Thoughts on Marketing…

Video marketing gurus would have you believing that the only way to reach prospects is through video. It’s the latest and greatest marketing method, and will replace the written word.

I don’t believe it.

Video has advantages – such as letting the marketer’s voice and enthusiasm come through, and being able to demonstrate a product or a method. But it can’t replace written words.

For one thing, it takes too much time. I can skim 10 email messages in the time it takes for one video marketer to get past telling me why I should listen to his message.

So the only solution is to carefully pick and choose. There’s no way to watch every video that comes our way in a day. Not if we plan to get any of our own work done.

Further, people like me who have satellite Internet connections can only watch some videos. I don’t know the difference or why a few work while most do not, but taking 15 minutes to watch a 3 minute video start and stop is not my idea of fun.

I watched one last night because I really wanted to know what it said. The video ran for 3 seconds, paused for 10 seconds, ran for 3 seconds, etc. I even tried pausing it for a couple of minutes to see if the whole thing would load so I could get more than 3 seconds at a time. It worked. I got 6 seconds when I tried that!

And what if you’re interested but want to go back over one or two points in the message? If there’s no written copy, will you go back and watch the whole darned video again? I suppose some will… if they’re fired up about the product or have nothing better to do.

What’s the solution? Post your video – but beneath it post a well-written message for those who prefer reading.