Businesses today need to develop a marketing video strategy. Video content has really dusted itself off and shown up to the party with many friends and followers across any digital channel.
The stats say it all…video consumption is on the rise and offers the potential to increase your conversion rate by 80 per cent. According to Hubspot, the use of video is a tool more powerful than ever before.
So it’s probably a guest you need to invite to your marketing planning party.
But what if you’re not there yet? You’ve seen the 10-year-olds making billions for reviewing toys on video and companies with big followings and their own video style – but how can you make it in the video realm?
It’s not too late. There’s no better time than now to put your big boy/girl pants on and get in front of the camera to start propelling your content forward through video.
Here are some of our tips to get you started.
1. Choose your marketing video content type
When it comes to creating consumable content, the juicy stuff that makes people want to stick around, you’ve got to be strategic.
Viewers are usually looking for one of three things when watching a video:
- Entertainment (a good chuckle for example);
- Information (there are how-to videos for pretty much anything these days. Don’t believe us? Take a look); and/or
- Connection (that gooey feeling you get when you know there are others out there just as unique as you are).
When it comes to marketing your business’ products and services, you’re likely looking at creating an information video (you can add a good dad joke here in there if it works).
Most importantly, your video content MUST be relatable to your business’ goals and mission, and at the same time be fun and approachable to your target audience.
Sub-categories such as explainer videos, tutorials, webinars and so much more can be embraced to get your audience invested in your brand and your product/service offering.
But remember, nobody wants to sit there for two minutes while you tell them how much better your cake of soap is over a competitor. Keep away from creating videos built on a sales pitch, and rather offer information that is valuable to your audience.
Why be an infomercial in a world full of great ad campaigns (such as this one we wrote another blog about)?
Sell your business – but be smart about it.
2. Branding – let your brand be the star of the show
Let’s get something clear here folks – your brand is not your logo. Your logo is part of your brand. Take a tall glass of water and sip on that.
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, colour selection, the list goes on, that identifies your business from other’s.
There’s great power behind consistent branding. Think of the big yellow arches for example…you see that yellow glow off in the distance along a big stretch of highway and you know your stopping there for a cheeseburger (even if you’re not hungry). You know what’s on the menu and you know that cheeseburger is about to make your day! Now that’s good branding.
Granted, your business may not be a multi-billion-dollar franchise like McDonald’s, but they are a great example of a company that has always made sure their branding stands out from the crowd.
You don’t need to have a huge budget to achieve consistency and to ensure that you shine bright amongst competitors to keep your audience’s focus.
To get started with video branding, make sure your marketing video has your logo watermarked, that you use branding material behind you (taking note of colours and textures) when you film, ensuring your tone of voice reflects the business and that the music is suited to your brand.
Now before you set your masterpiece free into the video world, remember to give your online footprint a once over to ensure your brand is consistent across all channels. And that includes any pesky Myspace still laying around – give that guy a kick to the curb.
From here, the next step is knowing what to add to your video…
3. What to include in your videos
Actually filming content can feel like ripping a band-aid off sometimes – you just got to do it! But before you jump in, make sure you think about the structure and content of your video.
What’s your key message? What service, equipment or news do you want to highlight? What value can you provide?
For example, our fab Chief Marketer Holly whipped up a video on video. While yes, she always does look that fabulous, a lot of thought when into what we wanted to include in our content so that we can provide the most benefit to you, the reader.
Here’s a little extra tip, generations today actually watch video on their phone without dialling up the volume. Must be to compensate for the loud music in some of those youngster clothing stores. So think about placing text or captions on your video to get a message across without sound.
And don’t forget to finish your video off with a call to action.
You can ask the viewer to like, subscribe, and/or comment on what they thought of the video, and how their attempt at applying your information or advice went.
Now don’t chuck a tanty if you don’t get it right the first time. Consider it a learning process and just dig in and give it ago. Your marketing video prowess will evolve as your skills do.
4. Promoting video – make it great
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Likewise, if you create a video and don’t do anything to promote it, will you see a return on investment?
You, my friend, will see nada.
It’s important that you share your video goodness with the whole, and be creative with the platforms you distribute it through.
Try:
- Cross promoting your video on other channels;
- Adding it to EDM send-outs;
- Placing it within your email signature;
- Share it on your social media accounts; and
- Post it on your website.
Organic content is the bread, butter and sprinkles of marketing, so post it wherever you can!
But more than that, whenever you are promoting your videos, make sure you provide all the information needed.
For example, on YouTube, fill out the description and keywords, on Facebook make sure you write a great post to go alongside it, and on your website, pop in the transcript or further content that explains the video (like a blog!).
Also, don’t forget the power of hashtags – the more hashtags, the bigger party your going to have!
5. Filming – rip that band-aid off and get it done
Now, for the fun part – creating a marketing video!
Yes, there will be loads of bloopers (please feel free to create a collage of them and send them our way), but the best tip we can give for creating good video content is to give it a go.
You will likely look back at your first video and wonder what was going through your head – and why you possibly chose to get that hairdo – but it’s all about practice and your content will improve as you go.
The stats for marketing videos
- 92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others. (Wordstream)
- Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Insivia)
- Users view more than 1 billion hours of video each day on YouTube. (YouTube)
- Social media posts with videos in them boost views by 48% (HubSpot)
- Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by up to 80%. (Unbounce)
Now our challenge to you is to make it happen.
Get the camera out and see how you go. And remember that it’s vital your video marketing is part of a wider marketing plan, so don’t rely solely on video to get people through your door.
