When promoting a campaign online, nothing beats using a video to get your message across. Video continues to be the winner for organic traffic maximization and for getting attention as part of a paid ad promotion. In this blog article, we take a closer look at "short-form" videos and provide some specific examples for systems integrators.
Short versus Long
Short-form video, normally shorter than two minutes and thirty seconds, provides the viewer with a quick glimpse of your product or service. This length is perfect for platforms where your customers may not be expecting to see your video, yet you want to catch their attention. LinkedIn viewers are more likely to watch a slightly longer video as they are on that platform for work-related activities. And for long form video and videos embedded into websites, YouTube and other similar platforms are ideal.
Aside from getting across a quick message, your short-form video is also an attention grabber to get the viewer to act and click to learn more on your blog or website. There they can find a long-form video which goes deeper into the topic as well as blog text, documents, and other resources that support the campaign.
Ideas for Integrators
Sometimes your team is too close to the topic to think of simple ideas for a short-form video. Be sure to ask the sales team what types of questions are asked repetitively. That can be the starting point for your videos. Marcus Sheridan, who wrote a book on this, calls this style of ideation “they ask, you answer.” Once you connect with your sales team, here are four examples of content you can create:
1. Solution Highlight: briefly discuss a challenge faced by your prospects and offer a solution overview that encourages them to click a link in the post to get more answers. End users are seeking cloud-based solutions. Briefly explain and show how a cloud-based security solution can make their building more secure or simplify operations across multiple locations.
2. New Technology Introduction: the systems integration industry is full of new widgets that solve old problems. Highlight a new device that seems to be making a difference for your clients. You could use video analytics as an example. Show how an operator of a video management system is alerted to an intrusion alarm created by a camera with video analytics.
3. Product Unboxing: take two minutes to show your customers what they will get when a new device comes out of the box. A fitting example of this is showing a multi-imager camera without the protective bubble on it. This can help clear any misconceptions about how this type of device solves dozens of challenges.
4. Team Introduction: normally the sales team has face to face interaction with the customer. Make several videos that highlight the technical capabilities of your team. Interview engineers and technicians and ask them to describe what they do, what their training is, and how they keep up with changing technology.
Film for the Future
Using videos to convey a message or concept is the most effective method when used on the correct platforms in the right way. Go with short-form videos for quick messages and use them to drive prospects to longer videos on your website and blog. Creating a campaign plan that leverages video can be quite simple once the concept is thoroughly mapped out.
Vector Firm has years of experience and can provide fresh perspective on what video content may work well for each specific campaign on your preferred social and business platforms. We are here to support your marketing programs by helping create successful, customer-centric video-enabled campaigns.
Ready to get started with video?
Contact Vector Firm today to discuss your goals and content marketing needs.
