A complete guide to video marketing
If you’re not using video yet as part of your online marketing strategy, you’re in trouble.
Video is the most popular and effective technique your message across to your audience. Failing to use it is a missed opportunity of the highest order.
The good news is that implementing video marketing is easier than ever before. Platforms like Facebook and YouTube actively encourage it. Marketers have never had so much support.
Knowing where to start, however, can be a challenge. In this guide, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the tips, resources and strategies you should use when embarking on any campaign.
Want to learn more? Read on!
The Importance Of Video Marketing
In case it wasn’t clear from the introduction, video marketing is important. It’s so important, in fact, that Facebook’s EMEA vice president Nicola Mendelsohn has come out and said that he expects video to be the ONLY way that marketers will advertise on the platform by 2021.
Just imagine that: no text or images whatsoever - only video content.
B2B IT services provider Cisco has also published its view on the upcoming video revolution. It predicts that by 2021, 82 per cent of all the traffic on the internet will be people watching video clips on social media and corporate websites. The demand for video is insatiable.
These developments shouldn’t come as any surprise. Video is a primordial and natural medium.
Everyone experiences the world in video format, from the moment they wake up in the morning to the moment they go to bed at night. The mind hallucinates the world around us, providing us with an inner movie of everything that happens.
Today, technology means that marketers can tap into this fundamental way of experiencing the world. They can bypass the difficulties inherent in communicating with people through text and deliver brain-friendly content in a flash. It’s almost miraculous.
The Types Of Video Marketing
Video marketing comes in several distinct forms. The format you choose depends on your goal.
- Brand Videos
Brand videos are primarily for raising awareness of your products and services. They’re particularly helpful for startups who are, as yet, unknown in the marketplace. - Explainer Videos
Do you need to explain something about your products or business? If so, snappy, intuitive explainer videos can help. They offer customers a quickfire way of getting to grips with what you do, without having to wade through dull prose.
Have a look at this example - 5 Tips for Creating Engaging, Interactive and Noticeable Social Media Posts (VIDEO) - Event Videos
Event videos are a great addition for companies at conferences and shows. They let you put your best foot forward and communicate loads of info quickly. - Live Videos
Live video is becoming more popular in digital marketing. The so-called “disappearing format” pioneered by Snapchat helps generate a sense of urgency in your audience, incenting action. - Demo Videos
Demo videos show your customers how they can benefit from using your products. This format is great when your customers aren’t sure why they should buy from you. - Interview Videos
Marketing and education are blending into one. Interview videos provide your audience with valuable content while securing brand authority.
There are many other video formats too: animated videos, videos that use augmented reality, and those that attempt to deliver personalised messages.
Crucially, the format you choose shouldn’t be random. It should reflect your goals for the campaign.
How To Market With Video
While video is vital in modern marketing, it’s challenging to get right. You can quickly end up making costly mistakes.
The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Over the years, skilled marketers have unearthed the best approaches.
Here’s are the video marketing tips that work.
- Decide On Your Audience
The first step in any successful video marketing strategy for small business is to characterise your audience.
Figuring out who you need to appeal to might sound challenging, but it is much easier than you might think with modern tools.
Let’s say that you want to advertise on Facebook. Good news: the social media giant now offers advertisers powerful audience-discovery tools.
These tools enable you to immediately see the type of people engaging with your social media content, providing granular details; from their age to their interests.
Defining your target audience is essential. The more you know about them, the more able you are to create content that appeals. - Be Clear On What You Want To Achieve
The reason the video formats discussed above exist is that marketers have different goals. Some want to sell more merch while others want to educate their audiences.
Just like those advertisers, you need to be clear on your goals too. The better you can distil the purpose of the video into a couple of short sentences, the more potent it will be.
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and ask yourself what they might want to get out of watching a video. Always bear their needs in mind. - Plan Your Budget
Video marketing is high-impact, but it’s also costly. Thus you need to be clear in advance about your budget. Some marketers produce incredible, beautiful videos, but fail to generate a positive return on investment.
Ask yourself probing questions. Do you need a videographer? Would it help if an agency created the video for you?
Be clear on your expected market size and limitations. - Develop A Compelling Idea
Millions of people use video every day to market themselves or their products and services. It’s challenging, therefore, to make your video stand out.
Before embarking on any video marketing project, be honest with yourself about whether you have a compelling idea. Will your video stand out among the many others on Facebook, YouTube, and Google?
Compelling videos are rare, but there are things that you can do to make yours more prominent.
- Make your videos time-limited to add urgency
- Include a special offer for anyone who watches the video to the end
- Introduce a storyline that helps to differentiate you from the competition
- Show your customers how you overcome their pain points
- Choose a video format and style that complements your goals.
- Pick The Platforms On Which You’ll Publish Your Video
There are dozens of platforms that allow marketers to publish videos. What’s more, these platforms go out of their way to make the process as simple as possible, while providing myriad options for customisation. When it comes to digital outlets for your videos, you’ve got several choices:- YouTube
- Vimeo
- Snapchat Stories
- Your website
- Instagram (IGTV)
There are other, smaller providers, of course, but you should only consider using these if they cater directly to your target audience.
A similar consideration applies when choosing between the big sites. YouTube and Facebook are the most general, while smaller social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram could provide more targeted opportunities for specific industries.
- Measure The Performance Of Your Videos
No video is perfect. There’s always room for improvement. For this reason, measuring the performance of your videos is vital. Your videos are a tool you can use to see what works with your audience, and what doesn’t.
Crucially, you want the metrics that you use to line up with your goals. So, for instance, if your goal is to spread brand awareness, then you’ll want to focus on impressions.
If, on the other hand, you’re trying to make sales, then your goal is conversions. - Follow SEO Best Practices When You Publish
Like it or not, SEO is essential. Videos that don’t follow protocol will get buried under the mountains of content out there.
Remember to do things like optimise your hashtags, pepper your descriptions with keywords, and link to your site.
Video Marketing Resources
While video marketing is a little more involved than other methods, there’s a lot of support out there. Before you go off and spend money on a video, check that you’re making the best use possible of the resources available to you.
Here are some of the tools available to marketers to help ease the process.
- Wistia is a video hosting and editing platform which provides analytics and integration with other popular sites.
- Unruly. Unruly is a blog that focuses on helping marketers improve their short-form advertising and generate massive impact. It provides a variety of well-worked examples, guiding you through effective strategies.
- Kapwing is an online image, video, and GIF editing platform. The software is in fairly easy to use giving you the tools to make and share your stories on the internet. It has a multimedia editing suite which includes the web's most popular meme maker, subtitler, trimmer, looper, filters, and more.
- Lumen5 is a video creation platform designed for brands and businesses to produce engaging video content for social posts, stories, and ads. You don't need to have any experience, be a tech wizard or buy a load of camera gear (I shoot my videos on my mobile phone) using this clever software, you can create amazing videos in minutes.
- If you’re on a budget, Shakr might help. It’s a DIY video creation software that allows you to whip explainer and marketing videos fast.
- Vidyard is a company that works with businesses to boost the quality of their marketing videos. With a combination of consultancy, tools and analytics, it ensures that the videos you create are fit for purpose.
Conclusion
So what do businesses need to know about video marketing in 2020?
The most important consideration is knowing what you want to achieve. Once you have a clear purpose, your video will follow naturally.
Promoting your video is essential, but it’s not always something you need to do in-house. There are numerous agencies and services out there who can give you a helping hand.
Finally, you need to be careful in your choice of platform. Try to use those that your audience uses. Always deploy the content that is most likely to pique their interest.