Study after study has demonstrated that people are spending their time on the Web consuming online video. This explains why businesses are, increasingly, making substantial investments in their video marketing budgets. A recent report by eMarketer, a leading digital marketing research firm, suggested that, nationally, video marketing spend will increase from $2.93 billion this year to more than $8 billion in 2016.
Most people think consumer brands are the ones doing all this video marketing spending. While it’s true that consumer brands have been the most eager to adopt online video, this doesn’t mean that other types of organizations can’t also benefit from it. There have already been some surprising entrants into the video marketing world; veterinary clinics, manufacturing plants and, even, hedge funds have started producing online videos promoting their services. If businesses like that can do it, why can’t a civic organization like a chamber of commerce?
A few particularly audacious chambers have already begun to dabble in online video. The video below was created for the Parsippany Area, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
GlobalWebHQ, a leading Dallas video production studio, recently helped the chamber of commerce for Lewisville, Texas create a video about the chamber’s role in the community.
We firmly believe governments and local organizations can benefit from videos highlighting the histories of their communities; we know that chambers of commerce can use online videos to attract businesses and engage with people in their communities.
The Benefits of Online Video
There are a lot of reasons why business, regardless of their size or niche, are turning to online video marketing. The most important one is that online videos reach people in a way no other marketing materials can.
ComScore, a major source for digital business analytics, recently released its October report on online video viewership in the U.S. They found that 183 million U.S. internet users watched an online video in October. These viewers watched an astounding 37 billion online videos, including 11 billion ads.
In addition, comScore found that fully 88 percent of U.S. web users watched one online video in October.
By themselves, these numbers tell us that online video exposes brands to larger audiences than other marketing mediums. But there’s another reason why a chamber of commerce should consider integrating online video into its marketing efforts. Research has found that more than half of all people who watch an online video say these videos make them more confident about their purchases. What this means is that, when people watch an online video, they come to trust the brand that video represents; they develop an attachment to that brand and find it a believable, credible source. As the Web marketer Diana Huff says, “Video, when done right, shows your prospects and customers that your company has some personality. After all, it’s run by people . . . and people do business with people they know and trust.”
Couldn’t any chamber of commerce benefit from appearing more relatable? Wouldn’t this allow it to more effectively promote its community and attract businesses?
Chambers of Commerce and Online Video
A few chambers have said “Yes” to those two questions and have taken on the challenge of producing online video marketing materials. The town of Lodi, California, for instance, has made video an integral part of its website. Its videos give prospective visitors some insight into the community’s history and countryside; its vaunted wine industry and its business climate.
You can check out Lodi’s extensive video library, here.
These videos give laymen an understanding of Lodi’s history and culture, and give merchants an idea about the business environment Lodi’s chamber fosters.
The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce has its own OKC.TV channel where it posts videos notable for their polish and professionalism. While your chamber may not have the same resources as Oklahoma City’s, you can emulate their use of testimonials:
The OKC.TV channel can be accessed through here.
The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s approach to online video may be different from Lodi’s; its videos are less intimate and tend to showcase the benefits of living in major metropolitan area. But they do similar things: they communicate the appeal of the community they represent and make it seem like a desirable place to live and work.
Conclusion
Relatively few chambers of commerce have ventured into the realm of online video. Some think it will be too expensive and others fear they don’t have the time or the resources to commit to it. These concerns are unjustified. A video, especially if it is produced with the assistance of a skilled video marketing company, need not be either costly or labor intensive. And as the videos provided throughout this piece make clear, there really are no limitations on the kind of online video you make.
There are lots of ways for you to make an online video benefiting your community, all you need to do is get a camera and start filming!
GlobalWebHQ is a leading Dallas video production company. To contact us about our services, our Dallas video production studio, or about video marketing in general call (972) 436-9500. We would love to hear from you!