Video in your 2011 Marketing Plan

Before starting on any video project you need to ask yourself first, what is my business objective? As you create your 2011 plan, ask yourself how online video helps with those objectives.

As much as iFilm wants the video production work, companies should avoid spending resources on the production of videos without a plan for maximizing their production cost and for syndicating and distributing them. What does that mean?

We recommend that you have a plan prior to production of all the places that your video elements can be repurposed and utilized beyond the initial production. Talk to other departments about how they could use footage in achieving their goals. Heck, iFilm will even work with you in pre-production to sort out that plan.

Here’s an example … informational footage for your website could also generate a spin-off video for a recruiting campaign where your employees speak about why they like working for you. (Recruiting will be a hot topic as we exit this recession.)

Syndicating and distributing? Well, videos shouldn’t simply live on your website (but having a video there will dramatically increase your site stickiness over your competitors).

You also need to get them on industry sites and have a plan of where and when. Putting them on video sharing sites is good for SEO with the right links back to you. Where else and how else will you use this video to market your company? Can you use it via mobile to educate new employees on company philosophy as part of training? Can you solve other communication problems with this footage? iFilm will be happy to engage in that dialog as well.

If web video is NOT in your 2011 marketing budget, revise the budget.

Video is not a nice-to- have, it is now a must-have. Need help crafting this plan? Call Dave Henry at iFilm Productions.

Apple's Ad Service Off to Bumpy Start

Why does Apple make it difficult to advertise? Why force themselves into the creative process? Why not a standard format and template and let the winners develop in the open marketplace? Good creative that connects with consumers will deliver positive results for advertisers.  Good content will prevail in the end, Apple needs to let it happen. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703321004575427892781417642.html

Random aside:  Oddly enough, Apple does the best job of making all their technology work together based on standards across platforms. Their hardware division seems to embrace standard connectors and power chargers, should hardware help the software side of the house get its priorities straightened out?  

870 minutes of video viewing online per month per user

ComScore reported data for June shows that more than 177 million US internet users watched video content in June, totaling 5.1 billion sessions and an average of 870 minutes per month per user.

Other findings show 84.6% of the total US internet audience viewed online video.

The compilation of data can be found at this link.

Why does your website not incorporate video?