What’s the most popular form of media? Hmm….video? You betcha!

Customers, viewers, prospects, attendees all prefer to watch it than to read it. We all know the phrase “a picture paints a thousand words”. With the video medium, the viewer doesn’t get just pictures; but moving pictures too.

We Love Our Television
Older folks that grew up during WWII or those that were born during the Baby Boomer generation weren’t immersed with television, iPods, video games and the Internet like today’s X-, Y- and Z-generations. Some studies have shown that television watchers average 4-6 hours A DAY in front of the set. With video delivering both sight and sound, humans can’t seem to pull themselves away from that glowing blue orb.

As odd as it seems, our obsession with television watching can be a big benefit to trade associations, non-profits or governmental agency trying to tell their stories, educate their members or sell their products or services to a receptive audience.

New Revenue Streams
If part of your organization’s mandate is to education or inform, then video is an excellent way to do that. Conducting a class or educational seminar at your office is a great start, but what about all of the potential members or customers that couldn’t find the time to attend your event? They will miss out on what you have to offer unless you make it available to them in a more convenient format; namely video.

Convenience
Just think about your annual trade show. Thousands of people get on a plane, rent a car, stay in a hotel, pay the registration fee and spend two to three days at the destination you selected. These people represent hundreds of companies with thousands of employees. If you are lucky, maybe ten percent of your target audience actually is able to make the trade show. What about those left back at the office who can’t attend that great seminar or symposium? Let them see it on video. They will get all of the benefits without the expense of traveling to the show and you will get your message to a larger audience.

Archival Purposes
If you host an annual event, you know that it is probably the most elaborate and expensive program that you put on each year. It is also the most time-consuming because as soon as you close down this year’s show you are already working on the next one.

One thing to consider is to catch everything that occurred with a video crew. Shots of the packed exhibit hall, crowds of excited attendees, exciting networking opportunities and fascinating educational programs can be captured for marketing, promotional and archiving purposes through the camera. You never know when you need video footage until your find out you don’t have any. Having an archive of what took place will pay dividends in the future.

Economical
For those who think that video won’t fit into your budget, you may be surprised to find out that with newer technology, the costs have come down dramatically. In addition, editing software that used to cost $50,000 and needed a customized suite, now can be purchased for less than $1500. Yes, you still have to have someone to operate it, but many of you have invested in design software like Quark, Photoshop and InDesign and you’ve seen how beneficial that has been to your organization.

Before you say that video is too expensive, starting listing all the ways you’d like to communicate with your customers and you’ll start to see where video can help you do that more effectively.