Business video marketing: Technical specs

As usual for a Saturday, we look at an example of business video marketing and see what we can learn from it.

Online video watching is increasing as a share of internet time. As youtube’s self-congratulatory birthday light-on-data infographic alludes, more videos are uploaded every 60 days than the major US TV networks have broadcasted in the past 60 years.

• 73% of US retail now incorporate video as part of their e-commerce site.
  
• In March this year, 83.5% of US internet audience watched online videos (average duration 5.2 minutes).
• 66% of survey respondents in February said they watch more online video than last year and 48% think they will watch even more in 2011.
• 64% of survey respon dents watch videos before making a purchasing decision.

Despite these figures, measuring the value of online video marketing is still relatively new. Most small business do not use analytics on their websites and small business blogs generally, so looking at specific data on who is watching videos, how often they are visiting the site, and whether they are converting into customers is still relatively unexplored (and a topic we will come back to with future tutorials and blog posts).

However, research is being undertaken to measure the effectiveness of online ads. Most recently, MIT-offshoot Affectiva has used its facial sensor technology to measure viewer attention to online ads. They found that online video ads get 18.3% more attention than TV ads, while online video gets 8.5% more attention than TV content.

One of the types of video available in the business video marketing ‘genre’ is the tech report video. This is a little similar to a white paper or a technical specs type webpage where details are given to explain the why and how of a product or service. Affectiva have a technical specs/background type of video on their website:

The video ad good

Rosalind Picard is an engaging presence. Engaging video doesn’t always need to be state of the art. You can make use of available footage you may have from a presentation or other filmed event as the basis for your business video marketing effort: audiences can be forgiving if the information is useful and there’s a little bit of humor or personality. You do need an engaging presenter, no matter what.

The video has a clear intent. This video acts like a technical specifications or product background report rather than an advertisement or sales lead-in. While it explains the technology, it does so in a way that a non-engineering can understand.

The video ad ordinary

The muted opening. I am always in favor of making an impression when starting a video. Videos are meant to transport you into an alternate world, so even something really brief needs a clear setup. Music, credits, or an animation transition all can serve to take you into the video world’s realm. I unmderstand the importance of recognizing the rest of the research team with a lingering graphic of their faces, but it still felt like a long time and didn’t use the opportunity to say, okay, here’s what we cover in the next 8 minutes.

The technology itself. I like that the introduction to using the technology discusses ways to use it to understand one’s own emotions, rather than its use in the marketing research, or in an activity that could be used for surveillance or control of a population. Although, the need to make the technology accessible wasn’t really covered enough for my liking. This is a theme i will be exploring in my blog site citizense, being launched later this month.

The video ad bad

Ugly graphics. It’s kind-of bizarre that an enterprise sprung out of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology research lab should then have such limited access to someone who can jazz up their graphics. Even moreso, the presenter mentions the need to develop a better user interface for the actual technology product. This heightens the risk that the technology will become mystified and inaccessible to customers and citizens. A tech background video still needs to keep people at the center of using the product.

Producing small business video products

At present, I am involved in making a short promotional video, and another entertainment news video, with two tutorials recently completed. The idea of a technical specifications/product background video is an excellent genre within online videos, and one that I am keen to explore with a potential client next. Please contact me via the comments board below or at markboyd@mgboyd.com to discuss your business video marketing ideas.