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KnowledgeVision

Video Without the Studio: Strategies for producing affordable video content that leverages the knowledge of your subject matter experts

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Progressive companies are increasingly looking for unique and innovative ways to broaden their content offerings, and many are finding that video is the perfect way to capture and share the knowledge of their subject matter experts (SMEs). While white papers, eBooks and briefs can impart some of the same information, they lack the human elements of expression, inflection and emphasis.

Video-based marketing communications get opened more, clicked more, and engage people for longer periods of time. Video delivers a more memorable message because it stimulates more senses than the written word and is typically more experiential. It communicates in a way that we, as human beings, are hard-wired to process.

For the big showpiece videos that you want to knock your audiences’ socks off — opening a customer conference, kicking off a sales meeting, and showcasing on the home page of your website — it still makes sense to call in the pros and invest in some resources.

But not every video needs to be a high-value production that requires a studio and a professional camera crew. The reality is there are many engaging and unique ways to incorporate video into all types of marketing campaigns, educational content and sales outreach.

Just because a blockbuster video isn’t in the budget, it doesn’t mean you’re limited to a talking head staring into a webcam. As the use of video becomes more widespread, the definition of video content is also expanding. More than just a face on a screen, video can include things such as a recording of a digital whiteboard presentation with a voiceover explaining a new product or concept. A short on-camera introduction can precede a pre-recorded online demonstration from an SME.

Merging multiple media forms — video, audio, text and attachments — delivers a powerful message and richer user experience. These types of innovative approaches make for an effective and distinctive communication platform.

And the time is ripe for video as a marketing and sales tool. According to Demand Gen Report’s 2014 Content Preferences Survey, 50% of participants viewed video in the past 12 months to research a B2B purchase. Nearly all (95%) of the respondents to a recent Demand Metric survey, Video Content Marketing: Identifying Metrics and Measuring Impact, reported that video as a form of marketing and sales content is becoming “somewhat” to “far more” important.

While marketers realize the value of video, 53% of the Demand Metric survey respondents said they were only slightly increasing their video budgets, while 28% said they would remain the same. Just 16% said they would significantly increase their video content budgets. As most video budgets will see only small increases or remain flat, marketers are looking for ways to capture more valuable video content without spending more on production costs.

The next generation of video production tools make it easy — and fun — for anyone in the organization to produce video content that can be used to connect with and educate prospects and customers.

This white paper will address the following concepts:

✔ Content is everywhere and video is a great way to capture it;

✔ Strategies for taking video beyond “point and shoot”; and

✔ Best practices for using tablets and video production tools effectively.

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of participants viewed video in the past 12

months to research a B2B purchase.

50%

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While you can still leave some room in the budget for those high-value productions for trade shows and other major events, your video investment shouldn’t stop there. Short, personalized and engaging video content can help you stand out from the crowd.

“There is content all around you, and video is a great way to capture those moments without busting the budget,” said Michael Kolowich, Founder and CEO of KnowledgeVision. “Every savvy marketer is interested in tapping into all of the content that is unfolding around them.”

Kolowich said sales meetings, industry events, executive briefings, product demonstrations and presentations are just a few of the potential sources for affordable video content that has a big-budget impact.

Some examples where content happens “in the wild,” according to Kolowich:

✔ An executive delivers a keynote at a conference;

✔ A product manager delivers a customer briefing;

✔ A technologist conducts a chalk talk;

✔ A thought leader addresses an audience; and

✔ An outside guest speaks at one of your sales or customer meetings.

Let go of the myth that video is too complicated, too expensive and takes too long, Kolowich advised. “One-half to two-thirds of the videos that you can create can be produced at one-tenth to one-thirtieth of the cost of a studio-based production.”

“There is content all around you, and video is a great way to capture those moments without busting the budget.”

– Michael Kolowich, KnowledgeVision

Capturing Content Everywhere

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Kolowich said a decent camera and a tripod is all that is needed for most of the video content that you want to capture. “All video doesn’t have to meet the same standards and values to be effective. Have a camera and a tripod in your desk drawer and be able to pull them out when those moments happen.”

You don’t have to look for potential video “stars.” They can be:

✔ Product managers within your company, who know your products like no one else;

✔ Senior application engineers, who know more about how your product works in actual customer situations better than anyone;

✔ Members of your customer support or customer success teams, who answer the same questions all day long from customers and prospects;

✔ Product development specialists, who actually created the products or invented the technology behind what you’re selling;

✔ Outside analysts, who work with you on market trends and strategy; and

✔ Customers, who want to tell the story of how your product benefitted them in the form of video testimonials.

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For video to capture the attention of prospects, it has to be more engaging than a static visual of someone speaking into a webcam. Online presentations are an effective medium for rapidly creating and deploying personalized video. Current recording and production tools for tablets and desktops make video production more accessible to everyone in the organization.

Here are some ways video is being used by marketing and sales innovators:

Personalizing Sales Presentations Abel Womack Inc., a provider of manufacturing and warehouse equipment, had been using video as part of its online presentations to educate employees on its product line and share information about the company’s financial performance.

Then they expanded their use of the tool for external communication and saw some great results. “One of our salesmen had been trying to get to an account for probably six months or more just to get a meeting with this vice president,” said Stephanie Grant, Director of Human Resources & Corporate Communications, Abel Womack, Inc. “He and I put together a presentation

to introduce himself and do a quick introduction to the case study for a similar customer type. He sent it out at about 6:00 in the evening and had an email response by 8:00 the next morning.”

