Here is a soundbite from David Peto, CEO and Founder at Aframe
First, video is eating up the Internet. By 2019, 80% of all global internet traffic will be consuming video. If you think that sounds extreme, think again – twelve months ago it had already reached 64%. With consumers now spending more time watching digital media than they do TV, the rise of video is indisputable.
It’s little wonder, then, that businesses are bolstering their online video capabilities as they look to respond to modern buying behaviours.
Video is now widely considered the premier way to bring a brand to life, with marketers increasingly using it to engage customers with compelling and bold storytelling. Many are putting video at the centre of their content strategies as they strive to develop a video-first approach. However, making the transition can be a challenge.
4 minute review of Aframe at #NABShow 2015 with CEO David Peto. http://t.co/YK0KO601ca by @BroadcastBeat pic.twitter.com/m93RccZTvn
— Aframe (@AframeHQ) April 21, 2015
The two main inhibitors to progress are budget and ROI. Video can be expensive to produce. It also requires technology and skillsets that organisations may not have in-house.
This leads to a reliance on external agencies at additional expense, further complicating the battle to prove ROI.
The vagaries of managing video files present a familiar challenge for corporations: digital asset management. It’s a problem that cannot be solved by existing in-house systems. In the age of the virtual workforce, the ability to share files and grant real-time access to digital documents is imperative. It’s a challenge that most corporations think they’ve already overcome. However, sharing video is a world apart from sharing a PDF or spreadsheet. Whilst the latter are measured in kilobytes and megabytes, videos can run in to gigabytes and even terabytes – and managing them can be problematic.
The mechanics of producing video are such that files need to be shared, edited and approved by stakeholders right across enterprises – and easily accessible to teams in multiple locations.
Collaboration is critical. However, standard digital asset management systems in many organisations are not complex enough, whilst freely available off-the-shelf tools are not built to handle the bandwidth.
The use of inappropriate technology to manage video is a major factor in delivering poor ROI. It slows down processes, increases costs and prevents companies from maximizing their content assets.
So how can you move forward? Firstly, set out a concise video strategy. This should outline overarching objectives, budgets and metrics, as well as detailing the skills, technology, processes and partners required to deliver results. Secondly, broaden your focus beyond the here-and-now and ensure your strategy looks longer-term. Digital moves quickly so it’s important to develop a structured roadmap that anticipates change and plans resources appropriately. Finally, once planning is complete, take that leap of faith and make a start – but don’t be too ambitious. Start small, start well and create the ROI that helps build a business case to expand your capabilities.
The best laid plans, however, can be hindered by bad technology. To support the journey towards video-first, companies must build the right infrastructure. The most effective will harness Cloud technology and deploy a centralized platform that enables cross-organisation collaboration.
Video presents a major chance to transform marketing – but it’s not without its challenges. The companies that thrive will be those that seize the opportunity and develop agile operations that respond to the new era of buying behaviours.
Those that don’t could end up trailing behind the competition.
David Peto, CEO and Founder at Aframe
Graphics by Shutterstock
