The Combined Power of Professional and User-Generated Videos

Content marketers can benefit most from using a combination of professionally produced and user-generated videos when executing a video content strategy, rather than using the two separately, according to a new study by comScore and EXPO.

Frank Findley, vice president of research and development at comScore says, “Professionally produced content and product videos drove strikingly higher lifts when used together than when either was used individually. While marketers may already be familiar with the effectiveness of professional video content alone, these results suggest that even greater returns can be had by combining their use with authentic, user-generated content.”

While the professional videos work well when it comes to getting across the company’s key messages, user-generated ones “are easier to relate to, perceived as being unbiased, and were considered more believable about verifying specific product claims,” writes Content Marketing Institute’s Christine Dunn.

All it usually takes is a sizable budget and a good production team to create quality videos — those details can be figured out pretty easily with enough will power. But companies may be clueless when it comes to getting users to submit videos. To encourage consumers, marketers need to place reminders on advertising materials, make it easy to send in videos by taking out any registration process, and request testimonials immediately following a sale, says Sean Rosensteel of Site Sketch 101.

People relate to and value visual storytelling. By combining professional and user-generated video efforts, marketers have the opportunity to gain users’ trust and keep them interested in their companies’ messages.

Image courtesy of Flickr, hummingcrow