i just created a podcast with John McIntyre, founder/CEO of PixelFish. He’s a great guy, first of all. And he totally understands small business.
After the discussion with him, I’m more excited than ever about the idea of utilizing video as a promotional tool for a business.
Listen to the Podcast (sponsored by FedExOffice)
Did you know, for example, that 52% of viewers of videos end of taking action based on the video. That’s an incredible stat. 16% who view a promotional video say they purchased the service or product featured. There’s also data suggesting that when a shopper sees a video, they are half as likely to seek out competitive sites offering something similar. Video is just extremely compelling in this usage.
eMarketer estimates that spending on online video advertising will grow to $4.6 billion in 2013, representing a more than sevenfold increase from the $587 million spent in 2008. Nice for John and PixelFish, no?
FYI, PixelFish is a national video producer with a network of over 3,000 videographers around the country. They send in their footage to the L.A. editing studio of PixelFish and then the video is uploaded for you to use. Runs around $850, give or take, based on what bells and whistles you may or may not need.
One thing I discussed in particular is, what works for video? What are the factors that make for a good one and vice versa.
John says in the podcast that you have to create a “Searchmercial”. Watching an ad on your website or in a online directory is fundamentally different from watching an ad on TV. Fortunately, your consumer is looking for the information and your ad is the information they are looking for. There is no need to get their attention or compete with other distractions.
The key is to answer your target consumers’ questions. People searching for a product or service have a question to be answered. Make sure you understand the question your viewers are asking, and that your video answers that question.
It’s also paramount to include a call-to-action and ensure it can be easily edited. Video content can be optimized not only for the search but for response itself. Your call to action within the video can be a discount, monthly coupon, send an SMS text etc. Be sure that your call-to-action is simple to update within your video so you can easily test alternative offers.
There are a half dozen other ideas that we discuss to make a great video – listen to that podcast to find out!
