The facility to produce and publish videos online is a major step forward from the video cassette or DVD that companies once sent out to customers to promote the company and its products. The big problem then was not producing the video but persuading recipients to actually view it. Twenty or thirty years ago smaller b-2-b companies did not have a television or video player in the work place and most people had just one television and VCR at home. Persuading the family to give up watching their favourite soap and watch a company extolling the virtues of it s new product, or even worse the latest changes on VAT from Her Majesty's Tax and Revenue were hardly compelling alternatives. So the expensively produced videos gathered dust on a shelf or sat in a desk drawer. Consequently allocating a line for video production dropped out of the typical b-2-b marketing budget.
But now with YouTube it is not only easy to publish video online, but due to YouTube's high ranking as a search resource, video is now a must do. So why do so few b-2-b companies actually offer video presentations? Again it is a matter of reviewing the balance of the marketing budget. Video can be used in many ways - to demonstrate what products do and how they work, for PR to interview customers and provide testimonial endorsements and for post sales and service support. Videos should be short, to the point and professionally filmed. Using 'voice-overs' allows other language options to be added with relative ease.When reviewing marketing budgets, look at the high tickets items such as display advertising, exhibitions and print, for many b-2-b companies there will be plenty of scope for saving that can be reallocated to video production and other new media opportunities.
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