For all the huge advancements the Internet brought about, it had one curiously retro side effect: It brought text back into vogue. Traditional book, newspaper and magazine publishing might be on the ropes, but think about how much material you read every day: e-mails, tweets, status updates, blog posts — it adds up.
But why? Broadband Web access has been common for nearly a decade. YouTube is 5 years old. Webcams are cheap and plentiful. Why are we still typing everything?
The top story in today’s SmartBrief on Social Media examines some of the things companies could be doing with online video. It can be used for advertising, creating virtual focus groups and enhancing customer service. That last category is especially intriguing to me. Being able to see a person’s face does wonders for your ability to build empathy with that person and have a constructive conversation. Social-media advocates love to talk about the importance of authenticity. Is there anything more authentic than a human face?
My guess is that this incredible authenticity is part of the problem. You want to present a real, human voice for your brand. But you don’t want to leave yourself open to human error. Video is a visceral, immediate thing. It could be only too easy to say something careless that could land your brand in hot water. I wonder if learning to hold your poise on camera will become a must-have job skill for marketers over the next few years, as customers crave a more personal connection with their brands.
Are you using video as part of your social-media strategy? If not, why not?
Image credit, Cathleen Clapper, via Shutterstock
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The type of video you are describing is still in the old marketing paradigm – broadcast and blast. Unless you are using video as a content tool to draw people into conversation that you yourself show up to, its still Web 1.0 even though we see your face and hear your voice.
A Vlog is different. I use videos to blog, and I purposefully don't worry about making them perfect. That's part of my brand, part of my message, that anyone can and should be making short quick videos as another way to get their message across.
Thanks! Bret
My recent post Paradigm Lost
Hey Bret, Thanks for commenting. Actually, I was talking about using Webcams for video chatting with customers, not broadcasting or vlogging. Sorry if I wasn't being clear enough! I think videochatting has the potential to be a great customer service tool, among other things, — but the dangers are a lot more pronounced because it's harder to stay on message when talking to another person in real time. Not everyone has the necessary discipline yet. Agreed on vlogging though — rough and ready is the way to go.
There's no question that video can add to a product's appeal, whether it's looking at a video about that product or interacting with the company talking about that product. Video customer service chats can be quite helpful. And in this case, you would want someone telegenic who also has the ability to focus on the customer's needs. It is a skill just like accurate typing is if you are text-reliant.
But text has not gone out of style. Sometimes it's even preferable. It's faster, first of all. Sometimes a quick glance at a sentence or two is all you need. You can skim text in a way you cannot skim across video and find the parts that are most relevant to you. And you can refer back to text far more easily than rewinding a video. The best sites are those that would know when to use video and when to use text.
Video is absolutely a critical part of any communication/ marketing/ relationship building strategy. Video is just one leg of a many legged stool. I agree with the comments that "broadcast" video will not add much over a web 1.0 unless it is part of a grander strategy that leverages videos, audio podcast, and other new media / social media tools to grow an interactive community.
Using open, honest, transparent communication to get people to know, like, and trust a brand (whether personal brand or not) is the way to go. Video is just another way to be open, honest and transparent.
all the best,
Robin Maiden
http://www.ElectionCampaignStrategy.com
http://www.RobinMaiden.com
There's another reason we lean heavily on text. The indexing algorithms that search engines use to help buyers find us work best on text, second best on audio and worst on video. Text takes up a fraction of the storage space of video. Text development has a fraction of the cost of video development. And so on …
perhaps we have all got it right – I have to agree with the above comments about the ease and convenience of searching through text. There is something delightfully savoury about picking and choosing one's words to best describe one's message, and text gives us that space.
My recent post Empowering Mindset – Purpose
I guess most people prefer text before video for the reasons that you just mentioned. But for me it is a bit different, the reason why I have not started video blogging is simply because of quality of the videos, and because I know that I personally do not watch low quality videos. If I was not a student and had money to buy equipment I think my answer would be different. Human error in a movie is one thing, but bad sound or unclear picture is not to anyone's favour, I think. Sure, there are probably ways to get around this, but for right now, I think that my best option for letting people hear my thought and ideas, is by sharing them though text.
I am a lifecaster and use live streaming to market my brand. I think it is an innovative way to build your online presence. Like all marketing, I think you can not just use one outlet. You have to combine the tweets, blogs, and status updates along with video marketing.