The power of video is at an all-time high in today's marketing environment. Data gained from the B2B Demand Generation Benchmark Survey for 2012 found that video is used by over 90% of marketing respondents, beating out the percentages of those who use white papers, case studies, and live demos with reps. As suggested in a January 28, 2013 Forbes.com article titled “Why Online Video Is Vital For Your 2013 Content Marketing Objectives” written by Sean Rosensteel, video is an effective marketing tool because of the human connections it provides. The image of someone's face, the sound of their voice, and the visibility of their emotions and movements in video are all conducive in getting a target audience to respond favorably to the message.
The good news for marketers is that video production is quicker, easier, and more cost-effective than ever before thanks to several new video services on the web.
Animoto offers an ideal platform for marketers looking to create videos without the aid of a video production company. This website allows users to select from high quality backgrounds to shoot their video with. The video editing process is made very simple. Users drop in video or still images and add music and then Animoto creates a video that times these elements perfectly. Marketers seeking testimonial videos from customers could benefit from using Bravo Video. This web service creates a microsite for a company featuring its brand. This microsite contains information about what the company would like customers to say in their testimonials and captures video from the customers via webcam.
Once a customer records his or her testimonial, the company can share it on its website, blog, and social media platforms. Screencast is a great tool for marketers who want to create tutorials, software demos, or online PowerPoint presentations. Through Screencast, users create videos by adding voiceovers to screen shots. With these video services at hand, marketers now have the ability to take complete control over the video production process and make their brand go viral on a lower budget.
