Why Do Companies Need Video on the Web?

It seems everyone these days is writing blogs on THE POWER OF INTERNET VIDEO. We could fill the remaing space on this, our very first blog, with all sorts of statistics that have been recycled time and time again about how powerful online video is. That's not to say the statistics aren't important, correct, or meaningful. They are. In fact, those numbers are right on. Every month the world is realizing that video on the web is not just a luxury that viewers enjoy, they realize how it is "expected" by today's consumers---of all ages.

In the coming months we too will write an article that is packed with statistics that will clearly show how online video is working on the home pages of thousands of comanies worldwide. We wil also discuss how video is one of the most powerful online tools available when it comes to having consumers discover your business before they ever log on to your website.

For now though, we thought we'd go way out on a limb and talk about video and the POWER OF COMMON SENSE.
It only makes sense that if text and still pictures are good, then text, combined with still pictures and video are better. By adding video to that equation, the first benefit of video couldn't be more obvious. Video gives people a "real" look into the window of a company. Here's the best example we can give. If you were looking for a unique winery in "vineyard rich" Napa valley what is it that would set a particular winery apart? Go ahead and look for yourself (when you finish reading this, of course!) and see how many wineries either offer simple text and a picture of a vineyard, a wine glass, or some grapes on their home page.There is simply no way to distinguish who's who or what the "true" personality of a winery is. You may be able to determine if a winery specializes in Merlot or is pet friendly (if you click on enough tabs) but you won't be able to get a true look or "feel" for the place. Is it a down-home winery or is it stuffy? With video, you can often see the actual vineyard, hear from the owners and customers, and often get the real story on the types of wine they produce.Would you rather read about it or watch the story unfold in front of you? With all due respect to those who say "we're just not reading enough" these days, the answer is fairly obvious to most. Video wins, hands down. That's why there are wineries out there like Goosecross Cellars, one of the remaining family owned and operated wineries in all of Napa Valley, (http://www.goosecross.com/) that "get it." This small, quaint, friendly winery has everything from blogs, to podcasts, to dozens and dozens of videos that are in the works as we speak. There's another small Napa Valley Winery (our very first client, God bless them!) called Casa Nuestra. They only produce 1,500 cass of wine ever year. They decided they needed video to show consumers what they're all about. To this day, that video (on http://www.casanuestra.com/) gets more positive comments than any of our videos because it accurately describes what they're all about. When you meet them through video, you absolutely have to visit them when you're in Napa.

Wineries aside, Webstorytellers has clients who are internantionally known, like Cisco and the Jelly Belly Candy Company, "and" small midwest companies that offer services that some would never suspect would ever need video, like "check making" (http://www.quikproof.com/) and "conveyor belt" (http://www.insightautomation.com/) companies.The range of companies already using video on the web should not be surprising to anyone. It is surprising to us how many quality companies either haven't gotten the message or are operating like it's 1999 and losing customers to those companies, large and small, who have discovered the power of internet video.