PR and marketing maestro Gini Dietrich blogged last week at spinsuck.com about measuring public relations success, and she included a list of things PR pros should hold themselves accountable for everyday.
- Sales
- Lead nurturing
- Lead generation
- Lead conversion
- Thought leadership
- Web traffic
- Brand awareness
I posted a response thanking Gini for making my sales pitch for me since I feel like video can help accomplish those tasks. She asked me to elaborate, so here was my take.
Sales: video can be a terrific sales tool. It allows you to show customers what your product or service is all about. Not just write or talk about it, but actually show them. It’s not just words on a screen. Your company is a living breathing thing, with real people behind it. Video transports the customer, giving them a sense of what you’re about and the people who make it all happen.
Lead nurturing / Lead generation / Lead conversion: videos do a great job in these three areas. Working in reverse order… videos are a great way to lead conversation. Posting a quality video that focuses on the audience’s needs via social media is bound to generate some sort of response. The more you’re able to do that, guess what happens? The more likely your brand will grow and the more your brand grows the more leads will flow your way. Once you have those new customers, continuing to post videos will only solidify that base. Especially if you figure out ways to incorporate your customers into your videos (essentially promoting them as well).
Thought leadership: videos take it to a whole new level. Addressing the issues facing your industry and your customers can position you as a leader in your field. Anyone can write about those challenges. Only a company that’s incredibly dedicated is going to produce quality videos to take on important trends. The better your videos and the more you do them on a consistent basis, the more people will turn to your business for your opinion and your solutions.
Web traffic: is there any doubt videos drive web traffic? There’s a ton of data out there supporting this. It’s a no brainer, web surfers are more apt to watch a quality video than read pages of text.
Brand awareness: video is all about brand, but this comes with a word of caution. In many cases, good quality video brands you as a good quality company. Crappy video brands you as… well… you get the picture. If you’re going to do something, do it right. Video leaves a lasting impression on people so treat it that way.
–Tony Gnau
