Many aspects of sales relationships are beneficial, but nothing builds trust and connection quite like a face-to-face interaction. Britta Schellenberg serves as Vice President of Corporate Marketing Operations at Brightcove. Britta's a seasoned marketer who delivers results through creative thoughts, ideas, and strategies - and she knows how to create an engaging customer conference that drives customer retention and prospect conversions. You might say that “face-to-face” experiences are her specialty.
In this conversation, Britta discusses how the use of online video can create incredible demand for live events, and how she’s been able to do so for the annual Brightcove event called Play. Whether or not you have responsibility for event planning, you’ll pick up ideas and insights about using online video in your digital strategy from what Britta has to share on this episode.
How Has Online Video Evolved In Digital Marketing?
When video first became available through the Internet it was cumbersome. It had to be downloaded and watched locally (on individual devices), and it took a long time to do so, but technology has advanced significantly, and now online video can stream easily. Because of this, it’s everywhere.
But not only have tech advances made video easier to consume, it’s also much easier to produce. There's virtually no cost to producing basic videos, and brands who are willing to experiment and learn can produce good quality video easily.
When your brand takes that bold step, social selling takes on a whole new level of effectiveness. Your customers are able to see, hear, and get a feel for your brand representatives, helping to develop the “know, like, trust” factor with them and your brand like never before.
Every Brand Should Be Encouraged to Shoot Video
One of the most important questions brands should be asking, and answering, about their place in the busy online marketplace is this:
“How can we differentiate ourselves?”
It’s a question that can be answered and implemented in powerful ways using online video.
As you consider how to use video to differentiate your brand, think about what you can demonstrate, teach, or tap into that can add value to viewers and build trust for your brand? It’s about building relationships which lends support to your sales goals.
And don’t forget about video when it comes to email. Click through rates for email are 12,000% higher when video is implemented in them, so it would be foolish to ignore this powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.
Powerful Event Promotion Strategy Using Video: Before, During, and After
The power of an event is the in-person nature of it - meeting people, learning things in a live environment, and the buzz and excitement of being there make it a special experience. You can use online video to capture and demonstrate some of those aspects of your next event in powerful ways.
Britta explains how the Brightcove team uses online video in a "before, during, and after" approach with Play. They publish teasers of the event on social media, live-stream conversations and happenings at the conference, and even provide the keynote session live on social media. In all their event-related efforts they're careful to use the event hashtag with every video - this year’s event hashtag was #Play2018. All of this and more is part of the Brightcove “Before, During, After” video strategy and it is very effective.
How Brands Can Get Started Using Online Video
If you’re convinced that online video is something your company should be using to market and build better connections with customers and prospects, Britta has some great advice for you.
- Don’t be intimidated - Like anything, you’ll have to discover your own style and approach to using video, but it’s not as complicated as you might think.
- You also need to have clear goals - What are you trying to accomplish with your videos? Trust building? Promoting an event? Your goal should determine your approach, so don’t allow your efforts to be unfocused.
- Don’t try to copy massive brands - They may have millions of dollars to create the slick videos they do - and you likely don’t need that level of production anyway. Stay focused on your goals and work with what you have.
- What resources and personnel DO you have? - Are there enthusiastic, well-spoken people on your team who would be natural on camera? Are there graphics professionals who could contribute? Do you have still images that could be compiled into slideshow-type videos?
You know your brand, so step out boldly to represent it through video. Try it out and learn from your mistakes as you go along and you’ll find that online video is one of the most powerful things you can do to engage with customers, promote events, and make your brand shine.
Featured on This Episode
- Brightcove and Brightcove Play
- The Brightcove blog (resources about creating video)
- Connect with Brita on LinkedIn
- Brita on Twitter: @MizzBritta
Outline of This Episode
- [2:39] What is Brightcove and what does Britta do with the company?
- [5:57] Brand aspirations to use video in marketing and sales
- [7:23] Differences in how B2B and B2C companies are using video
- [10:19] Online video use to market events
- [20:21] How brands can get started using online video
- [22:01] Is it important to get the CEO on video?
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