Authentic Marketing Using Social Media – Part 2: Video Messaging

In Part 1 of my Authentic Marketing Using Social Media series, I talked about Customer Reviews, similar to those found on Amazon.com. This article will deal with Video Messaging.

As access to broadband Internet connections have increased, the demand for rich media has increased. Many higher education institutions have realized this and embedded video content in their website.

Trent Unversity (click the ‘Take a Virtual Tour’ button)

Some higher education institutions have even created YouTube channels.

Here is some interesting online video statistics that I read on the Ideagin Blog:

As of summer 2008, 64% of internet users in the US watch online video in a typical month and this trend will grow.
That 64% translates to 117 million people ages 13 and up.
The average online viewer watches an average of 56 minutes of online video a week or 109 million hours a week and this is rising.
Three-quarters of broadband users (74%) who enjoy high-speed connections at both home and work watch or download video online.

What does this mean?

I am suggesting is that higher education institutions leverage the power of video messaging to its full potential by not having it in a small box or accessed by click a button or link. Bring video messaging to the forefront of your web arsenal. By looking at some of the big commercial websites, higher education institutions can see that businesses have realized the potential of rich media.

Can I put any video message in the forefront? No.

Do you recall those infomercials late at night that profess that you too can earn $5000 a week or something crazy like that? They have “real” people who have made the program work and you can relate to… If you don’t recall those, check out the video below:

So did the “real” people in the video convince you? Did you believe their message? I didn’t.

The popularity and exposure of social media tools like blogging and forums, I think have changed how marketing and recruitment videos should be developed. Take the example above – imagine a similar type video that is polished, scripted and has actors (as we all know those people in the video above are) for a higher education recruitment video. Will it deliver the anticipated results? Maybe – maybe not.

The influence of social media has transformed the traditional online user. They are not as likely to be wowed by cool Flash animations or big budget recruitment videos. They are wiser and more demanding.

Check out an example that was produced by Sun Pop Studios (see other Sun Pop examples).

When I watched this video and the others produced by Sun Pop, they instilled a sense of authenticity that I believe is more powerful than the $100,000 big budget recruitment video. People know when they are being marketing to – a real person with a real message delivered authentically is key.

I am not suggesting that you need to have Sun Pop produce your videos (unless you want to). But what I am saying is that when you produce your videos with authenticity, you’re sure to deliver positive results.

Stay tuned for Part 3: Blogging