Web Marketing Videos: Branding Vs. Conversion

Marketing videos on the web often boil down to one of two goals, one being general branding and the other conversion. Both are important for engagement. Branding videos often use a storytelling technique, relaying the story of a company, providing thought leadership or useful information. Many provide genuine educational value or information that can have a general “halo” effect for the brand. They are not always about direct sales because consumers prefer to be educated first.

Videos that are focused on conversion do have a more direct sales approach, or a definitive call to action. You can argue that when someone clicks on one of these videos, they are already somewhat pre-disposed to buy, or are at least engaging or committing to considering the action or purchase.

Just as there are many types of television programs, there are many types of videos for the web. While the entertainment industry has sophisticated means of figuring out what audiences want to see, the same should also to be true for marketing/communications/public relations communicators.

In terms of video marketing for a specific brand, style and substance is dependent on its brand image, its type of business and its audience. Budget is always a factor of course. Is it always worth the expense, time and effort? Many people think it is, because of the increasing use of video on the web, social and mobile devices. This is a medium that is proven to generate awareness and calls to action.

While many point to the success of infomercials in selling products, what many consumers don’t realize is the majority of infomercials are actually failures, which do not provide ROI. Overshadowing those are the relatively inexpensively produced infomercials that generate hundreds of millions in revenue. These kinds of videos are both an art and a science.

The same is true for web marketing videos to an extent, but many fewer of these fail to generate ROI, because the cost of entry is so much lower and media on the web can actually be free (which it never is on broadcast television). Thoughts? Questions? Comments, I’d love to hear from you.