Videos and Business - Making an Impact

The use of video in business extends well beyond video conferencing these days. In fact, we predict that in 20 years, videos will be as common and necessary to businesses as having a website or email address is today. Instead of business cards, you'll have a video card. Instead of a brochure, you'll have a brochure with tiny chips that can show videos right on the paper. Websites will become more interactive with video clips for marketing, training and more.

Videos in business have proven to:

· increase company growth and productivity

· inspire innovative thinking

· drive a higher level of customer satisfaction

It's all about connectedness! Videos are now fully integrated business tools that have become a requirement for an organiza­tion with the desire for effective/efficient internal and external communication.

Internet

Video has become commonplace (e.g., YouTube, Google, etc.) In fact, on-line video now makes up 50% of all consumer Internet traffic. Last year, almost 200 million Americans watched online videos every month, and on any given day, 100 million people will watch videos online. People love video, and studies have shown that video increases sales. To keep ahead of the competition, businesses must strongly consider adding video to their mix, be it an online video brochure, a tour of your store, video newsletters, or instructional videos.

Social Networking/Mobility

The growing trend is for increased use of business video as the use of mobile and social environments that have video capabilities increases. Your audience expects to watch content on many different platforms and devices. As companies use social and mobile vehicles to reach their audiences, video is expected and in some cases, preferred. Why? Because the user experience of reading text in webpages or applications is subpar to the experience of watching and listening to a video on that same screen.

Mark Serao, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Grey Sky Films located in Rockaway, NJ, strongly urges businesses to embrace video in their marketing and social media campaigns. Grey Sky Films offers a custom­ized film series to empower businesses and enhance their brand, connect with their clients and, ultimately, increase their sales opportunities.

Mark predicts that websites of the future will be all video! "The storm is still coming for us," states Mark. "Print is dying... it's all about inter­activeness now!" Savvy business owners need to start thinking now of ways to jazz up their websites with engaging video content. Today's consumers want it all... they want to "see it, touch it, and taste it before they buy it," stresses Mark. What better way to connect with prospective customers than through video? Consider your business website as a 24/7 store­front. Incorporating a few engaging videos will give prospective customers an opportunity to get to know you better. Even before they pick up the phone or walk in your door, you've already established a rapport.

Mark has seen a lot of change in the video industry since graduating with a degree in film making in 1997. The days of filming on tape and laboriously cutting and editing film have given way to today's digital editing directly onto flash drives. Now you can shoot quickly, offload easily and edit online. Clients can easily and quickly review videos online (almost too quickly). Cameras themselves have gotten better as far as quality and work­load are concerned.

"The whole platform is changing," claims Mark. "You can now create content like the 'big guys' and play in their arena!" With this new platform comes new technology that is constantly changing. Grey Sky Films' website is chock-full of videos with personality-they certainly practice what they preach!

Now's the time to start thinking about your company's communica­tion strategy. IT Radix recommends that you consider the role you want video to play and start making an impact today!

As a seasoned IT professional and business owner at IT Radix, Cathy Coloff enjoys working with small-to-medium sized businesses on getting the most out of their technology dollars. Technology is serious business, but she likes to have fun making I.T. work for you.