Now that the marketing automation market is leveling off and most businesses medium and large have adopted marketing software like Marketo, there is now (more than ever) a need to integrate the types of content that move the needle. In most cases this means video.
Most marketing automation platforms were built before the time of online video. So as a core content type, video was just left out, and left up to the marketer to decide which video hosting method to use. In most cases, this meant that YouTube and Vimeo were the solutions. Even though the video itself was not hosted in a location where the other corporate content lived, such as white papers, ebooks, downloadables, etc.. — it could be embedded into the framework of landing pages, emails, and website with ease.
While video was easy to integrate, it was not done so correctly and basic rules of marketing were being broken. As an example, for SEO and branding purposes, content should always live on your own domain. In the case of video, marketers were hosting content on 3rd party domains, as a result giving up ownership of content to that service. Another major rule broken more times than not, was marketers sending web traffic away from their domain to a YouTube channel to watch video. We all know that the goal of a business website is to attract, retain, and convert web traffic, not send that traffic to an uncontrolled environment.
Not only were marketers breaking these basic rules, but no ROI goals were established around the video content, and if there were goals they were not aligned with the organizations objectives. For example, video success was measured based on play counts, increased time on site, and maybe increased conversion in the case when a video was embedded on a landing page. Where the organization and the marketing team’s goals were centered around MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) and SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads), video relates analytics did not match up — it was like comparing apples to oranges.
There were 3 big things missing to position video in a place where it is most useful to marketers:
- Video Hosting Technology — Marketers needed a solution besides YouTube and Vimeo so they could own the content (live on their domain), brand the content and video player object.
- Advanced Analytics with APIs — Without detailed information on video playback and engagement, measurement was solely based on play counts. Opening up information on video completion and drop off rates, any pretty much any action a viewer takes inside the video player was crucial for integration with marketing systems.
- Lead Gating and Identity Tracking — Sure, video can sit on a landing page and enrich static content there, but there are instances where a video might need to be gated with a form, or secured for a specific type of contact to access it. Knowing whether a tracked contact that has landed on a page with video and then specifically how they engaged with the content is important.
Over the last year there have been a number of companies in the online video space that have solved the 3 big missing things, and they have done this by creating completely integrated video marketing technology that plugs directly into Marketo, so the modern marketer can now start incorporating lead scoring, email nurture events and more based on video engagement data.
For Marketo customers, there are a number of great video software options that connect to the platform right out of the box. Below are just a few, with an extended list found directly on Marketo’s LaunchPoint website.
- Vidyard
Vidyard hosts your videos, analyzes their effectiveness, and transforms them into powerful marketing tools. Vidyard provides everything you need to manage your video collection and ensure the optimal viewing experience for your visitors. Vidyard’s simple approach to video hosting eliminates the barriers to using online video, by integrating visibility, control, and optimization, into a single united solution.
2. Wistia
Wistia gives marketers the power to track and analyze web video viewers including the ability to measure each individual’s video viewing session, their location, organization and IP address. Wistia’s video marketing application has been adopted by such diverse organizations as Cirque de Soleil, Cushman & Wakefield, Gore Medical and Tribal DDB Worldwide, to sell, market, train and collaborate using web video.
3. Vidcaster
Vidcaster provides an out-of-the-box solution for implementing and managing video experiences. In one simple interface, you have everything needed for video marketing and training. Use Vidcaster to host, manage, enrich, distribute and measure your video strategy. Vidcaster’s integration with Marketo turns video into a seamless part of your lead generation and nurturing activities. From embedding video on your website to creating video resource libraries, Vidcaster makes it possible to take your video where you need it to go.
4. LoopLogic
LoopLogic provides video with analytics and lead generation for companies looking to use video strategically. The technology automatically works with your blog, mass email, marketing and other apps.
To learn more about Video Marketing and Marketing Automation, schedule a video strategy call with our team.
