A few weeks ago I attended a daylong PR summit in Washington, D.C. One of the sessions focused on creating video content for media relations.
In its Influencers Report 2016, D S Simon Media interviewed more than 200 online journalists and found that media outlets want digital content. That’s not surprisingly, considering how staffs and budgets continue to be cut. So more and more of the responsibility falls on brands.
You can download the full report for free here. But here are some of the findings:
- 71% of respondents use outside produced video content with the largest group being website producers (83%) followed by magazines (77%). Sixty-seven percent of TV respondents said yes to using third-party video.
- 80% of respondents will use unedited video (b-roll and sound bites).
- Media outlets are most likely to use third-party video from brands, followed by non-profits and independent individuals.
This begs the question… if journalists want our video, why aren’t we creating it? For one, it’s not cheap. It also takes time. And will media even bite once it’s created?
My thoughts? If you’re going to convince a client, especially a small one with a tight marketing budget, that it’s worth the money and effort to create video content, make it count. Here are some tips:
- Statistics like annual sales and unit count are great, but realize these change often and likely the video will need to be edited at least once a year — and that means more money spent unless you can handle changes internally.
- Especially in the case of restaurants, be wary of shooting LTOs and even store designs that may be getting a facelift soon. You want to give media — and consumers — a current look at your brand, not one that’s outdated. Unless you plan to re-shoot portions soon after the changes.
- Keep on eye on hirings and firings. The last thing you want is an ousted exec showing up on national TV because no one gave media the new video content.
Tell us in the comments — do you provide media with your own video content? If so, how often does it get used?
