The Virtues Of Video Marketing

The use of videos in marketing campaigns is gaining popularity as more Internet users upgrade to Broadband connections.  There are so many text and banner based ads online that to really capture your viewers' attention you have to go the extra mile.  Video formats cost five to ten times more to serve than standard banners and they involve a lot more production work, but if done correctly they are well worth it.  This new medium allows the video creator to communicate a message on multiple levels - via visual imagery, the spoken word, music and visual text. This is the easiest way people learn, and consequently, the way legendary brands are created. 

Online video marketing is the key business differentiator for online entrepreneurs and web companies wanting to communicate their product profile and benefits effectively within the shortest possible time. There is nothing else that comes close to the impact felt from a well-conceived video message.  Today, the average attention span of a web user is but a few seconds. Major search engines can deliver results with the click of a mouse and web surfers apply only a very limited effort.  Your audience must be able to make sense of what you are communication/offering and be able to decide whether your content, style, look and approach are a good fit for what they were actually looking for. If you can engage your viewer's interest right there and then, and offer a fast, highly visual way to let others discover what your "message" is, you will have success.

Video is a complex, highly multidisciplinary art, and extracting the best out of it is not as simple as writing a blog post, article, or participating in forums. Where to use online video and maximizing its effect, is what advertisers must carefully consider. Video to be used on the Internet should focus more on information and communication while video to be used on television should be focused on entertainment.  Whatever you come up with, don't forget to make it easy to open and distribute. File size is important, as is the media format. If your viral video has been created for a particular type of software that not many people use, how will you get people to spread it like wildfire?

Be honest in your presentation and avoid playing tricks to fool your reader about what you really have to offer. Your reader is going to find out in a matter of seconds. In fact you shouldn't even think in terms of making it worthwhile for them to stay, since today's web users already know what they are looking for.  Less Internet users go around surfing aimlessly than before so what you really need to address is the desire from the user to get at what she is looking for in the least time possible and in the most effective way (from a communication standpoint).  Stay tuned for Part II of this article because I will go into more detail regarding the various components that a good marketing video should have.  Cheers!