We\u2019re experiencing an ever-accelerating cultural sandstorm, with every grain fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces. Television has morphed and adapted to seismic cultural changes since its birth and now 90 years on, video is touted as the new \u2018King\u2019 of content, guided by the gravitational pull of \u2018Tech\u2019 and its ability to increase download and streaming speeds exponentially, faster than a blink of an eye.<\/p>\n
Once we could watch in HD without the wheel of death buffering its interruptant ways into our lives, it was obvious – video must be<\/em> the next big thing\u2026 because, well… WE CAN. It doesn\u2019t though \u2013 however stronger, faster, harder we can get it\u2026 mean WE SHOULD.<\/p>\n While it gets more difficult to reach people aware they are being sold to and traditional marketing funnels become less effective, video is presented as the \u2018must-have\u2019 tool, the trojan horse that can turn the tide of misfortune for businesses across the board.<\/p>\n So how does video content specifically succeed in an ever more cluttered web environment?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Video is great for communicating complex messages, simply and in the shortest timeframe. It would be easy as the co-founder of a creative motion agency to say that everyone should have video constantly in their lives… but one size doesn\u2019t necessarily fit all.<\/p>\n The question remains, when should businesses turn to video content for their next campaign or marketing activity as video itself becomes another casualty of a cluttered web.. and how?<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re a brand, a business or an individual, video is not an easy medium to harness and a regular<\/em> online video presence is not always as essential as alternative forms of social marketing.<\/p>\n In September 2015, Ascend2<\/em> surveyed an international group of B2B marketing professionals about their use of video. More than 4 out of 10 were using video to increase brand awareness<\/strong> and online engagement<\/strong>, improve customer education<\/strong> and lead generation<\/strong>. 1 in 3 also hoped to use video to boost conversion rates<\/strong>, but according to the survey, it wasn\u2019t clear exactly how successful video was at each of them \u2013 with almost 50% saying the lack of an effective strategy<\/strong> for video marketing was the biggest obstacle to their success.<\/p>\n Whether or not video is an essential part of a company\u2019s marketing activity is dependent on what needs to be communicated, through which platforms and to which specific target audience.<\/p>\n One industry which has recently experienced a dramatic shift is consumer publishing. Publishers are waking up to the importance of reimagining editorial content for other platforms, making it more accessible to an audience who intuitively grab what they need from mobile devices.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not enough to simply repeat editorial content for an online mobile audience \u2013 customers want added value, not the same content with a shiny spinning logo. Now \u2018new-kid\u2019 publishing brands are turning on the tap for more mobile friendly digestible content, and some, such as women\u2019s online platform The Pool<\/a>, established video content as a main focus from the outset.<\/p>\n Within a year, The-Pool.com<\/em> firmly planted itself in a largely unserviced niche of the web marked \u2018smart women\u2019, using well-crafted multi-platform content to keep it there. The Pool\u00a0co-founder and former Red magazine Editor Sam Baker points out,<\/p>\n \u201cVideo is an ever more crucial part of our content strategy – both for branded and non-branded content. We produce two cuts of every video we make so it always fits into responsive moments in our user’s day: a short 3-8 minute cut that we put out mid-week, while saving the long cut for the weekend. The thing that’s most compelling about video is the dwell time. Get it right, and you have your users’ captive attention for 30 or more minutes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThe Importance of Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n