able to find it. Obviously start by uploading it to your site(s) and then to any sharing sites you favour.
With video SEO lives and dies by descriptions. They have to be there to enable Googleʼs search spiders to understand your video and what the content entails. So be sure that your video is tagged with relevant keywords and fully fleshed out descriptions, plus unique titles. Hereʼs a fact: 65% of people are visual learners. Who knew? You can see instantly why that makes video important. So aim to teach your customers and prospects how your product(s) work(s), which video can do so well, including demonstration, show and tell and original creativity. Iʼd recommend that you and your staff feature in this part of the video – itʼs always good to meet the people who are the business.
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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