Getting Your Company Started With Video Marketing

Smart marketers everywhere are adopting online video at a frenetic pace...

• 71% of marketers are increasing their video budgets
• 72% are shifting budget from TV to online video
• Industry forecasts project that video will account for 79% of all internet traffic by 2020

The reason for the change is clear: brands that use video for marketing are growing their revenue 49% faster than brands that don't.

And with so many companies adopting video or increasing their video budgets, the window of opportunity to use video as a competitive advantage is closing. Before you know it, you'll find yourself falling behind and will be forced to use video just to keep up.

But if you think you can just wait and play catch-up down the line, remember that first-movers and early adopters always have an advantage. The bigger the head start, the harder it will be to catch up.

For example, consider the advantage that first-movers had with blogging. They got all the search rankings before content marketing became competitive, which meant they also attracted the most inbound links, resulting in a permanent SEO advantage.

And let's not forget all the platform stars! When you adopt a new marketing channel early, it's always much easier to build an audience and get traction because fewer brands are competing for attention. Just ask anyone who's trying to build an audience on Facebook without ads; it feels impossible now.

This week, Todd and I published a podcast episode all about competition and the closing window of opportunity. If you missed it, you can download that episode here. It's a great primer on the state of the industry.

But let's assume you're ready to get started with video...what's next?

Without a clear plan, it's easy to stall out indefinitely and miss the window of opportunity. That's why This Week In Video Marketing, I'm going to show you how to get your video marketing campaign off the ground.

So how can you help your business get started with video?

In our experience, marketers are get stuck behind two major roadblocks here:

1. No strategy
2. No buy-in from key stakeholders

And it makes sense: if you don't have a clear strategy, you won't have the confidence to move forward. Without a plan, you're more likely to take half-measures and dip your toe in the water with a low-quality or poorly-planned video. This virtually guarantees your initial results will be poor and discourage you from making more videos in the future.

That's one of the reasons why WireBuzz provides free strategy consultations BEFORE we decide to work with a client, even though it's a ton of work. We know that businesses with a smart strategy will be successful and come back for more videos, while brands that shoot from the hip tend to fizzle out.

In this video, Stronz shares several of the most important elements of a smart video strategy.

But you want my advice? Start with a small strategy.

Here are the steps: 

1. Start with a specific business problem that you need to solve
2. Decide on a video topic that can help you solve the problem (use this free worksheet)
3. Create that video the right way, the first time ("effective" is better than "cheap")
4. Track your results and share them with your stakeholders to create momentum for the next video
5. Repeat until your organization believes in video, then roll out your long-term video strategy

Equally important is the fact that you probably need a strategy in mind before you'll be able to convince key stakeholders at your company.

Which brings me to the second major hurdle...

How to convince your boss to try video marketing

Getting buy-in from key stakeholders is a critical part of the process. Even if you can manage to force a video project through without the full support of your team, it's much less likely that you'll create an effective video.

So you need to get buy-in up front.

The question is: how do you actually do that?

Fortunately, Todd and I recorded a podcast episode that provides a simple 4-step framework for getting your team excited about video.

You'll want to listen to the full episode to get all the details, but here are those four steps:

1. Use the latest stats about video to make a compelling business case
2. Point out the first-mover advantage problem and explain how the window of opportunity is closing
3. Shift the mindset about marketing from "cost" to "value" by fostering a culture that emphasizes ROI
4. And last, suggest a pilot program, like I showed you in the previous section

Remember that you need a smart strategy when pitching video to your team. It doesn't need to be a big or complex strategy, but you do need to connect the dots for people.

Before you begin, think about how the video project you're proposing going to move the needle for your business.

• Is it going to increase the conversion rate of a high-traffic webpage, like an explainer video?
• Will it help your sales team close deals faster and at a higher rate?
• Can it be used to drive leads long-term? And if so, what is your promotion strategy for making that happen?

Once you figure out your business goals for the video and establish a strategy to get there, you'll be ready to deliver a compelling pitch!

Want some help? We've got your back!

This is a really important conversation. It needs to be handled well, or risk your argument falling on deaf ears.

Fortunately, if you follow all the steps outlined in this post and pull together a well-reasoned plan for how video can help your business (in tangible ways), then you should be in pretty good shape.

But if you're concerned that you may not be the best person to handle this conversation, just know that our team is always here to support you. We always offer free, no-obligation video strategy consultations, which include:

• A full needs analysis interview (~1 hour)
• A custom video strategy designed for your business goals (~2 hours)

So for just a couple hours of your time, the WireBuzz strategy team will show you the fastest ways video can drive ROI for your business. And if at the end of that strategy, you decide not to work with us, no hard feelings.

Either way, you get a smart video strategy and we'll be there to help persuade your team to try video. There really is no risk (unless you consider a few hours of your time a "risk").

To schedule a free strategy consultation with my team, just click the button below and fill out the form.