Once it was a "nice to have." But now it's a "must have." Online video is definitely an idea whose time has come. Having it on your website is essential to success, especially if you're targeting younger demographics.

That's the message Neal Sullivan, Executive Vice President of EMI Network and its Digitorial^® Media division, delivered to representatives of some of the top independent K-12 schools across the country attending the Silverpoint User Conference 2009. The conference was held on Oct. 29 and 30 in Annapolis, Md. Sullivan co-led a breakout session on Multimedia and Video.

Done right, Sullivan says, video is a powerful addition to any school's website, engaging visitors in ways that words and photos alone cannot. Messages delivered via online video create lasting impressions, inspire action and improve message retention. And visitors spend more time on the website.

Silverpoint, based in Baltimore, develops websites and interactive strategies for independent schools K-12. EMI Network is its exclusive video partner. Digitorial^® Media has developed online videos for a number of Silverpoint clients and is currently exploring ideas with several others.

"We chose EMI because of its track record of producing cost-effective and high-quality marketing videos," says Andrew McKenzie, Chief Financial Officer at Silverpoint.

"The EMI Digitorials of our faculty and students allow us to create 'living testimonials' of the benefits of our school, and give us the dynamic quality we were looking for to set our site about from the competition," says Aaron Kellenberger, Director of Admission at Cincinnati Country Day School. "They have been a catalyst for giving our homepage over one million hits in less than two years."

To learn more about Digitorial^® Media, including video production and distribution options, visit www.digitorial.com. Log on to www.silverpoint.net to learn more about Silverpoint.