If you plan to let your competitors leave you choking on their dust, then by all means, keep putting off implementing your company’s video strategy. According to WebVisible, a provider of local online marketing products and services, video capability was the fastest-growing website feature for small business advertisers over the past year. But if you want to take advantage of the fact that video will exceed 91% of global consumer traffic by 2014, then now is your chance.
Adding video to your company website isn’t simple; which is probably why you still haven’t done it. Besides developing a marketing plan for your video content, you need to shoot your video, edit it, and host it in a way that will hold an audience’s attention and inspire consumers to purchase your services or products. Here are three tools you’ll need to invest in to leverage video marketing successfully.The Camera: Kodak PlayTouch Video Camera ($229.95)
The PlayTouch makes a great starter camera because shooting 1080p HD is simple with its touchscreen interface, on-camera editing software, a built-in USB arm, and a button for sharing your video to Facebook and YouTube. Plus, the PlayTouch has a microphone jack that will allow you to upgrade to stereo if you buy an external mic; a necessity if you want premium sound quality.
Upgrade: The Canon XF105 Professional Camcorder with a 10x HD Zoom lens. (Price TBA)
The Video Editing Software: Adobe Premiere Elements 9 Plus ($139.99) Whether you work with a Mac or a PC, Elements 9 Plus will automatically fix shaky footage, color, and lighting problems and balance audio–helping you make polished video without a degree in filmmaking. Add to that a library of effects, tutorials, and up to 20GB of online storage.
Also consider the Pinnacle Studio Ultimate ($99.99)
Upgrade: Magix Movie Edit Pro 17 Plus HD with 3D Video Editing ($99.99)
The Web Video Player/ Host: GravityLab Multimedia Bandwidth is the key to hosting video. Without enough your video will be choppy, or worse, crash. Publish your site using a video player that will host/store the video with an economical amount of bandwidth. Starting at $19.99 get an on-demand video hosting account with 500 MB of storage and 100 GB of bandwidth at GravityLab. Stream video to iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry devices for only 29.99/month.
Upgrade: Brightcove which offers detailed analytics and trend reporting. ($99 and up)