Capturing Customer Testimonials The typical strategy for filming a customer testimonial has been to send a crew to the customer, meaning a large investment in time and money for a short video. While it looks great and the customer is pleased, putting a large amount of resources into just one video can limit your reach.

Skype videos with some of your top customers in the various market segments you are targeting can be just as effective. A Skype interview, combined with illustrations, call outs, quote and other features, becomes a multimedia experience.

Going Beyond “Point and Shoot”

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Using a multimedia presentation, Abel Womack was able to grab the attention of a prospect they had been trying to engage with for six months. “We sent it out at about 6:00 in the evening and had an email response by 8:00 the next morning.”

– Stephanie Grant, Director of Human Resources & Corporate Communications

This gives you a wider pool of content to meet the needs of your varied demand generation and sales enablement efforts.

Tapping Into SMEs Subject matter experts get called upon frequently to support the sales and customer support teams to share their knowledge of your products and the marketplace to help close deals and retain customers. Often, they are repeating the same presentations.

In some cases, the sales and support teams have turned to product briefs, PowerPoint decks and spec sheets to help answer the questions. But those don’t capture the facial expressions, voice inflections and gestures as part of the message like a multimedia SME presentation.

The SME can use a digital whiteboard on a tablet to emphasize their points, much like a telestrator used by sportscasters to draw on the screen to explain a play. That can be recorded and integrated with spoken or on-camera comments from the SME and other resources. Once recorded, the presentation can be shared on social media and via email.

Extending The Reach Of Live Events A great deal of effort goes into putting on an event or making a presentation at a conference.

Jon Miller, VP of Marketing and Co-founder of marketing automation vendor Marketo, often speaks at industry conferences, and the information is relevant to customers and prospects beyond the attendees of the live event. While the video and slide decks can be shared separately online or via email, integrating video with the slide decks from in-person events create a powerful multimedia presentation.

A table of contents can list the major topics discussed, and a click brings the viewer to the appropriate point in the presentation and brings up the coordinating slides. Other related resources can also be packaged with the presentation.

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Today’s video production tools range from high-end systems to desktop and tablet-based authoring options for capturing, creating and editing multimedia presentations.

These systems provide the freedom from the studio to capture and incorporate video into online presentations to create sales interactions with a competitive advantage. But best practices include some standards and guidelines for how to make the most of this new communication platform.

Many leaders in the area of multimedia presentations have adopted the practice of “video templating.” This strategy involves recording an exceptional core presentation, and then duplicating it and customizing it to specific prospects or segments of your customer database. This template can either be prepared by marketing or by individual salespeople with coaching from marketing.

Video templating ensures that the company’s standardized messaging is being adhered to, while providing those in the field the ability to tailor their messaging. For example, users can add a short video introduction referencing recent news about the target company and insert a case study that is relevant to the prospect. Another example might be a demonstration highlighting the features of a new product or bringing an existing product or service to the attention of current customers who could benefit from the solution.

Tools That Combine Online Presentation With Video Storytelling

Video templating provides the flexibility to personalize communications with prospects while adhering to the company’s standardized messaging.

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Most of us think about video as a mature medium, since we all have been watching television since we were old enough to sit up. But business video is just in its infancy, offering a whole new medium to explore and exploit.

You may still need to hire a crew and dedicate resources for special videos where you want a high production value. However, breakthrough video content that shares your company’s unique story is not limited to a studio.

The tools to create rich multimedia assets are now more accessible and affordable. Moments such as product demonstrations, subject matter expert presentations, executive briefings and other moments, can be captured and shared on a multimedia platform.

And the concept of what actually is a video is evolving. Just because you aren’t hiring a video production crew doesn’t mean the only other option is someone staring into a screen. The move is toward hybrid-type presentations that may involve a brief on-camera introduction to a slide presentation or a recording of a screen with a voice-over.

As buyers look for more bite-sized content as they research their purchasing decisions, progressive marketers are turning to multimedia platforms as a next generation tool to educate and engage prospects.

Marketers that are creative about the production processes and tools that they use can create the majority of the videos that will drive demand with just a small portion of their budget

Conclusion

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KnowledgeVision

55 Old Bedford RoadSuite 103Lincoln, MA 01773

P: 781.259.9300

411 State Route 17 SouthSuite 410Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604

P: 201.257.8528F: 201.426.0181

info@demandgenreport.com

About KnowledgeVisionKnowledgeVision has reinvented the business presentation to meet the demands of an online, on-demand, video-enabled, mobile, anytime/anywhere world. The KnowledgeVision platforms, Knovio Mobile, Knovio Web and KVStudio, make it easy to create highly engaging video content for marketing, sales, and learning on the iPad, the web or in the studio. The tools synchronize video, images or slides, dynamic footnotes, chapter navigation, searchable transcripts and social media streams into an interactive multimedia experience that is hosted in the cloud. User interactions are then captured and turned into actionable business data connected to marketing automation, CRM and other corporate systems.

About Demand Gen ReportDemand Gen Report is a targeted e-media publication spotlighting the strategies and solutions that help companies better align their sales and marketing organizations, and ultimately, drive growth. A key component of the publication’s editorial coverage focuses on the sales and marketing automation tools that enable companies to better measure and manage their multi-channel demand generation efforts.