In the first episode of my three-part series, Videos That Convert, we talked about the things video is especially good at – when to use it and when not to. You can watch it here.
Episode two, Put Them Where They Work, is all about distributing your video for maximum impact so you can squeeze every last bit of R from your I. (As in ROI.) Here’s a brief look at some of the insights we cover.
“Put Them Where They Work” actually means a couple of things
Sure, it means their actual destination – your website’s home page, on a landing page, in an email campaign or a newsletter, on social media…there are many, many possibilities.
But it also means to think about where they’ll live in the sales funnel – what kind of video will perform best at that specific funnel stage.
So the kind of video you should make starts with identifying its destination. For example, a flagship video on your homepage has more longevity. Since its purpose is to catch someone’s attention and introduce your brand to them, you can justify a higher production value and budget than for, say, a social media video, which has a comparatively limited lifespan. You’re not going to invest the same amount of time and money into that video, and you don’t need to. In fact, simply deciding where your video will live will determine a lot about its visual style, how long it should be, and the calls to action you should use.
Next question: What’s your goal for this video?
What do you want the viewer to experience? Are you trying to connect with them in an authentic way, or make them feel something about your brand as a whole? Do you want to simply entertain them versus educate them on a more complex idea?
Let’s say your goal for this video is to get people to feel something about your brand – to think, “That brand looks pretty cool. I like them.” Where would such a video fit in your marketing funnel? At the very top: this kind of video would be best suited for an awareness campaign.
Now, if you have enough awareness and that’s not what you had in mind for this video, you need to go back to the beginning and think about your goal. But if you’re still nodding your head, you’re ready to start mapping out the various destinations this video could go, like your social channels (great for building awareness), your newsletter, maybe as an ad before your next webinar – there are lots of places that would make sense.
Minimizing your investment and maximizing your return
The takeaway here is that having a plan, even one as basic as writing down your goal, subject, funnel stage, and destination, will allow you to increase your return exponentially compared to your investment. And with just a little foresight, you can stretch those resources even farther. For example, once you’ve made a two-minute video, it takes very, very little additional effort to make a 30-second version that’s perfect for Twitter. Or a square version for TikTok and Instagram. Or maybe when you shoot your video, you record two different introductions that you can use for two different audiences. The point here is simple but powerful: every one of these examples will extend your video’s reach and grow your return for a minimal investment. That’s smart video marketing.
Ready to dive deeper into all this stuff and get your video in front of the right viewers at the right time? Watch episode two of Videos That Convert.

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Video enthusiasts from all over the world joined us for PLAY 2021. If you weren’t one of them, you missed some incredibly inspiring, compelling, and informative sessions.
But as we always say, one of the great things about virtual events is that they can live on long after the event itself is over. Which is why you should head on over to PLAY TV and check out everything you (temporarily) missed. You can access it on the web at playtv.brightcove.com or by downloading the PLAY TV app from the Apple or Android stores.
Here’s just a sample of the 24+ hours of PLAY 2021 content you’ll find there:

The day 1 keynote with groundbreaking storyteller and founder of Shondaland Shonda Rhimes, in which she talks about her creative process, what makes a story work, where she gets ideas from, and more.
How the New South Wales, Australia school department uses video to keep their entire community informed and engaged.
Super-helpful tips for presenting yourself on video from human behavior expert Vanessa Van Edwards. (Trust us, this one goes way beyond “don’t wear a plaid shirt.”)
A fascinating look at how arts organizations like Lyric Opera are using video to reach new audiences all over the world.
How Akamai uses virtual events to stay connected with their global workforce.
And so much more in our communication and engagement, digital marketing and e-commerce, and media tracks.

And be sure to check out the sessions on these exciting new products from Brightcove:

CorpTV, which lets every company have their very own always-on video channel for things like news and updates, employee communications, and onboarding and training. (Fun fact: PLAY TV is Brightcove’s CorpTV channel, so that will give you an idea of the kind of experience you can create.)
The Brightcove Marketplace, where you’ll find all kinds of powerful integrations to extend and enhance the capabilities of your Video Cloud platform. You can connect directly with our technology partners there, too, to discuss your particular needs.
And Brightcove Marketing Studio, which makes it easy for marketing teams to use video by keeping it centrally organized and making it readily available within the tools your teams are already using.

One last thing before you head over to PLAY TV. During the day 2 keynote from the creators of the beloved documentary Crip Camp, which was only made possible by the advent of portable (if 17 pounds counts as portable!) video cameras, Jim LeBrecht, the film’s co-producer and co-director, observed that “you can have all this technology, but it’s the human beings behind all of that that really make or break something.”
And it occurred to us that this is the true power of video: on some level or in some way, every video is about people. We hope the content you’ll find on PLAY TV helps you to inspire, inform, and entertain… we hope it helps you tell your story.

