Breaking Stereotypes

Fast forward a few years and ask yourself: did you think you would be reading a blog like this, or even watching it? As I’m sure you’d have noticed, videos are increasingly used as effective content marketing tools to deliver impactful and purposeful messages to an audience in a way written words can’t always manage. According to Cisco, by 2021 video traffic will account for 82% of all consumer internet traffic.

The power of video

It’s no surprise to me that in a socially engaged, buzz-driven world, video is increasingly key for people to satisfy their information and entertainment needs. In fact, businesses that fail to include media productions in their marketing strategies will do so at their own peril! Don’t just take my word for it – Nielsen claims 64% of marketers expect video to dominate their strategies in the near future. Studies also show that 87% of marketers enjoy positive ROIs with videos.

Consumers want information that is easy to digest; if it’s not, they will simply move on. Videos can facilitate this need very well. What’s more, Axonn Research found 7 in 10 people view brands in a more positive light after watching interesting video content from them.

Believe it or not, research shows that 72 hours after reading or hearing some information, you’re only likely to remember about 10% of it. If the same information is delivered combining two sensory experiences, such as sound and visuals in a video, you’re 58% more likely to retain it.

In other words, video greatly increases the odds of your message being received, understood and recalled – which is exactly what businesses want when it comes to marketing.

What’s more, with traditional media, it is often very difficult to measure the effect of marketing communications. Whereas with video, you can usually track the length of time a video has been watched for and how many times it’s been viewed, as well as correlating that activity to sales or newsletter sign-ups if you plan and structure your campaign and analytics effectively.

Top challenges

But, like with most things, there are obstacles along the way. A powerful media production must be carefully curated. This begins with considering the audience you are trying to reach, ensuring the content is compelling and relevant to them to clearly convey the key messages. This proves highly effective in promoting an organisation’s brand, influencing consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions.

It is important that the brief doesn’t get lost in translation during the creative process. You’ve got to follow the client’s brief, but ensure that you enhance it with creativity, rather than overdoing it and removing potential impact. Whether you are producing a video via an agency, or directly with a production company, the video will only be as good as the brief you give. Making sure you are clear on your objectives, expectations and goals, while specifying any must-haves will ensure the creative team is kept on track. A vague or open brief could end up in a lot of wasted effort on all sides, so providing as much detail as you can will result in the best chance of the video turning out how you wanted it to, or even better.

Other challenges faced are ethical ones. Sometimes people can get carried away with an idea or concept for a video without thinking about its implications. Understanding the audience and any cultural or attitudinal sensitivities is key to ensure you don’t alienate, annoy or even offend audiences. In some cultures, certain symbols, numbers and colours have negative meanings and using culturally-appropriate clothing and settings will ensure your video sparks the right kind of interest. Take Pepsi‘s recent campaign for example. The company pulled the campaign and admitted to “missing the mark” but still faced significant backlash.

Whilst metrics for media productions are generally better than traditional media, they can still lack detail. Despite studies showing most marketers enjoy positive ROI with videos and see the powerful attributes, only 42% think it’s better than other mediums at driving sales. The reason behind this is the challenge of measuring the sales performance of this medium.

The best metrics for video marketing are always up for debate, but there are a few to pay attention to. According to Harvard Business Review, it’s key to be able to see who is watching your videos. This can tell you whether they have watched more than one. Another important metric is average engagement: the amount of time people spend watching each video. To get the most out of your video marketing, you may want to invest in a dedicated video analytics platform, which can provide more nuanced data.

Delivering the message

An example of a video (IMHO) that creatively captures the key messages is one my company, Moving Bits, made for our client Conrad Maldives:

There was no need for words, because the location said it ALL! We filmed the location in a way that captured its raw beauty, to make the most impactful production.

To practice what we preach ;-), instead of a bunch of wordy written testimonials, we think you’d rather see what our clients say about our work juxtaposed against the work itself. Makes for a more fun and real (as opposed to just reading) experience :-) Enjoy!

Ultimately, media productions are an invaluable marketing communication tool, that when done right, enable organisations to reach their commercial goals and reap the rewards. Videos allow content to be much more memorable and impactful for consumers, so companies can cut through the noise and gain competitive advantage.

If you want to chat further about media productions or about how Moving Bits can help, please get in touch.