Video and Web equals a better bottom line!

Check your calendar… it’s 2018, and the world is obsessed with computers and the internet, and not just desktops and laptops. From phones to tablets to watches, people are using this technology to learn, to educate, to inspire, and most definitely to market and sell. And yet, as I take a stroll through the internet, looking at various large and small company websites, the thing that strikes me is how little, or poorly, companies are using video on their sites. Let’s face it, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is a whole lot of pictures and sound that can help you focus the viewer’s attention to exactly what you need them to know. Yet many companies either don't use video on their sites, or bury it deep inside their sites instead of using it to focus the viewer's attention.

So why the poor showing? I can think of a few reasons.

Understanding:

For many businesses, the idea of creating a video isn’t on their immediate list of things to do. They figure that catch phrases, colorful graphics and columns of text are enough to get their message across. But is it really? We are visual people, and frankly, busy people. We prefer bullet points and executive summaries to pages of text. We want Siri and Alexa to find things for us… to narrow down our choices. We want to get to the point and move on. I’ve been involved in building websites for businesses and for individuals for years and if there is one thing that truly stands out in great sites, it’s the ability to get to the point as quickly as possible: we have great products, we have an outstanding service, we are the experts in the field, we can save you time, we can save you money, we can save you headaches!

Granted, websites offer you a lot of real estate to play with, and you can add all sorts of useful information on the site like formulas or training approaches, etc. But that’s for drilling down or deep diving, and none of that is going to be useful if your clients don’t understand why they should be using you in the first place! I can’t believe how many sites I look at that are composed of endless text – often written and/or edited by an expert in the company that knows how everything works, but doesn’t know how to explain it properly. A quick positioning video can make such a difference. But many times, if a video exists, its buried deep down in the site, an afterthought instead of an ice breaker or positioning message!

Time:

Many companies don’t feel they have the time to put together a video. Who is going to develop the concept, who is going to write the script, who is going to make it all happen? Well, as a video professional, that’s my job. People like me who work in this field are very good at boiling down a lot of material and getting to the point. We don’t need to know the science or the math, we just need to know what it is you want to communicate to your customers and why it’s important. I’ve written and produced videos about banking, sub-micron filtration, stock market investing, high performance liquid chromatography, insurance, safe medication dispensing and a host of other subjects and technologies that I never studied in school. My particular skills are in writing, visualizing and interviewing. I can and do ask specific questions to establish what it is that you want to say and what it is that your client needs to hear. So people like me take the time to develop and foster the video, leaving you to run your business.

Cost:

Let’s face it… cost is always a factor when talking about video, but then cost is a factor when talking about anything. When you purchase a new car, do you expect a Toyota Yaris to handle snow and ice as well a Toyota Land Cruiser? Of course not. Conversely, do you expect the Land Cruiser to get the same gas mileage as the Yaris?  No, you buy the product that fits your needs.

The cost of a video depends on a lot of factors, including the expectations of the video’s use. If you run a multinational corporation and you want to show scenes of all of your locations in a marketing video, that video might cost more than a simple talking head in your local office. Yet if you needed to show customers all of your business locations so that they can feel comfortable that you can service them wherever they are, then that video might be worth the cost. 

But if you need to have the company president or the chief engineer communicate something to your customers, then the talking head might be fine.  So cost can be very subjective, depending on your needs. And remember, it may not end up being as costly as you assume it will. We know how to cut costs without sacrificing quality, how to arrange location shoots or purchase stock footage to suggest international travel. There are many other examples I could cite, but the bottom line is that cost should be calculated based on the expected return you get from doing the video. 

Video is a great tool. It can take your customers to places they wouldn’t normally get to see – deep into design or manufacturing – in an operating room where the product is being used to solve a medical problem or even save a life – to the offices or living rooms of satisfied clients who can tell your potential customers why your products are worth the cost! And let's talk quality for a moment. You spend a lot of money on your logo, your products, your advertising, etc. You do so because you understand that image is everything. Why not apply the same level of quality to your video. You wouldn't have your shipping clerk write your ad copy. So don't use use Kevin in HR because he took a video course in college and has a nice camera.

So take a look at your website from the perspective of a client and a prospect. Then ask yourself if it’s understandable and if it is promoting your company and your products as well as it can. And if not, give a video professional a call and let us help you make the most of those web hits that you’ve spent so much money to generate. It’ll be worth it!