Our agency saw a dramatic increase in our online video production last year, and many clients have recognized that video offers and content often generate the strongest response to web and email programs. However, one company recently took the video concept too far when it emailed a news release to editors that consisted ONLY of a video! No text, nothing for the editor to review, revise, and edit. They expected the editor to listen to the video, type a transcript while listening to the audio, and create a new product news item. Sometimes marketers do the darndest things!
Posts Tagged ‘online video’
Video Taken Too Far
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012The New Face of Blogs
Friday, July 18th, 2008Three years ago our agency operated six different blogs for various clients in a variety of markets. Blogs were the hot ticket in marketing then, and just the announcement that the client had begun a blog generated media coverage!
It was surprising even then how little actual participation most of technology- and engineering-related blogs created. While sports, food, religion and political blogs routinely spawned lively online debates, magazine and company blogs often were outposts of silence. Even well-known authors such as Seth Godin, the pioneer of permission-based marketing, saw relatively little online discussion on his blog.
Today, though, technology blogs have evolved in fascinating ways, according to a new study just released by Reed Publishing’s EDN Magazine. I won’t try to summarize the global study here (call/email me if you’d like a copy), but there are a few items that raised eyebrows in our shop:
- Engineers spend a fair amount of time participating in online groups, and we’re not talking about personal Facebook pages here – 39% of engineers use online networks to get answers to their job-related questions. Top of the list is LinkedIn, followed by Yahoo Groups. Remember, this question specifically asked about their use of online groups for BUSINESS purposes, not leisure/social.
- The big shocker: engineers actually want manufacturers to participate and provide information in these online communities, a complete reversal from a few years ago when companies were seen as intruders to online discussion groups. Today, engineers are so time pressed and place such a priority on getting quick answers to their questions, that they welcome applications advice and product knowledge, when the participant is properly identified.
- 26% use blogs for business, most often as a way to keep up on new technology and to get how-to information.
- 74% rely on webcasts (no surprise there). Most preferred length: 28 minutes
- 59% said they watch online video for work, particularly for online demos and product tutorials. Most preferred length: 11 minutes
Integrating Online Video Into Your PR Program
Friday, July 18th, 2008Last month when we took a client out on the road on a press tour, we encountered something new – an online video created when the editors interviewed us! Magazines are turning to online video as rapidly as they can think of how to use them, and PR is fertile territory. The editors simply interview visiting companies as they give a two-minute summary of their latest product, then post it on the magazine’s site alongside the news release. Here’s a sample:
http://electronicdesign.com/shows/new_products/index.cfm
In fact, at a wireless industry trade show this month, we saw the same pattern repeated – a few publications sent their editors around with simple home video cameras to capture interviews on the latest technology introduced at the show, for broadcast on their site alongside traditional text coverage of the show.
Online video is not just for webcasts anymore. Try experimenting with how to create more video content in a PR perspective. One idea will be to embed a two-minute video pitch with comparative product benefits in our news releases, alongside still photography. Customers and prospects can get a quick snapshot of the product’s core advantages to them, with links to white papers, data sheets, and more elaborate product information as a call to action. Will it work? We’ll share the results with you in the next few weeks.
