3 Great Occasions to Start Your Business’ Video Strategy

3 Great Occasions to Start Your Business’ Video Strategy

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, by 2021 video content will account for 82% of web traffic and will cross the threshold of a million minutes of video circulating the web per second. At that point, it would take someone 5 million years to watch all of the video content circulating the web. Just on YouTube alone, 500 minutes of video were being uploaded every second in 2015. There is absolutely no doubt that video consumption is increasing exponentially and will only continue to increase as the world only continues to become increasingly mobile.

Smart businesses would be wise to take advantage of this trend, but finding ways of introducing video into your marketing strategy is not always that simple. For those looking to make the break into video, here are 3 great occasions to start your business' video strategy.

1. Product launch: There is probably nothing that goes more hand-in-glove with product launches than video. When you launch a new product, you want people to be able to see it, touch it, feel it, and interact with it. But first you have to get them in the door to do so. Video can give them a firsthand look at a product that can compel them to get out and see it for themselves in a way simple written descriptions or pictures just can't. What's more, with video, you can actually show the product in action and how others are using it, creating even more interest in the product.

2. Customer testimonials: When text messages were first introduced, it brought on onslaught of misunderstanding until the advent of emoji’s. It turns out that human beings rely on a great deal of physical context to interpret the intended meanings of words. In addition, physical cues can also lend a great deal of weight to what the speaker is saying. While written customer reviews are highly influential, no amount of exclamation points will ever equal the weight of a person's face lighting up when they talk about your product or service.

3. Social responsibility programs: These days, most businesses have to do more than create and sell a great product or service, they have to also show they are responsible members of their community. In some cases, even the global community. In the digital age, you don't just have clients and consumers, you have a following. To that end, people expect more from the businesses they do business with. They want to know not just about your product, but about your mission, vision and values as well what you stand for as a company and how you give back to your community. Video is one of the best ways to spread that message. In the video world, there is a phrase "show, don't tell" and if a picture is worth 1,000 words, even the shortest of videos is a novel. Rather than telling your followers about your mission, vision and values, you can use video to actually show them in action.

Mark Angelo co-founded the Investment Manager in August 2009 and two affiliated investment managers.