To view our Partner blog, click here

If you’re thinking about investing in an enterprise video platform, you can already hear the questions: Will it be worth the expense? How will it help? What kind of return can we expect on this investment?
These can be difficult questions to answer because there are so many factors to consider. So we commissioned Forrester Consulting to explore them. Their findings are contained in “The Total Economic ImpactTM of Brightcove on Enterprise Organizations” – download it here.
What they discovered
The big takeaway? Forrester found that enterprises can realize a 225% ROI over three years with Brightcove.
Breaking things down a little, here are some of the benefits that companies using the Brightcove platform experience:

83% less time required to manage video platforms and content libraries, giving you time back in your day to focus on other business-building activities.

20% more conversions from deeper engagement that produces more leads, sales or checkouts and, ultimately, more revenue.

75% more efficient syndication workflows for faster content delivery and a more agile team.

80% less time required to migrate existing content to the Brightcove platform for faster delivery and less time wasted waiting for videos to upload.

50% less money spent on additional content distribution and management solutions means fewer tools and vendors to deal with and less stress for everyone, including IT.

Improved security for more peace of mind, especially on the IT and security teams.

Deeper engagement with all internal communications, making it ideal for onboarding, announcements, training, etc. – video is incredibly effective at building culture and encouraging participation in a company.

Increased stability and reliability that can effortlessly handle the scale required by global businesses.
Video platforms are now a must-have…for dozens of use cases covering internal communications, marketing, external communications, and e-commerce. The need to reach a range of audiences with live and on-demand video is increasing exponentially, and Brightcove offers enterprises a secure, scalable, self-service video management and distribution platform to drive engagement, demand, and even revenue.
–”The Total Economic Impact of Brightcove on Enterprise Organizations,” a Forrester study commissioned by Brightcove

For businesses, it’s essential to get video right
If your organization is thinking about video, it’s essential for you to understand the distinction between a platform built for serious business and one that is built for… much less. Learn what you need to know in “The Total Economic Impact of Brightcove on Enterprise Organizations” – you can download it here.
Video can make an enormous difference to your business, but the company you choose to partner with and the platform it’s presented on make a major difference, too.
There’s video… and there’s Brightcove video.

To view our Partner blog, click here

One of the most significant ongoing challenges for communication professionals is figuring out what engagement technology to invest in next. And unfortunately, there is a great deal of noise in communications platform space these days. Technology companies are pushing ‘innovations’ ranging from short-form asynchronous video (basically corporate Snapchat) to self-service live streaming (basically corporate Twitch) to audio huddles . . . which, to the disappointment of many, turned out to be nothing more than video meetings with the video turned off.
It’s fair to say the enterprise communication technology space is in a bit of a creative funk right now, and the time is right for something new. But the good news is, the ‘something new’ we are seeking is already here—and it’s called Corporate TV.
What is Corporate TV?
In its simplest form Corporate TV is an ‘always on’ video portal similar in design to any popular subscription streaming service or app, but purpose-built for enterprise content—training courses, onboarding videos, sales enablement tools, demand generation assets, recorded webcasts and company town halls being a few examples. Much like a consumer streaming service Corporate TV provides viewers (in this case employees and external stakeholders) with usability features including carousel viewing, customized channels, playlists, cross-recommendations, robust search, account security, and the very familiar ‘movie app’ experience companies like YouTube and Netflix have been training us to love since the mid-2000s.
But above and beyond the usability stuff, Corporate TV comes with things that transform enterprise communication into an engaging, audience-building powerhouse. Features like flawless video viewing on any device (including Smart TVs), the ability to stream live events, multiple subscription and e-commerce options, and full integration with mission-critical applications in the marketing, HR and communications stack are also standard. To put it more simply, Corporate TV gives enterprises the opportunity to deliver video content to stakeholders in the same manner professional media organizations deliver it to their customers . . . at a fraction of the cost, and without requiring an IT team to manage it all.
Corporate TV for Internal Communication
When it comes to Corporate TV for internal use, enterprises can now offer employees a single, out of the box, easy to manage and highly familiar experience for accessing video content across the organization, as well as its departments and functions. Content producers can also make individual videos or entire playlists accessible by role, department or team, and track internal engagement with video assets down to the user level.
But with Corporate TV, delivery of on demand video is just the beginning. Corporate TV can be used to stream and manage live internal events as well—including monthly town halls, recognition ceremonies, wellness festivals, benefits workshops, culture summits and sales kickoff meetings. And Corporate TV platforms come with their own intelligent video delivery networks, which support an unlimited number of concurrent viewers and automatically optimize video content for each end-user device.
Corporate TV for External Communication
If distributing live and on demand video to employees in a Disney Plus-style format is an exciting thought, imagine what marketers can do with this technology for external audiences. On the stakeholder engagement side, a single Corporate TV portal can be set up to serve every external group an enterprise supports. Customers, partners, contract employees, vendors, analysts, investors and even board members can be served video via Corporate TV, with both on demand video and live events (product rollouts, partner training, investor calls, analyst briefings and customer summits) secured and accessible by user type.
And for demand-focused marketers, Corporate TV offers a nearly unlimited ability to build audiences, generate leads and drive revenue directly. Corporate TV can be the home for an enterprise’s most high-value marketing and lead generation assets—all of which can be placed behind authentication or paid subscriber walls, and integrated with existing marketing automation and marketing analytics technologies. Live marketing events like thought leadership sessions, web shows and entertainment-focused content can be made available in a variety of registration models including free, paid, recurring subscription and even ad supported.
Wrapping it Up
It is rare when technology allows an enterprise to approach stakeholders in a truly different way. But as we discussed earlier, Corporate TV can turn any internal or external communication effort into a media-quality experience—for a fraction of what companies like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO Max paid to develop their platforms. It’s also an exciting technology that market-leading companies like Salesforce, DemandBase and Terminus have recently implemented for VERY high profile use cases (Google it) and thousands more companies are scrambling to learn about.
The message here is simple: if your organization isn’t giving Corporate TV a serious look in 2021, your competitors surely are—which means you’re already behind. So if you’re interested in learning more about Corporate TV, you can do so here, or feel free to contact me directly using the information given below. I have a few things I’d be glad to send you, and I’m always open to a conversation.
Eric Rudolf is the VP of Go-to-Market (GTM) Programs for Brightcove, the industry leader in empowering organizations to touch audiences with video in bold and innovative ways. With 20 years in SaaS-based Enterprise Technology, Eric has led GTM strategy for multiple Gartner-named leaders. You may connect with Eric on LinkedIn, or send him an email any time at erudolf@brightcove.com.

