Video, Important or Overplayed?

Yesterday, I sat on a panel at the PRPLI workshop entitled, “Better PR Through Technology: Using Video in the New Media.”

Prior to the workshop, the moderator sent me a list of questions that would be asked. Although the discussion went off topic with lots of questions from the audience, I thought I would share my answers to the moderator’s questions.

Q: What is a video news release and how does one disseminate them?
Video News Releases have been around for a long time. I’ve been in the PR business now for more than 25 years and when I worked at the PR firms in the city, we would use VNR’s all the time. They are news releases in a video format that are professionally produced. We would disseminate them to the local news media across the country and then have a tracking system inform us when it was used. Like a news release, VNR’s should be followed up. Some stations use the segment as b-roll and write their own copy while others use the whole footage in its entirety.

Q: How can video be used to enhance a web site?
Think about it, you watch television, the television pulls you in. No matter where the TV is on, you listen, you watch, you become very passive. Same goes for a video on the web site. People watch, people listen and people are engaged!

What some folks do is they use the video as an introduction to the beginning of the web site. Others use it in the body of the web site. We have a client who we are working with who recently placed a virtual tour on his web site. Since they are real estate developers and wanted to show prospective buyers what they have, they felt that a virtual tour would be perfect to show their prospects who live far away from the property.

In March, we had a sweet 16 party for HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC. We created a video and put it on our news section. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UF5rDhOe3I)

I received an email this morning from a company that puts videos postings of job openings on the web. These postings are appearing on Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Flckr and more! Talk about going viral!

Q: How can video be used for training and education?
For years, we as PR professionals have been using video for training and education. At the PR firms that I have worked in the past, we would hire professionals to film our clients and set up a virtual television studio so that they could watch their non-verbal and verbal behavior on TV before they were on an actual interview. Recently, we started using video in training at HJMT with our hand held camera to help clients prepare for on-air interviews.

Q: Is video blogging worth the time and effort?
Absolutely! Blogging is great. It helps release stress and tension like a diary that you use on line but it also helps to boost your search engine results. The more you blog, the higher up your search results will be.

Video blogging may be easier for some people who don’t like to write. Or it may make more sense if it’s someone trying to promote a product or service.

When we put stuff on the web, we always disclose that we are a PR firm and that we are endorsing a product. For example, I have a blog about A Saks to Go. It’s a durable lightweight piece of luggage. I let my son use it, my co-worker used it and it went through a rough time, yet it held up and I blogged about it to endorse it. So I may have said something like, although we represent A Saks to Go, we used it as we were consumers….

Q: Does YouTube play a role in serious use of video for PR?
Absolutely, YouTube, invented in 2005 by three former paypal employees, has more viewers than cable television!
In January 2008, nearly 79 million users watched over 3 billion videos on YouTube. This is a higher audience figure than any other news show on regular TV.

Can you imagine the power that YouTube has on the consumer? Just look at the political race for president – there are videos of all the candidates and their views, including people who are endorsing them and other people’s opinions….

When you click on YouTube, you can see what others are watching, you can see endorsed videos, contests, all the major networks including HBO have teasers on Youtube, All of the major corporations have joined in on the action. And if they didn’t see value in YouTube, would they be on it???

Bands, products, everything you can think of have used YouTube to promote themselves.

Videos are important and should not be overlooked when developing a marketing plan. Overplayed? Certainly not. In the future, videos may take on an even greater role on the web than currently used.