Viral Video - Does It Equal Sales?
Marketing Video Production
There has been, over the last few years, a chase for businesses to produce a viral video. The thinking seems to be that views equals new web page hits equals new clients equals sales. But is this really the case?
There have been many viral videos. There have also been many company viral videos too. But have any of these viral videos made the companies any more sales or did they simply provide entertainment for the viewers?
If you branding is the main function of the video then maybe there has been success. An example would be the soft drink companies prank videos which, although may not be measurable in sales, increasing or maintaining brand recognition may have been achieved. What we are talking about today is the ability for small or medium sized businesses to make a useful contribution to their marketing through viral videos.
The problem with viral videos is that they often have to be quite extreme to generate the response or desire from the public to share the videos with others and make it go viral.
This kind of extreme marketing may be very harmful for businesses who try to put out a more professional image. An auditing firm for example having a video of singing cats or extreme pranks might not be as intelligent as it should be.
There is a saying: Just because you can does not mean you should.
If a company wants to use video, which by the way is a great idea for marketing, the first consideration , when speaking to video production companies is to decide whether viral video is the right type for that business.
There is a type of video which you might call semi viral can often be more appropriate.This type of video production, although it might not have a million views can be more useful to attract the right kind of viewers and as a result have a higher click rate and conversion rate as a result.
For example if an consulting firm wanted to bring in more clients, they could make a video from a corporate conference which for example gives ten of the best business management tips for the year.
This would attract viewers who are more likely to be in the position to make the decision of which accountant their company uses.
Often clearly associated ideas can attract a much more useful crowd of viewers. Keep in mind that viral videos and any kind of marketing videos used for business should not only maintain the image of the business but be able to bring potential clients or at least increase branding. Unless you intend to entertain the world for free, consider why your video is being made and what impact it could have on your business.
Video production companies in Johannesburg often have a wide variety of skills to produce top quality video but the content and message of that video should always be your decision and it should be a well thought out idea.
It can be a very dangerous thing when an unskilled and uninformed person picks up a camera and proceeds to make a “viral video” and simply goes on to destroy a companies image.
They used to say that “the pen is mightier than the sword”
That is mostly because they used to fight with swords and communicate with writing done with a pen. Now we have high powered weapons and digital communication including video.
Consider how powerful your communication is now.It makes the pen and the sword look like a joke.
Use your message wisely.
The next time you speak to any corporate video production companies and the words “viral video” come up, you may want to keep these ideas in mind.