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Like any marketing tool, video is a medium that can and should be applied at each stage of the customer journey to achieve the optimal outcome. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the right way to leverage video’s ability to create attention, strengthen connections, and secure conversions throughout every step in the audience life cycle.
Step 1: All about awareness
The best way to start the customer journey is with a story. Ask yourself what your audience wants to achieve. What outcomes are they pursuing and what does success mean to them? From there, how can your business or product help guide them to that successful outcome?
Aim for videos that are less than 30 seconds, contain thought leadership or inspirational content that helps them picture themselves achieving their goals, and are easily shareable across social channels.
Metrics to measure: Look for the link between views and conversions. Your most-watched video may not create the highest level of engagement. Getting eyes on the prize is important but don’t let that be your sole determining factor for what’s working in achieving your goals for the video.
Step 2: Enabling evaluation
By this point your customer will know what the problem is they want to solve and that you likely have a solution to help them get to the desired outcome. Videos need to demonstrate how your product turns customers into heroes that conquer problems and achieve their goals. Demos and ‘how-to’ videos that show your solution in action work best at this stage.
Value-add is king here – differentiate your offering and make sure you provide the customer with actionable next steps on how to achieve success via your solution or the content you provide. Aim for 30 to 90 seconds long.
Metrics to measure: Percentage of video viewed. The more time your viewers spend watching, the higher the value you’re adding.
Step 3: Creating conversions
You’re nearly there – it’s time to help them confidently choose you as the partner to help them achieve success! Business buyers are more likely to purchase if they’ve received or seen a recommendation – the videos to use here are customer testimonials or case studies where the customer can picture themselves in the shoes of those happy customers, and validate that you’ve solved their specific or closely-related problem before.
A compelling video testimonial or case study will ideally be matched to the prospect’s challenge or organizational profile. It should be around 60 – 120 seconds long and demonstrate a clear path of how your product or solution takes customers from a position of challenge to a place of success.
Metrics to measure: Conversions. Don’t worry if they’re not immediate – engagement with videos can be used to inform lead scoring and to kick off automated nurture sequences that allow you to continue the conversation with people who are invested in learning about your solution.
Step 4: Activating adoption and retention
We all know the job isn’t done once a sale is made. In fact, it’s precisely the time to double-down on making sure you’re giving customers great value via video. Use video to onboard new customers, announce enhancements, share product roadmaps, and deliver exclusive customer messaging. ‘How-to’ videos at this stage bring the product to life and ensure customers are getting the most out of their investment.
Metrics to measure: Viewing and engagement – interactions with this content prove you’re developing a relationship beyond the initial purchase and continuing to deliver value to your customers.
Want to learn more? Read our guide on 7 Ways to Drive More Revenue with B2B Video Marketing.

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