10 Reasons Why Professionals Should Be Using Social Video
1. Media relations / pitches and press releases. Videos make pitches and press releases infinitely more interesting and engaging.
2. Building trust and credibility with targeted groups. Nothing builds trust like video.
3. Raising brand awareness / promotions / working with celebrities. Videos that offer something of value like cash, prizes or 15 minutes of fame can spread like crazy and highlight a product’s involvement in a contest or promotion, raising awareness of the product, and by extension, the brand.
Creating and launching funny, edgy or cool video content involving TV, sports and YouTube celebrities guarantees a targeted audience. Launching a coordinated social media sharing strategy and integrating this effort with the marketing department allows teams to capitalize on that momentum, building and raising brand awareness.
4. Product launches. Viral videos and branded entertainment are high-profile ways to announce new products or refresh old ones. Video gives PR teams a visual, entertaining and engaging tool around which to center campaigns.
5. Crisis management / shifting public opinion / corporate and ceo reputation management.
6. Content development. Company newsletters, blogs, speeches and annual reports are being sprinkled with videos.
7. Social media marketing. If social media is UPS, video is the package. If social media is the rocket launcher, video is the rocket. Video can be branded as heavily or as lightly as the creative and messaging dictate, and the larger story can be shared and developed via social media. Having a message go viral across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other video sites and social outlets creates a new story that can then be pitched to, or organically picked up by, mainstream media outlets — enabling the message to reach TV, radio and print audiences as well.
8. Social and environmental responsibility. For brands, businesses and organizations, being socially and environmentally responsible can be a key way of differentiating themselves from their competitors. Video can bring the faces of individuals and positive actions of these companies to the forefront and help move brands closer to new and existing fans and customers.
Video can also be used to present a call-to-action, or as a rallying cry for public involvement in a good cause. Launching videos where fans are encouraged to submit a response in video form allows a call-to-action to be spread even faster and with farther reach.
9. Events. While a single live event reaches only the people attending, social video allows PR teams to share the event with everyone. This increases the exposure of both the event and the brand, product, organization or personality. Events don’t always have to be real, either. Flash mobs are types of events that are staged and shared on Youtube and via social media.
10. Political campaigns. Politics is about convincing people to trust a candidate, motivating them to convince others to trust the candidate and getting everyone to vote for the candidate. Politicians are often recorded publicly for videos that can take on lives of their own — but funny, emotional or serious original video content can be produced and launched in order to manage the direction and spread of both positive and negative conversation. Political attack videos and damage control videos can both contain humor, meaning or even shock value — and will be shared.
