Three Things Northern Michigan Businesses Should Know About Today’s Video
High-definition video is a must. It conveys a message of quality, insuring that your business is instantly perceived as a credibly, quality place of business. Poor video quality can actually drag your business’ image down. MyNorth Media’s professional videographers shoot only high-definition video.
Video is changing in exciting new ways. Online video offers the opportunity for businesses to move beyond the 30-second commercial. Consumers now look for quality video online that informs them, respects their intelligence, entertains them and gives them valuable information about a product or destination that helps them make a decision in their lives. Quality video allows your business to tell its story in a way that truly engages the consumer. MyNorth Media wants to help you connect with potential customers in a way that engages them, gives them confidence in your business and inspires them to act.
Where a business’ video appears really does make a difference. Studies show that a video promoting and educating people about a business is more successful in an environment that supports that organization’s mission and goals. In this context, the surrounding content provides the foundation to the business’ specific features and benefits. The audience can then respond to the messages within the framework of the overall topic or destination.
A high-definition video produced by MyNorth Media can be (and should be) used anywhere: commercial television, on an organization’s website, in rich-media, etc. Additionally, some MyNorth Media video production packages include the option to put your video on MyNorth.com, where more than 6000 pages of spectacular content celebrating Northern Michigan surrounds client videos. No matter what business one is in, or whether the company is located in Traverse City, Petoskey, Mackinac Island, Ludington or anywhere in between, articles, photos and videos prepare potential customers to hear that business’ story. For 2010 MyNorth.com expects to get more than 500,000 visitors.
High-Definition Video Helps Northern Michigan Businesses Demonstrate Products and Shoppers Make Decisions
The July 2009 American Pulse survey, conducted by BIGresearch on behalf of Shop.org asked consumers, “How often do you use online video when researching or buying products online?” Certainly, video for overall shopping online appears to be well founded, with more than 12% of all adults (18+ years of age) surveyed indicated that they “regularly” use online video for shopping purposes. And another 46% said that they use online video “occasionally” for online shopping purposes, according to the Shop.org study.
Shop.org reported that consumers said, “Online videos produced by manufacturers are helpful in explaining product features and how the product works,” and, “I have watched online videos for products that I purchased online.”
One quarter of the consumers in the Shop.org study said they had watched online videos for products that they researched (though not necessarily purchased) online. Online video in some cases appears to influence purchases offline as well (i.e. in a brick and mortar store). For example, 20% of men surveyed noted that online video had directly influenced their decision to buy a specific product offline.
The study dispelled the inclination to think that it’s mostly tech-savvy young-somethings (18 to 34 years of age) tapping online video for shopping needs – the older the consumer, the more likely he or she is to turn to online video to understand product features and/or how the product works.
In February 2010, eMarketer produced a report titled “Consumer Packaged Goods Sector Taps into Online Video” giving evidence that even consumer goods products are benefiting from online video. The author of the report Tobi Elkin says, “Digital video content…has the potential to ignite two-way conversations between consumers and brands.”
“It is especially important for marketers of notoriously low-involvement consumer packaged goods, such as food, household and personal care items,” Ms. Elkin
High-Definition Video Especially Important for Northern Michigan Travel Businesses
Both VTV, hosted by John McAuliffe, Chief Marketing Officer of VFM Leonardo, and Hotel News Resource reported that consumers use video during all five stages of purchase consideration for travel purchases (research through post-purchase). This insight comes from a study by Google revealing that at every stage, consumers are turning to online videos to help them make travel decisions. When shoppers are considering a trip that number jumps dramatically—63% watch videos for personal travel.
According to Tom O’Rourke of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing, video helps consumers visualize a destination and it is easier for them than reading a great deal of descriptive copy. Plus professional online video builds trust because consumers can see for themselves whether the destination matches their lifestyle, says O’Rourke.
O’Rourke recommends that the hospitality industry combine an overall view of the destination as well as video of the property or business. Stand-alone videos, being distributed in media that is out of context may need to consider splitting video resources between promoting the destination and touting the organization’s features and benefits.
When MyNorth Media produces a Northern Michigan business’ video, it may also have the option to appear on MyNorth.com. That video is surrounded by thousands of pages of content, photos and videos promoting Northern Michigan as an outstanding place to visit, live and shop. This foundation allows the business to focus their video and their budget on promoting their business.
David Attardi, director of B. F. Saul Company (which manages 18 destination properties), agrees that professionally produced, high-definition video is vital to engaging consumers who live in a video world. He points out that by having a professionally produced video, properties can show off features and benefits that guest-produced videos may not cover. (Guest-produced videos are going to show up in YouTube and can have an influence on a business whether or not they are accurate.)
“Your website benefits from stickiness,” says Attardi, meaning that consumers will spend more time considering your property and on your website if there is a high-definition video.
Attardi suggests that when planning a video, consider a long-term vision of your business. If there are parts of the property that are going to be remodeled or changed significantly in the next year or so, make sure those video segments can be easily removed and replaced in the future. He also recommends showing off all aspects of your business:
- Catering
- Meeting Spaces
- Gift Shops
- Restaurants
- Every level of accommodations
- Concierge services
Attardi closes his advice asking the travel industry to distribute the video across all content and getting the entire organization to engage in sharing the video including team members, field staff and even your personal contacts. For video distribution ideas, he lists: Facebook YouTube, online booking sites, regional or destination sites (like MyNorth.com) and the business’ own website—which is sometimes overlooked.
How Northern Michigan’s Businesses Can Easily Put High-Definition Video to Work for Them
To reach consumers this year, Northern Michigan’s businesses can invest at any budget level with MyNorth Media and get a high-definition video that engages consumers and lives in an environment that supports the business. Packages start with MyNorth Media Video Postcards, one-minute videos that show off a business or a destination with high-definition video set to music. From that point, Northern Michigan business owners can choose from a broad spectrum of video options based on their marketing needs, adding voiceovers, more footage, product demonstrations, tours with a host and more.
“We can meet any need a Northern Michigan business might have, from a lovely tour through a Traverse City restaurant to a lengthier video that captures the diverse and expansive experience at a Northern Michigan hotel. And don’t forget that high-definition video can save a client time and money through training videos for staff, product assembly videos for customers or educational videos in medicine, finance or law where you and your staff are clearly the professionals. And everyone, at every level, looks professional, engaging and credible when they take advantage of the benefits of MyNorth Media’s high-definition video,” says MyNorth Media account executive Jeff Hale, marketing consultant on video projects.
By working with MyNorth Media, businesses get the benefit of the staff at Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine who have 30 year’s experience talking to an audience interested in Northern Michigan from Mackinac Island, Petoskey, Charlevoix, to Leelanau County and Ludington and of course the Traverse City area. Hale also points out, “That audience is flocking to MyNorth.com excited to engage in videos about this spectacular region. When a client puts their video on MyNorth.com they can be assured that they are getting the audience they most want.”
One of Many Marketing Resources for Northern Michigan’s Businesses from MyNorth Media.
You know us as Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine and MyNorth.com. We’re MyNorth Media, the company that’s weathered nearly 30 years Up North, helping you reach an audience of more than 800,000 customers—tourists, residents and snowbirds, alike. And now you can put our team to work for you to develop: ?
- Valuable Media Options (Print, Video & Web)
- Affordable Custom Website Design & Development
- High Definition Video
- Custom Publishing
- Print & Online Ad Production
- Email Marketing
- And More …
MyNorth Media has the expertise to tell your story with the same creativity, integrity and quality that has fueled our success for 30 years. We make it easy for you to succeed. ??For a free high-definition video consultation, email Jeff Hale, account executive or call (231) 941-5283.