Businesses look to video email for more efficient advertising

Mega-corporations with deep pockets spend billions of dollars in advertising each year, reinforcing brands and building the trust required for consumers to purchase products. How do small and mid-size businesses with drastically lower advertising budgets compete? As Proctor & Gamble's CEO, Bob McDonald recently noted, the digital space can be "more efficient" than traditional marketing efforts. In other words, less expensive online video advertising can provide a better return on investment.

This is great news for businesses looking to maximize exposure on limited budgets. But with a variety of online options available, many businesses aren't sure where to put their resources.

Facebook pages help businesses connect with customers, but many companies haven't realized any significant increase in revenue, regardless of followers or page "Likes." Facebook determines how important a post is to your followers based on a somewhat complex algorithm. This can limit the number of people who see your post on their timeline, limiting the value of the post. Facebook ads are under even greater scrutiny for effectiveness. General Motors recently announced it is discontinuing its $10 million Facebook ad campaign, saying the campaign had little impact on consumers' car purchases.

Another video advertising option is YouTube. It's great for video sharing, but with the obstacles of competing advertisements, multiple video alternatives and an inability to track viewers, the majority of video uploads still come from individuals posting recreationally. Businesses can create their own channel of exclusive videos, but getting traffic to the channel requires additional time and effort.

Video email provides a different approach to marketing your business. Record on-the-spot personalized messages or upload professionally produced videos and email them to customers and prospects. Covideo, a leader in video email solutions, specifically offers features relevant to businesses. "Our customers recognize the importance of establishing a personal connection with prospects," says Jason Price, co-founder and president of Covideo. "Other than in-person contact, video is as real an interaction as it gets."

Users can record and send videos from their office computer or from any location using an iPhone or Android, and recipients can view videos on computers, tablets and smartphones. Additional features include: Outlook integration, custom branding, video embedding and generous recording and uploading capabilities.

All those features sound great, but what businesses really want to see is results. Covideo provides a variety of analytics from viewing notifications, to detailed reports that yield insights into the engagement level of a video. Ultimately, it translates to faster follow-ups, better customer service and in turn, more sales.

There is no singular solution to a business' online video advertising needs, but a service like Covideo offers small, mid-size and even large companies an exceptional, reasonably priced method of connecting with consumers and effectively generating revenue.