Video Marketing

Marketing through videos is not a new idea. What has changed is how vital video has become on every platform and channel. Video no longer helps companies market their brand; it’s a central point in campaign and outreach specifically social strategy. Video has dominated social sector. According to HubSpot, four of the top six channels on which consumers watch videos are social channels.

Why are videos important? Simple and raw videos are more authentic and that is what the audience seems to prefer. Video production is now as cost-effective as ever. You can easily use your smartphone to record HD 4k videos. Regardless, people get intimidated by the process of recording and editing so, we’ve compiled a guide for you to better understand how video marketing actually works.

Focus on video marketing this year:

In 2016, content marketing using video content saw a surge in popularity. 2017 saw video climbing to the top of the marketing tactics list. At first, video marketing focused on expensive production and little on the analysis part. In 2018, video evolved from a singular marketing tactic into an entire business strategy.

In the current year, videos have taken a holistic approach meaning that video content will be presented in a conversational, actionable and measurable way. Videos aren’t just useful for entertainment but they increase conversion rates by over 80%. Just mentioning video in an email subject increases chances of opening by 19%. Videos also play a vital role in helping users make buying decisions.

You can use 12 different types of marketing videos. You need to first know what you want in the video you’re making.

1. Demo videos provide a breakdown of how your product works.
2. Brand videos are created to highlight a company’s vision, products and services, and mission. They are made to make people aware of your brand and to create interest.
3. Event videos revolve around certain gatherings such as a conference, seminar, fundraiser, etc.
4. Expert interview videos are ones where internal experts share their point of view. This is a great way to build trust and authority with your audience.
5. Educational or How-to videos provide the audience with the foundational knowledge they need to better understand your brand.
6. Explainer videos explain why the audience needs your product or service. A storyline can be built to help people understand how the product can help the users.
7. Animated videos are used to depict a service or product using strong visuals.
8. Case studies and customer testimonials help your prospective clients in knowing how your product can solve their specific problem. Satisfied customers can be requested for on-camera descriptions that advocate your product.
9. Live videos provide a behind the scenes view of your company’s journey. These videos generate longer streams and higher engagement rates.
10. 360° & virtual reality videos are very interesting as the viewers scroll around to see content from all angles. It is as if the viewers are physically present within the video. With virtual reality, viewers can navigate and experience things within the videos.
11. Augmented reality is a style video where a digital layer is added to what you are viewing in the world. This helps you view an item in your own space to see how an item will look placed in the setting.
12. Personalized messages in videos are a creative way to communicate with someone via email or text message.

Center your video around a story not the sale

The same rules that apply to content marketing are applied to video marketing. Center your video around the story and not the sale itself. Videos having sale clutter is annoying for viewers and repels them instead of attracting them. Center your videos around the service you’re providing. Make use of the emotive power of videos and target the customer’s desires and needs. You can add a tracked URL at the end of your video with a call to action.

Make your video feature the best 10 seconds ever

Mostly users click away from content so it is important that you glue them in the first 10 seconds. Short and comprehensive videos are recommended by customers. Get right to the point and manage expectations within those valuable first seconds. Ask questions to spark people’s interest. Try that your video conveys its value and answer the question in each viewer’s mind.

Use humor in videos

It is often thought that humor has no place in the corporate world but it is an excellent help in getting your point across the audience. It is an efficient and economical way to spread your message so why not use it.

The audience does not want boring videos that are informative and follow the same dull pattern. So, what exactly are the audience looking for in a video? They want the videos to be informative while still giving them a laugh or two. They want to be pulled out of their boring routines and forget their worries for the duration of your video clips.

Optimize for SEO

A number of things can be done so that your videos are accessible to search engines. First of all, host your video on your own domain before you upload it to any other site. This will help to get the maximum SEO value from your content. The second thing you might want to do is to enable embedding in your videos. Embedding helps you increase the chances of receiving inbound marketing links. Also, avail video sitemaps. Descriptions play a very vital role in SEO optimization of video content. The description will help Google search spiders to understand the content of your video and what it is about.

So make sure that you tag your videos with appropriate keywords and choose unique titles. Every keyword has a purpose and Google needs to know about the purpose of your videos in order to rank them.

There you have it, we've provided you with a basic guide of what and how video marketing can help you advertise your services and products.