Following up on yesterday’s post… perhaps the most valuable insight in Forrester Research’s report “Five Rules To Drive Video Traffic” (provided by Ooyala at that link) is their commentary on the key elements of a successful video strategy.  I couldn’t agree more with the authors’ notes — it’s absolutely critical to set goals, identify your audience, and create process.  Excerpts from the report:

Creating a video strategy involves:

• Setting goals. Too often, technology is implemented for the sake of technology. Whether increasing advertising revenue, decreasing customer service costs, or driving brand awareness, video must tie back to a greater organizational or campaign goal. Goals should then map back to video metrics — such as views, revenue, comments, or uploads — that are continuously tracked, reviewed, and revised.
• Identifying the target audience. Identifying the target audience is a key step in creating the right type of video content for your goals. In selecting an audience, organizations should be cognizant of, but not beholden to, the stereotype that heavy video consumers are young and male. Large populations of females and adults are being underserved and represent key demographics to target. Lastly, product professionals should make sure video content is linked to the core brand message and audience — efforts to seem to young or luxurious will come off as unauthentic and often result in user backlash.
• Developing processes. Video is not a one-time investment — consumers expect updates to video libraries and innovation around the experience. Organizations must establish ongoing budget, headcount, and processes for video. Organizations where video technology is not a core competency — such as marketers — should evaluate a build/buy decision with video platforms such as Brightcove, Ooyala, and Permission TV.

Filed under: effective online video