PR and marketers widely recognize the growing importance of video. Video is touted as the year’s hottest media with most every corporate and brand website now incorporating video segments and programs.
To be precise, 82 percent of B2C marketers and 79 percent of B2B marketers now include video in their content marketing programs, according to the Content Marketing Institute. Yet, far fewer are pleased with the marketing outcomes video produces. Only 59 percent of B2C marketers and 62 percent of B2C marketers rate videos as an effective content marketing tactic.
Many predict an approaching prevalence of live streaming content and 360-degree videos. But PR & marketing teams don’t necessarily need to pursue the latest, cutting-edge technologies. Interactive and personalized videos still offer enormous potential for marketing.
Interactive video is becoming integrated into the entire viewing experience, says Tyler Lessard, CMO of video marketing platform Vidyard. Video marketers can now add embedded surveys, quizzes and links to keep viewers engaged throughout the video and also provide additional content to retain their attention, Lessard explains in MarketingProfs. Interactive case studies, which I originally produced on videodiscs and desktop computers in the 1980s, still offer exceptional teaching and learning opportunities and are now much easier and less costly to produce and distribute online.
Improves Video Measurement
“The same trend applies on the back end as well,” Lessard writes in extolling the value of interactive video in measuring marketing results. Until recently, marketers tracked videos with passive and relatively meaningless metrics, such as impressions and views. More interactive experiences enable marketers to now track more insightful measures and provide more meaningful analytics.
Interactive analytics in video case studies, for instance, can measure the level of understanding a viewer has of the subject matter and the process the viewer uses in solving case problems. Case studies can be medical, business or most any other topic.
The use of intermediate or advanced video analytics for understanding content performance increased significantly from 2015 to 2016, with 35% of marketers now using more sophisticated techniques.
“I expect that number to jump in 2017 as businesses invest more in video content across their business, and they become more aware of how well analytics can convey viewers’ precise levels of interest and engagement in their content,” Lessard says
Video marketers who use advanced analytics are twice as likely to say their ROI is better and are more likely to increase their video budgets year over year. Data on viewing provides marketers insights about their audience and where they are in the buying journey. Integrating viewing data with marketing automation and CRM systems leads to deeper understanding of a viewer’s interest in completing a purchase, but those integrations continue to lag. Just 13% of respondents said they have integrated their data and are taking advantage of it.
The Benefits of Personalization
Typically, PR and marketing currently produce videos for their organizations’ entire audience, such has how-to and product demonstrations, in a one-size-fits-all strategy. While such video still provide benefits, they do not address the brand’s different audience members and buyer personas, especially in more complex sales cycles.
Mature video marketing programs first define demographics of desired customers and produce content that addresses their needs, Lessard notes. A CMO, for instance, seeks different information about a product, and has less time to devote, than someone at an operational level.
In one example of increased personalization, a real estate agent could create a video on modern townhouses in the local real estate market to target young, potential first-time home buyers. “Highly targeted real estate videos can increase your brand awareness and also generate organic traffic for niche searches,” advises Inman News.
“A targeted, persona-based video strategy requires more content, but it delivers more bang for your buck,” Lessard says. In the next stage, video marketing technology will enable marketing and sales staff to target individuals or companies. Today’s digital editing tools make it easy to create multiple versions and lengths of a video, provided that the video production captured the necessary footage for different versions.
Marketers can seamlessly weave the customer’s name or company name into a video inviting them to try a product, says Vala Afshar, chief digital evangelist for Salesforce. Or they can create a video that displays their website. “This level of personalization is now a reality and possible at scale with new personalized video technologies,” Afshar writes for the Huffington Post.
Bottom Line: Marketing and PR can improve video marketing through interactive content and personalization. Besides keeping viewers interested, interactive content such as surveys, quizzes and links, can improve video marketing measurement. As more brands turn to video to gain customers’ attention, those who create content that targets viewers’ particular needs are more likely to stand out.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
