May 26, 2009

Bylined by Lisa Clark, Vice President of Marketing, The FeedRoom

The Growing Importance of Video in the Enterprise

As head of marketing and communications for a global, public software firm during the last economic downturn, I shared the usual challenge of finding ways to help manage profits while the top line tumbled. As senior staff took turns socializing where they believed we could reduce overhead, one bid from the top suggested that we cut our corporate and media communication resources in half. In challenging economic times, I suspect there is no riskier proposition.

With the global economy in recession once again, communication and brand management takes on renewed significance. Sagging consumer confidence, hyper-aggressive competition, price pressure and longer sales cycles can put any corporation in crisis mode. The level of uncertainty among employees, customers and partners creates a void that can be quickly filled with misinformation and rumors. This not only kills morale and productivity in the workplace, but can cost you critical customer relationships.

During tough times, it’s more important than ever to communicate well – and often – with your stakeholders. Companies that market their way through a poor economy frequently emerge from it with greater share and stronger brands than the competition. The challenge remains in our ability to increase communication while managing costs.

The Medium is the Message
Unlike traditional means, video on the Web enables a real-time communications network that can reach employees, customers, partners and prospects almost anywhere, anytime. As the fastest growing online communication medium today, it’s being watched on computers, iPods, cell phones and other mobile devices. RSS and XML feeds automatically notify consumers when new information is available. For any company with a Web presence, video can be an impactful and cost-efficient way to deliver highly targeted – and measurable – communications.

A recent survey by the Gilbane Group shows that 50 percent of U.S. firms are already using online video, and 46 percent rated it “very effective.” This creates appealing opportunities for marketers and others seeking new ways to promote products or to build brand through timely updates, campaigns and content. Online video is also rapidly ecoming a platform for internal communications at companies such as General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, and Bausch & Lomb.

No Free Lunch
Despite declining video production costs and the meteoric rise of YouTube and other free video-sharing sites, there’s no “free lunch” when it comes to marketing and brand management with online video. While some of the largest consumer and B2B brands have set up video channels on these sites, they offer marketers very little control over the context or audience. In fact, it’s not uncommon for content to appear adjacent to a competitor’s, or worse, a competitor’s advertisement.

In short video sharing sites are a great distribution channel, but they should be treated as such. A successful video communications strategy should always begin with your own Web site. By embedding video content into contextually relevant pages on a site, together with social networking features, podcasts and other documents, you can increase viewership and relevance, while controlling distribution.

The real key to making precious marketing dollars go further is choosing the most effective tools and techniques for video distribution and measurement. Choosing the Right Solution The most efficient way to enable an online video communications infrastructure is to choose a full-service provider that can minimize your effort and expense, while maximizing impact. With limited staffing, look for partners who not only offer software, but also the on-staff expertise to help you achieve your business goals, ensuring success relative to all aspects of

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