We were also asked to produce several mini “how to” videos for the WAA website to educate passengers on navigating new airport – whether you are departing or arriving through the new Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. (Click here to view the videos.)

Finally, the month concluded with the actual opening of the new terminal on October 30th. We were there to film the first passengers departing from the new terminal, and also the first arrivals to the new terminal.

It was fun to capture the moment when first people who checked in with Westjet received two free tickets to anywhere they fly (they were on a trip to the Domincan Republic, now I think they’re going to be headed to Hawaii.) The day was filled with food, fun, and festivities as our new terminal was opened to the public with the official ribbon cutting at 11:00am.

We look forward to our continued relationship with the Winnipeg Airports Authority and the exciting new projects ahead.

In 2010, 51% of internet users expected video on the web pages they visited, and by 2014 more than two-thirds of internet users will expect to see video wherever they go online.  Today more than 80% of internet users watch online video regularly.

What does this mean for your business? To stay relevant, to build new sources of revenue, you need to engage your audience in the manner they expect and prefer — with video.

Sales, Marketing, Lead Generation, and Customer Service:
Online video is second only to word-of-mouth for its ability to influence decision makers in every stage of the purchasing lifecycle. Promotional videos can be used to drive brand awareness. Customer testimonials can build confidence in potential customers and help you  generate new leads. And, video can help keep customers loyal to your brand with customer service, post-sales support, and timely information.  Do you think ads and clickable links in video are only for the biggest content providers? Any company can use ads or links, for example, to suggest other products that may be of interest, or to make a call to action.

Communication:
If you want to stay fresh and keep connected with your stakeholders, whoever they are, you need video. Users are looking for online experiences that grab and hold their attention, and there is no better medium for achieving this than video. It doesn’t matter if you are a CEO, a government official, a thought leader, or a podcaster — if you need to communicate in a powerful and memorable way then you need to convey your message with video.

Search Engine Optimization:
Do you want to increase your odds of turning up higher in Google search?  Videos are, in fact, 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of a Google search than sites that only have text.

Video not only helps get your website ranked higher in search results, but it also helps increase site “stickiness” — meaning user time spent on your site. This increase in site stickiness means that you are creating a better environment for user engagement, and if your site runs ads you are creating higher value for advertisers.

2. I have video on YouTube… why should I have it on my website too?
YouTube happens to be the second largest search engine.  So you need to have your video on YouTube and on your own site.  There are some downsides to video on YouTube such as lack of control over your content and inability to have a focused brand message. But since Google ranks videos on YouTube highest in search  results, it is helpful to have your videos there too. Just be sure to work hard on YouTube to drive traffic back to your site to build your brand awareness and user engagement. Since no other video sharing site comes close to YouTube in terms of the number of video searches, as well as the positive impact in Google search ranking, there is little reason to consider other sharing sites for your video, except when it comes to Facebook.

3. What about having video on my Facebook page?
One reason to have video on your Facebook page is, in a word, referrals.  When a Facebook friend recommends a video, the view times are 18% longer than when a video is not recommended by a trusted source. But, don’t use Facebook as your sole video portal, for the same reasons you shouldn’t rely only on only YouTube: you want to drive traffic back to your site to build brand awareness and user engagement.

4. What about all the technology involved?
Each video needs to play across multiple devices (mobile, computer, connected TV) and platforms (think Windows vs. Mac and Android vs. iOS) at varying delivery speeds that maximize the quality for each particular device and bandwidth. In short, things get complicated fast.  Furthermore, technology changes at breakneck speed. This is why you don’t want to get involved in the technology. Luckily, there are people who have already done the heavy lifting for us. There are nearly 100 companies out there as of this writing that have invested heavily in the technology and services needed to send your organization’s video happily streaming across the internet. These providers, known as online video platforms (OVPs) and content delivery networks (CDNs), differentiate themselves by the technologies they concentrate on, and by providing different levels of service at different price-points.

Since there are so many varied services out there, you probably don’t want to invest the time in learning what all the tech-speak means and then figure out who provides the best service for your company at a price you can afford.

5. How do I measure the impact of my web video?
Making sure that you have the right metrics available to analyze your video’s level of success is an important part of any business use of web-video. There are various providers of analytics services that track video metrics and produce reports covering  just about everything that helps you evaluate your video’s impact.  This means that not only can your reports show you total views, viewed minutes, video drop-off rates, search engine use, and where the user is from, but they can also track keyword searches, social actions, and customer engagement.

6. What kind of ROI should I expect to see?
Before planning any video production, it is always helpful to make a use-case for what you want your video to achieve. Is it brand awareness? Increased lead generation? Higher sales? Fewer returns? More loyal customer base? A more engaged community? Whatever your goals, look to see how you can use analytics and your own business data to measure the outcome. Research shows that when businesses implement online video, they tend to see higher search engine ranking, and more traffic on their site.  Depending on the particular use of video, businesses may also see higher sales, increased customer satisfaction, fewer product returns, and even savings in production and video distribution costs when compared to a television ad campaign.

The online retailer Ice.com found that visitors to their site who chose to view video actually made purchases at a 400% increase over those who did not view video.  Another research study showed that video ups purchase rates, even if the viewer does not watch the video.  This indicates that the presence of video increases buyer confidence.

7. Should we invest in professionally produced video, or should we put out a call for content by our website’s visitors?
Video is your public face to the world.  Make sure you don’t have egg on it.

The less cheeky answer is more nuanced: it depends on your goals and the expected shelf life of the video.  If you’re producing video to build brand awareness, or generally promote your organization it makes sense to produce a high-quality professional video. In most cases, the same applies to any evergreen subject that you will highlight on your website for the foreseeable future. The video needs to not only convey information but your professional image as well.

If you are providing product details or how-to information to potential or existing customers, the production still needs to be professional.  But in this case, viewers are looking for specifics, and don’t need bells and whistles.  Here simplicity, clarity, and brevity are the elements that count most.

When you want to create a community around your product, an event, or your business as a whole, it is worth asking your users to upload relevant videos. User generated content is an excellent way to deepen engagement, and allow users to inform others.

(via Bruce Alfred  www.cobblestonenyc.com)