In an age of information overload, it’s critical for businesses and organizations to offer information that’s easy to digest. And if a picture paints a thousand words, it could be argued that video paints a million.
News flash – video on social media is exploding. Facebook video viewership more than doubled just last year, growing from 4 billion videos in April to 8 billion videos in November. Math might not be your bag, but doubling your video views in less than a year is a B.F.D.
As a former broadcast reporter, this makes sense. Video is the ideal medium for storytelling. You can try to inform an audience, but sometimes that’s difficult engaging people from just facts or statistics. One of the most compelling ways to tell a story is to put a face to an issue. All of us at Martin Waymire know there is nothing more moving than a person telling their truth.
Video: A growing powerhouse
In the 2015 State of Digital Marketing – a report that features insights from over 600 markets – around three-quarters of respondents create videos for their B2B target audiences.
We’ve all watched funny cat videos, but videos are much more than just entertainment. They’re a spectacular way to help our clients reach their targets. At Martin Waymire, we believe an integrated strategy is best and video can be a part of a successful, multi-pronged approach. We aim to help clients clearly identify their goals, understand their audiences and blend together various types of content including website, social media strategy, infographics and video in order to truly reach their objectives.
See for yourself
Our team has managed shooting, production, interviews and editing to create a final product that engages an audience in a number of ways. One example is the Smart, Safe Health Care Video series we produced for the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists. In total, eight videos were used to educate Michigan state legislators resulting in more than 796,000 views on Facebook. That exceeded our original goal of video views by 95 percent. View one of the videos in the series below:
When someone looks at numbers alone, sometimes it’s difficult to truly engage them. When you watch a video – whether from a doctor, a firefighter or a working mom – about how policy, life or legislative choices affect them, all of a sudden you’ve put a “face” on a number or an issue…and voila! You make a connection.
Another video our team at Martin Waymire helped create is the “We are the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit” after some members of the Michigan Legislature considered raising taxes on nearly 800,000 working families and their children. The Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lets working families who earn low wages keep more of their income to pay for basics, like childcare or transportation. This video did a great job telling a story by diving into the tough choices working low-income families in Michigan face every day. Watch the video:
Anyone can win with video
Is video possible for small organizations or non-profits? Absolutely. Part of Martin Waymire’s expertise is working within your means to keep production costs low. This seemingly herculean task can be accomplished with a clearly outlined budget, as long as: you’re organized, compare costs with different production firms, have a clear vision of all the video participants, identify a goal and understand the audience you’re hoping to reach.
Most of all, be authentic and creative. If you strike the right chord with video it won’t just pave the way of a winning integrated strategy, it will be the path to a winning integrated strategy for you.
