Is your organization stuck in the Stone Age? Has it stopped evolving with the rapidly changing market?Has it turned a cold shoulder to technology? This is an understandable dilemma, but hey — eventually, you’ve got to update the shag carpet and wood panel walls, right?
Organizations who have dug their heels in on adopting new marketing strategies like video are frustrating the heck out of their marketing professionals. As a marketer, you know darn well that the ability to adapt isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.
Let’s say your biggest competitor suddenly gets on board with video marketing, and starts producing wildly successful video campaigns. It’s possible your blog articles, eBooks and other textual marketing collateral can rise to the occasion. It’s also possible you could win the lottery. But it’s not likely. Which begs the question — how do you get your organizational leaders to understand the importance of adopting what experts warn is the next big thing in marketing?
Behold…a plan of action to get your organization on board with video marketing:
1. Identify Objections and Work Them Into Your Pitch
Leave your executive team speechless. It’ll show how much research and thought you put into your initiative. More importantly, it will give you the opportunity to plan a rebuttal for each objection. Some of the most common objections you should plan for include:
Disbelief in the value of hiring outside video experts (e.g. a video marketing agency)
Assumptions that your marketing team has everything they need to do video themselves
The “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality
Thinking video marketing is too expensive (it’s not!)
Bad experiences (either with a specific project or a bad partnership) that negatively impacted their perception of video marketing
Failure to realize that video is the future of marketing
2. Prove Video Marketing’s Worth to Executives
Consider your audience. These aren’t people that will be easily swooned by a fancy presentation and charismatic delivery. They want proof. They want statistics. They want to know exactly how much video marketing is going to cost and how capable it is of getting results. Here’s how to win them over with proof:
Share Case Studies
You need to exhibit how video has helped other organizations increase lead generation, sales and ultimately — revenue. Click here for a case study to help get you started. In this example, you’ll see how one of the world’s leading oil & gas services companies uses video for internal communications and external marketing.
Include Examples From Your Competitors
If your competition is doing it — find some examples of their video marketing campaigns, preferably the ones garnering a noteworthy amount of social signals. This will help your executive team envision what’s possible with video marketing. It will also stoke their fire by exhibiting how they are being out-performed.
Don’t Skimp on the Stats
Make sure your stats are up-to-date and well sourced. Here are a few stats to get you started:
Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined (Brightcove)
Companies who use video see 41% more web traffic (Aberdeen)
Landing page videos can increase conversion rate by more than 80% (Visually)
Businesses that use video grow company revenue 49% faster year-over-year (Aberdeen)
Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines (Brightcove)
Here’s another statistical gem for you: Business 2 Community’sVideo Marketing Statistics — Powerful Stuff for 2016.
Take Stock in What you Need to Get Started
Every organization is different and your preparation at this point will depend on the size of your marketing team, the talent you have on-staff, the technologies you already have in place and of course — your budget. It may make more sense for you to pitch the idea of partnering with a video marketing agency. They have the resources you need without the overhead.
If you do choose to piece together a video marketing department, do your research and price out the specific softwares, platforms, equipment, and accessories you’ll need. Don’t forget to include training in this inventory. Add it up and come prepared with a proposed budget.
3. Share Specific Video Campaign Ideas
Describe in detail what types of video campaigns you’ll create for internal communications and external marketing, and why video is a better vehicle for these messages. Here’s an article to get you started. You can also refer back to the case study we provided above to get your creative juices flowing.
The point is to get your executive team excited about all the cool, fun things you can do with video marketing. Inspire them with examples from other companies who do video marketing well (even if they aren’t competitors). Create buzz around the idea.
Close with The State of Video Marketing 2016 report published by, Wyzowl. This report found that of the 200+ marketing professionals and online consumers surveyed: 61% of businesses are already using video for marketing purposes. 91% plan to increase or maintain their spending on it. 88% admit video is an important part of their company’s marketing strategy. And 76% report seeing a positive ROI. Finally, 93% believe that video marketing has helped customers better understand their products or services.
Follow these tips and deliver a jaw-dropping argument for why it’s time to get on board with video marketing. Your sales, marketing and reputation depend on it! Give us a call if you need some help.
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