Video Killed The Radio Star…

Who could resist that headline? I just read an interesting blog post on Mashable by Patrick Moran entitled: 5 Tips To Grow Your Business in 2010. Although Moran approaches it from a marketing perspective, this piece has great value for communicators as well.

The popularity of video is growing rapidly. In the past in Canada, video new releases (VNR) haven’t been widely used. That’s changing, I believe. In the United States, VNRs are used extensively. CNN even has a distribution service (CNN Newsource) where an organization pays to have its VNR distributed.

I was having a conversation with a colleague yesterday about social media, video news releases and the way that PR has changed in the past few years. VNRs are a great opportunity to showcase a story. Producing a VNR isn’t anywhere as expensive as it was in the past and, for many media outlets—even print and radio, there is the demand for them to get content for their website. VNRs that are done well and aren’t just two-minute infomercials can help to fill that need.

Video is one of the strongest tools a PR person can use. And, while it might seem like it’s a tool for those 21 and under, in fact, studies show that many people 45 and up prefer video. When we send out a video news release to media or distribute it through Canada Newswire or CNN Newsource, we make sure that our client’s let the media do their thing first. Once media has used the piece, the client can post the VNR on their website and use Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to drive people to the video.

Video provides great opportunities. It’s a tool worth investigating.

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