Using video content to market your business may seem a little daunting, but it is certainly a more engaging and popular medium compared to text and images alone. As popularity of video sites such as YouTube and Vimeo continue to soar, let’s look at some considerations in using video to propel your business towards success.
Video is much more than just filming yourself. Consider many of the options available: clever combination of text and voice over, screen captures to make a product tutorial, slideshows of images with music. For video content, your imagination is the limit!
The ways you approach a video is dependent on your target audience, so first you must be armed with a game plan:
Who is your target audience?
What is your budget?
What is the message you want to convey?
What call-to-action do you want them to take at the end of the video?
Video experts can help you produce high quality videos suitable for commercial purposes. On the other hand, just a personal device like iPhone will be sufficient for a younger audience on social platforms.
Once you have your video, upload it to sites like YouTube or Vimeo. Make sure your videos are accompanied with suitable keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags so that users can easily search for your videos. YouTube also offers advanced options such as embedding links and providing subtitles onto your video to make it even more easily accessible.
Finally, remember to share your videos on your website, Facebook, and other social media platforms. With videos, you have the option to embed them directly onto your sites so that users can play the video and engage directly with it without leaving the webpage.
And the best way to get started? Just start filming!
A Top Model contest intended to showcase talented Chinese female models around the country. Sponsored by Mina Magazine, Scawaii Magazine and Clean and Clear, contestants in teams of 2, across China can either 1) submit a video of 1 minute in duration along with photos or 2) have their video recorded at the official recruiting sessions—members on Tudou will then be able to vote on their favourite wannabe.
Videos taped at recruiting session
Videos submitted by the hopefuls
Why this works?
Many video-based campaigns in Hong Kong and China cannot seem to reach its full potential and generate enough buzz mainly because Companies cannot get very many people to submit videos to contests. Although people in Hong Kong and China love taking photos and sharing them via social media, videos is a bit of a different story.
Online and Offline
To maximize coverage and reach for this campaign, Clean and Clear has full support—online and offline. Videos and photos of the contestants are viewed exclusively online, while the winner of the contest will also be featured on Mina, Scawaii (print spread deal) and Clean and Clear (television commercial contract).
Optomizing SocialGraph
On the contest website, Clean&Clear also provides a list of guidelines for contestants to help them get the most votes. The main social networking platforms seem to be divided into 3 categories: 1) QQ 2) other messenger application 3) blogs and microblogs (sina, weibo) 4) Forum and bulletin boards. There may be 7 billion Chinese people in the world and digital media has the ability and potential to reach about 150million of them (living in China).
CNN reporter Kristie Lu Stout interviews executives that twitter. Douglas White, founder of digital agency, Prosperity Research gives his views on the power of Twitter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OySmGvglTtA
Luxury-Insider.com is the top online luxury magazine in Asia. Their viewers are socialites and so their marketing needed to be social. Engaging their connoisseur class of viewers required a social media campaign targeted specifically at their elite members. High quality video and strategic placement in social network sites got Luxury-Insider the attention they wanted. Learn more http://prosperity-research.com/2009/04/21/prosperity-research-case-study-luxury-insidercominsiders-circle/
Social media is clearly preferred by consumers over traditional marketing methods for receiving brand recommendations. Favoured 2:1 over banner ads, getting brand information from online friends is the best.
Prosperity Research created a series of action videos highlighting the Lamma 500 dragon boat race. These were seed in social network spaces to engage fans. The results were high view rates, increased sponsor’s brand visibility and strong promotion platform for next years race. YouTube top video. Over 250,000 video views across all channels.
http://www.so-u.tv/socialMedia.php – Business needs Social Media. Douglas White illustrates the value of consumers flocking to and talking online. By listening to consumers and contributing value to the conversations, companies can both promote and protect their brand. The next episode will be about taking your brand online.
http://prosperity-research.com Douglas White explains in easy to understand terms what Social Media Marketing is. Business engaging consumers with video, blogs, forums and other channels. The next episode is on the compelling reasons business should be in social media spaces.
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