Top 5 Obstacles Preventing You from Adopting Video in Your Marketing Methodology

Few things get fellow marketers’ creative juices flowing like the thought of creating a video to enhance marketing efforts for corporate branding, products, services, or the sales team. But somewhere between the “Wouldn’t it be great to have a video that shows (fill in the blank)” and the budget, production, final video, and socialization, something goes terribly wrong and the fantastic idea never takes flight. The problem is, you have to get in the game. Online video consumption increases substantially each year. This recent infographic on Video Marketing Trends 2015 from Syndacast reports that 74% of all Internet traffic in 2017 will be video.

Video production, strategy, and marketing is its own specialized arena that is continually evolving. We have put together the top 5 blockers that have kept our own clients stagnant with video prior to working with us, and some quick win tips to move past them. If you have ever been stuck on any or all five of these obstacles, don’t worry, you are not alone!

1. We know we need a video, but don’t know where to begin.

Start with the end in mind. That’s right, begin at the end. It’s easy to get caught in the weeds with your team’s unharnessed creative collaboration, which can end film production before it begins. Take a step back and ask yourself one question; “what is the goal of this video?” Once you have answered this question as a team, you will then be able to redirect the rogue creativity back to the goal.

For example, if your team has determined the goal for your video is to educate your enterprise prospects about the new technology your company is rolling out next quarter, use that as the roadmap to lay the groundwork. For this example, a product video would be the best video type based on the end goal for this video. Perfect! You have just decided on the type of video you want to make. You will want to use the messaging and tone that resonates best with your enterprise prospects. Your sales team can be a great resource to tell you the wording that resonates with prospects within their sales cycle. As you step through each decision in the video production process, ask yourself; “Is this the best way to educate our enterprise prospects about the new technology (Goal)?” This will bring the team together and help you get to the greatest final product.

2. We don’t have the resources.

It takes a village. I am sure you have heard that term when raising children. Although there is not 18-years involved, it is the birth of a lasting legacy for your company. There are a lot of moving parts and skill-sets required to optimize every penny of your budget and get the most mileage out of your labor of love.

Let’s break this down: the process to create and maximize a video requires a script, a production crew with equipment, acting talent, a filming location, people to manage people at the film shoot, and video editing, and that is just to produce the video. Once the video is complete, it has to be uploaded, optimized, socialized, and analyzed. Whew – that’s a lot of jobs, a lot of time, and a lot of various skill-sets. This is one of the main reasons companies tap out of making videos after only one or two videos.

Let’s be realistic, the chances of you already having all of the necessary skill-sets within your organization with the available bandwidth to crank out videos is slim to none. It’s not an all or nothing commitment — you must find a video production company that you trust and work well with. This does require some vetting (5 questions to ask when vetting a video production companies). However, establishing a good relationship with a video production company that has expertise in video creation, marketing strategy and digital tactics will save time and money. Work together to identify your in-house skill-sets that can be used as a resource. For example: Do you have a great content writer that can create the scripting with a little direction from the production company? Perfect! Do you have a well-spoken product manager? Perfect! That kind of teamwork will save you money, and will streamline your production process. Keep in mind that your in-house talent must have both the skill-set and the available time to be a viable resource.

3. We don’t have the budget.

Better put – we only have the budget for things that work. Can I get an Amen? As marketers, it’s our job to figure out what works and do more of it until something else works better. As mentioned in obstacle #1 and #2, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin and there are many skill-sets involved in getting the most out of a video. Lack of planning on the front-end mixed with lack of skill-set on the backend can be the difference in the video hitting the goal or not.

First, allocate money to next year’s budget for video. Within the next few months, you will likely be looking at finalizing next year’s budget for your department. It is crucial that you add marketing dollars for video – it is just too important not to (see stats above and below).

Next, get creative – if your goal is to educate enterprise prospects on your new technology rolling out next quarter, then there is room to ask sales to chip in since it will directly benefit them to bring in new business and as a sales tool for existing prospects.

Lastly, get in the game! Take the money you do have and see how far you can go with it right now. Be sure your goal, plan, and budget are in alignment and that all skill-set bases are covered to succeed.

An assiduous video production agency will creatively keep your costs down without sacrificing quality or falling short of your goals, by combining multiple shoots into one or two days, or by repurposing just to mention a few. For example: If you are working with a budget of $7500, work with your video production agency to not only get the video produced, but also to cover the skill-sets needed to upload to a 3rd party host, optimize, socialize, and analyze. Seriously, don’t waste the money getting a video made that nobody will see.

4. We don’t know where to fit video into our established marketing.

The quick answer is – EVERYWHERE. Video is a great compliment to your social promotions, email marketing campaigns, blogging, product education, and so much more. Video can literally accelerate the lead lifecycle in every stage of the funnel when it is used correctly.

According to Forbes, 65% of executives visit a vendor’s website after watching a video. Retail web visitors are 64% more likely to make a purchase after watching a video as mentioned in Idea Blog. 57% of consumers say product videos make them more confident in their purchase and less likely to return an item according to a featured blog in Media Post Publication.

My advice is to work with an experienced video production company that specializes in video marketing strategy and tactics. Schedule time with them to communicate your marketing plans for at least the upcoming quarter so they can assess your marketing plan and provide expert advice to get the topmost return on investment with video. Again, it goes back to finding a team you trust and work well with, and foster the relationship as an extension of your own in-house marketing team.

5. We don’t see the value.

The “Value” is a mathematical equation – Do the math. Determine the goal of the video, define how you will measure the success of the goal, create visibility to analyze the results, and cross promote and repurpose the video asset as needed to meet the goal. If you don’t see the value, you are missing part of this equation. This is the place that the majority of marketers fall short.

Let’s go a little deeper. Did you start with a clear goal for your produced video? Did you determine the numbers that need to be reached to substantiate the video’s value/ROI? Did you create a cross-functional video marketing plan to ensure you expose your video to enough of your target audience to reach your goals? Did you put in place the proper reporting to gain visibility into the performance of your video? Do you know how to interpret the analytics and to make modifications to the video promotion based on the data? Do you have the right people with the right skill-sets and enough time in place? If you answered “No” to any of these questions, then the value is probably not obvious or missing altogether. Use these questions as a guide for your next video creation.

The take away – Don’t give up! Video consumption increases by double digits each year and is an intricate part of mobile reach in the future. If you have never made a video, get in the game! If you have videos that didn’t provide the results you were looking for, use this blog to identify the gaps in the video creation and make some modifications. With the right roadmap and a video marketing production team that you trust, you will see great success and open up a realm to flourish.

If you have any questions or feedback about obstacles you face with video production or video marketing, please leave a comment or send us an email. We are here to help!

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