Video has become one of the runaway content success stories of recent years. Business video adoption is accelerating enormously, with 81% of businesses now using video as a marketing tool, up from 63% last year.
Research from HubSpot found that 2018 was the year when video really broke through for businesses. There were a host of reasons, including shrinking production costs (41%) shortening production timelines (39%) and ease of in-house creation (35%).
However, this acceleration has created a different range of problems, chief of which is: how do you manage this stream of content so that it delivers maximum business value? In order to manage video across an organisation, it’s vital to implement a structured approach, one that will shape accessibility, usability and workflow, as well as perform essential housekeeping functions including scalability, security and compliance.
Consider scalability. It’s certainly possible to manage video (and any type of content) manually by implementing a solid archiving and cataloguing process. This is a workable approach if you have a small amount of video assets. But what if you have hundreds? Retrieving this video content from a host of corporate devices, correctly tagging and labelling it, then storing and backing up the database quickly becomes a labour-intensive and inefficient process.
Structuring inbound content
In order to standardise processes, and ensure that they are repeatable, scalable and automatic, the starting point for any size of enterprise should be a media management platform. This instantly provides structure, allowing any approved user to import content, add metadata during or post-ingestion, and store that content in a standardised, shareable format seamlessly.
Support for web browser based uploads – and also ongoing media management – is a must-have feature, enabling users to access the system from any machine, as opposed to having to install, licence and maintain custom software. With cloud-based storage, you also always have space, allowing your video library to grow as your business does.
Of course, with growth comes complexity. Metadata is the most important future-proofing aspect here though, as attaching highly accurate and searchable tags to video content at the point of ingestion (or immediately afterwards) means that content can be searched, found and re-used effectively in the future. By using standardised metadata (defined within a suitable media management platform), a business can ensure that a common framework of systems, processes, syntax and languages are used consistently.
Smoothing workflow saves time
Storing and cataloguing content is just the start. A good media management platform truly comes into its own around workflow, where potentially time-sapping and complex tasks become automated. This not only saves time upfront, but also helps to minimise human error, such as forgetting to convert video to a standardised format or codec.
A good workflow tool should manage storage, format conversion, notifications and file distribution all in one place. Imagen, for example, offers a range of workflow modules and extensions that allow businesses to pick and choose their preferred workflow, streamlining video/content management so that only the relevant options are displayed.
Another helpful technology here is facial recognition, which can save large amounts of time by helping to auto-tag footage. The ability to auto-populate thumbnail images is also useful, in order to allow rapid visual database searches for non-semantic attributes.
Setting access control and security
Of course, once video has been ingested, tagged and converted, it is essential to store it securely. There are multiple layers to consider here, from integrating with existing single sign-on within the business to managing access via granular permission sets. For example, most employees might have view-only access, but only key staff might have admin level ‘edit’ or ‘delete’ permissions.
Naturally, outbound distribution of any content (to clients, customers, stakeholders, etc) should be HTTPS-encrypted by default.
Your future vision
While the market for video management solutions is only set to grow, it’s vital to choose a platform that fits your business needs today and into the future. Assessing the types of video content your business owns and creates, as well as the content that holds the most value, is a vital step in specifying what system is best for your needs.
So, the key to choosing a video management platform isn’t just looking at what your requirements are today, but what they could be in the future. It’s why you need something that can easily scale; something that makes existing content easily accessible (across multiple platforms) and can absorb new content without reaching its operational limits; something that is secure and versatile enough to cope with video and any other types of media content you need to throw at it.
Something like Imagen.
Imagen helps your business communicate and work more effectively through video
Imagen can help you to take control of your media by making content more searchable, and providing an elegant and intuitive web portal for internal and external access. Get in touch with our team today.
