Continuing my “web video focus” on the seven types of online video marketing…

1. Introductions

2. Presentations

3. Invitations: Recently I received an invitation in the mail to attend a charitable event. The invite was simple enough — date, time, location, brief mention of the reason for the event… but after reading it I was left feeling a bit puzzled regarding what the particular event was about, let alone why I should attend.

As business folks (and especially non-profits) we all periodically send out invitations to events, open houses, dinners, speaking engagements, etc. My question is, does the recipient really know why they should attend, or what to expect when they do? Do these invitations do much to inspire or excite people about the event?

In my view, it’s not really a problem of the message so much as it is the fact that the invitations are limited to one medium — print. Don’t get me wrong, I like printed invites. They’re handy. You can hang them on the fridge, or pin them on the bulletin board. Print is limited, however, to a very finite amount of space, so the message has to be very concise.

This is where I believe video can augment printed invitations, and in many cases can replace them altogether. Video invitations can do the same things paper can (who, what, when, where, why) but also improves the message in several ways:

1. Personal - Video invitations can include a very personal message from key people within the organization. Whether it be lighthearted or serious (depending on the spirit of the event) video helps the recipient make an emotional connection to the event.
2. Inspirational - Especially in regards to charity events, people want to be inspired to attend and inspired to open their checkbooks. So much more can be done to inspire attendance by using video.
3. Excitement - It’s difficult to get excited about an event by reading about it… but to visualize it — that can generate some excitement. I think you probably see my point by now… but you can show much more visually with video than with print.

Sound like it makes some sense? I’d be interested to know what you think, and would be thrilled to hear from someone who has tried it!

Next time: Testimonials