Clients often ask me: “Is there a way we can use past corporate video production content and make it relevant in today’s digital world?” The short answer is, you bet. If you have the following, you’re in business:

Raw footage you never made use of;

Video created for one purpose, but only some of the content it is still current and/or relevant;

A corporate video that is a huge yawn and way too long for beneficial use online;

Or past videos that rank anywhere between terrible to mediocre, but could possibly benefit from new life breathed into them.

It’s likely you spent a pretty penny having a professional corporate video production done years ago, and now want to make it into something useable. The good news is that even an older video can be salvageable if put in the right hands.

Here are some ideas to consider if your business has invested in video in the past, but it’s not at all what it needs to be to get traction today.

1. Make one into many. Several bite-sized videos are often more beneficial to a company than one long standalone piece. If you have a dull, drawn-out corporate video with a few good content nuggets within it, it may be worth cutting it into multiple pieces for online use. Consider dividing the content by theme or topic, so that people researching your business can find what they need right away rather than being forced to sit through a long, boring video. People want to get in and out as quickly as possible, and if you can provide them that experience and deliver the content they are looking for, it’s more likely they’ll do business with you. Brevity is key in the digital world today.

2. Breathe new life into the old. Watch your existing video content with a critical eye, and have someone else help you with this. Does the video you’ve been using all these years still offer the energy, experience and messaging your audience craves? Depending on when it was created, chances are that some of the content is good and some is horrifying. One way to reinvigorate older content is to create a new story by blending new video content with the old, to create something fresh. You’ll be developing a new story with different flow in order to connect with today’s audience. This approach is good when you want to show your roots, but also prove your company is innovative and always evolving, by leveraging advanced video strategies, especially once it’s ready to be shared.

3. Position. Play. Profit. Once you know your video content is worthy, it’s time to make sure it gets eyeballs. Is your brand where it needs to be, socially? Does it have a YouTube Channel? It better. YouTube is the second largest search engine, with many searching for business, service and product information. With various other social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine, your message has a huge opportunity to gain extra traction in the digital space. Post your videos on the platforms that make most sense for your business, and make sure they are properly search-engine optimized so people can find them. Don’t just ‘set it and forget it’ either. To reap ongoing benefits of your online video content, you should be working to branch out your online networks, regularly re-sharing your content and tweaking SEO to discover what works best for your business. Once you have easily digestible online video content created, it may also be time to consider doing a highly targeted video advertising push, ensuring your message is delivered to those who need to see it.

Lisa Ostrikoff is a TV journalist and anchor-turned-creator of BizBOXTV, a Canadian online video production, advertising and social media marketing agency.

via Three ways to reinvigorate your soul-sucking corporate video – The Globe and Mail.

I’ve been preaching a consistent message about the evolution of digital media since 2008. And in this New Year, it’s more relevant than ever.

If your business is already active online, or has reallocated 2014 budgets to do so, it’s going to be a great year for your brand and your bottom line. If not, it’s time to wake up and fully understand what’s going on here: If you work in marketing or advertising for a company slow to make the switch, here’s how to convince your boss that it’s time to invest in video:

1. Social media is the number one activity on the web: It’s not a fad, it’s not a phase. From Facebook to Twitter to YouTube to Pinterest, social media has entrenched itself so deeply in our lives that it is a multiple-times-a-day habit for many, and continues to grow in importance as more platforms appear and evolve. This is especially true for Canadians. As a nation, we spend the most time online and are the biggest consumers of online video. We’re also the most active users on Facebook.

2. YouTube continues to grow its reach and importance: Still think television or radio is the best way to reach the masses? Think again. There are more than a billion unique users on YouTube, with Canadians being the most voracious consumers of online video content.

According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more adults aged 18 to 34 than any cable network, with the number of people subscribing daily up more than three times since last year. If you’ve hesitated to use online video as part of your marketing strategy, now’s the time to press play. If need be, start small with just one or two videos, as long as you start somewhere with online video in 2014. The beauty of video advertising is the ability to target exactly who you want to, so there’s no second guessing who your ad dollars reach.

3. Mature demographics are now the fastest adopters of popular platforms: As of late 2013, Facebook and Google+ show 45 to 54-year-olds make up the fastest growing user demographic. On Twitter, it’s the 55 to 64-year age bracket, up 79 per cent over the year prior. These platform-provided stats disprove the notion that ‘social media is just for teens.’ Create and target your content and digital ad strategy to engage the demographic your business wants to reach, because they’re active out there.

4. Mobile use continues to increase: Most people with mobile phones have it on or near them for the majority of the day, encouraging a steady stream of digital interactions. We are using social apps at twice the rate of news apps, and four times as much as games. More than four billion users worldwide access social media via mobile, with 751 million on Facebook alone. Nearly 200 million people are ‘mobile only’, meaning they never access the platform from a desktop computer or laptop. Mobile also makes up almost 40 per cent of YouTube’s viewing time, with the platform’s app available on hundreds of millions of devices.

Nearly every single mobile device on earth is used as a gateway to social media. Consider how your brand content, videos and advertisements display on mobile devices, since providing an easy mobile experience equals higher conversion rates. If something isn’t working, it can be easy enough to adjust your strategy until you find something that works and converts.

5. LinkedIn continues to attract new members every second: In fact, every second, two new members join the social network for professionals who are using the platform to share and converse with other professionals, whether in their industry or not. 238 million LinkedIn users have created 1.5 million groups and 3 million official company pages. When used properly, it’s can be a rich source of increasing your network base, while receiving and sharing relevant content.

If you or your business isn’t on LinkedIn yet – get there and start working it. A good strategy can be creating a relevant group which becomes a valuable source of information, while working on building your own community. There’s also plenty of opportunity to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry under your own personal brand.

As with any content on any social media platform, the main keys to social success are:

Be strategic with the content you create and share.
Be consistent when it comes to distributing content.
Be ‘social’ and engage with other users
As when many things ‘new’ and revolutionary come along, there will always be traditional thinkers who fight change, sticking with the same way of doing things. Usually, it’s to their detriment. While the Internet is still relatively ‘new’ by comparison to other mass messaging mediums (print, radio and TV), this digital world is having such a tremendous impact in our lives, and it’s importance will only continue to increase for both businesses and consumers.

Lisa Ostrikoff is a TV journalist and anchor-turned-creator of BizBOXTV, a Canadian online video production, advertising and social media marketing agency.

via 5 reasons why it’s time to invest in online video – The Globe and Mail