Online Video Drawing More Eyeballs Among Marketers, Expanding in BtoB

After documenting a 10% increase in web traffic with a viral video campaign at NetQoS Inc., demand generation specialist Pam O'Neal Mickelson is putting her video experience to work at BreakingPoint Systems. Although BreakingPoint targets a specialized audience of network equipment manufacturers, O’Neal has used online video to validate its testing methodologies and the company has seen a significant uptick in activity.

In a recent web seminar titled Video in Online BtoB Marketing: Heavy Lifting for Heavy Payoff, Bulldog Solutions CEO Rob Solomon, pointed out that quality content is equally critical when it comes to online video. “From the standpoint of a BtoB marketer, it’s really a double-edge sword. What’s cool about Web 2.0 tactics is that you can reach people all over the world, any time, and in cool, different ways,” Solomon said. “On the other hand, the Web is getting really crowded. Data shows that it’s getting even more crowded, so the competition for eyeballs is fierce.”

Given the crowded marketplace, Solomon pointed out that open and click rates are trending lower in a lot of segments, making the right messaging critical to success. “In your marketing communications , always make a deliberate effort to teach and not sell. It’s a cooler way to engage people and develop a layer of trust,” he suggested. “Video is a terrific way to explain very complex topics, and can be especially valuable for companies who are already engaged in what’s already a complex selling transaction.”

For specific video content ideas, Solomon said marketers should build around elements the company is already promoting online, such as newsletters and then migrate to topic-specific video vignettes that build on white papers or case studies. After measuring the response to those initial videos, he suggested marketers experiment with using speakers, roundtables or panels via online video.
As an example, Solomon pointed to one of Bulldog’s clients in the banking industry, which recently launched a webcast series around identity theft and attracted an enormous audience as part of branding initiative. “We had blockbuster attendance, and nobody left.”

While production budgets for videos are coming down, Solomon also suggested that marketers avoiding diminishing their brand image with shoddy production. “When we first started with video, we were experimenting with homegrown, organic videos. We quickly came to learn that it should be left up to the specialists in video production. Without that expertise, it looks homegrown and doesn’t your company in the best light,” he said.

One of the specific technologies Bulldog is taking advantage of with online video is Streamail from Stream 57. Ben Chodor, President of Stream 57, pointed out that by establishing an opt-in mail list for rich media content, marketers can accurately track activity and user attention. “Video and audio content are forwarded at a much higher rate and makes a perfect call-to-action,” Chodor said.