By Jay Bemis | Advertising Systems Inc.
Granted, watching late-night talk-show hosts on TV during the pandemic hasn’t been quite the same as when they beamed their shows live from their East or West Coast studios, with a roaring band and audience in tow.
But the two Jimmys, as in Fallon and Kimmel, and Stephen, as in Colbert, et al., are still pulling it off from their living rooms or their home offices — thanks to plenty of pandemic material they’ve easily harvested this summer and what promises to be plenty of material from the presidential campaign trails this fall.
What the late-show hosts are proving is the notion that we have promoted in this space both pre- and post-pandemic: Video marketing is a simple and vital ingredient that your company can easily pull off as you develop content for your website in the 2020s.
Today, we are finding some solace in the fact that a couple of highly regarded sources, Entrepreneur and LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, have recently agreed.
“For those who have been on the fence with video content creation or have been reluctant to start for one reason or another, then let this worldwide slowdown be the exact opportunity you’ve been waiting for to begin,” Rich Perry, an author, communications strategist and podcaster, recently wrote for Entrepreneur.
“Time is no longer a factor because the pandemic has afforded most of us more than enough time on our hands.”
If the Jimmys and Colbert can gather enough content “to cover multiple segments spanning anywhere from 20-40 minutes on a daily basis using only their laptops and smart devices coupled with downloadable software and free social media apps,” Perry adds, “… then there’s no excuse for entrepreneurs who are hesitant to use these same readily available tools to communicate with their customers.”
Companies can begin by creating a basic, three-minute video, perhaps weekly, “for the purpose of informing customers and building awareness,” Perry says.
“That’s it. It doesn’t need to be elaborate and this can be easily incorporated into your online marketing strategy.”
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, meanwhile, in a recently republished piece, “10 Content Ideas For Your LinkedIn Page,” places video at the top of the list for those companies that use LinkedIn as part of their marketing practices.
LinkedIn says video is five times more likely than other types of content to start a conversation among members of a LinkedIn group, such as Marketing Solutions, and that its members spend almost three times as much watching video ads than they do looking at other types of content.
LinkedIn a couple of years ago went even further by offering a platform called LinkedIn Live, which Marketing Solutions and other LinkedIn members can use to showcase their company videos.
The live platform is “an extremely engaging way for people to connect with your brand, enabling new levels of interactivity,” LinkedIn says.
“Since we rolled out LinkedIn Live … we’ve seen thousands of brands and individuals tap into this potential with live-streams on the platform, delighting their viewers and driving clear business results.”
