During a typical day, an average person finds themselves moving between several screens including their computer, TV, and smartphone. Whether you are working, researching, checking your Facebook, or watching a TV show, you are bound to come across online videos and video advertising. Video marketing is the fastest growing online marketing strategy and it is becoming the most direct way to reach your audience. Video content is found everywhere on the internet from our social media feeds to news articles. In fact, Cisco predicts that by 2020, online videos will account for 82 percent of all internet traffic. Because of this explosion in online video consumption, a solid video marketing campaign has the potential to bring a higher ROI than other online marketing strategies.
Not only is online video consumption increasing, but marketing videos are also having a major effect on their audience. Statistics show that video marketing has a high conversion rate as 73 percent of those who watch a video are more likely to convert and 71 percent will have a more positive view of the company. The biggest obstacle that many companies face when it comes to video advertising is the budget. Forming and implementing a solid video marketing strategy that includes the creation of video content will require an initial investment. However, with clearly defined goals and careful planning, you can develop an effective video marketing strategy within your budget.
Clearly Define your Video Marketing Goals
This is the most important step when it comes to any type of online marketing strategy. Video marketing may be effective, but it can be difficult to make your video stand out with so many videos everywhere on the internet. Before you even think about what will be in your video, you must clearly define your goals. Typically, marketing videos are made to educate, inspire, or entertain your audience.
The end goal of your video marketing campaign may be to sell more products, but you cannot make your video seem like a sales pitch. This will not resonate with your audience. Video content has such a major effect on people because it appeals to their emotions. Your company must decide whether your videos will entertain, inspire, educate, or do some combination of these as well as determine how to best appeal to your audience on an emotional level. In summary, you must identify your target audience, know what motivates them to buy, and create video content that will appeal to their needs. wants, and emotions.
Determine the Type of Marketing Video and Content
Now that you have identified your target audience and the goals of your video marketing campaign, the next step is to decide on the content and the type of video that will best achieve your goals. There are so many different marketing video formats you can use including brand stories, commercials, product videos, “how-to” videos, educational videos, and events videos. The trick is to create video content that best represents your products, services, or brand, yet compels your audience to like and share the video.
The type of video that will best help you achieve your goals depends on your niche and audience. For example, the home improvement retailer Lowe’s created “how-to” Vine videos for various home improvement projects. Home improvement is directly related to their products but instead of creating product videos, Lowe’s offered their audience something more valuable with these “how-to” videos. As their audience used these videos for their remodeling and home improvement projects, they began to trust Lowe’s as a good home improvement source. Therefore, when they need to make a purchase for a certain home improvement project, Lowe’s is the first company that comes to mind.
You may need to do some brainstorming or research when deciding on the best type of video and the content to use for your video marketing campaign. Talk to the marketing people in your company about what appeals to your target audience and don’t be afraid to consider user-generated content from your audience. You may also look at other successful video marketing campaigns for inspiration.
Determine Who Will Create your Marketing Videos
The main purpose of the first two steps is to clearly define your goals as well as your target audience and come up with video content ideas before you spend any money on video production. Having a clearly defined direction with your goals and ideas will help you make more effective use of your marketing budget. The first major budget decision you will have to make when it comes to video marketing is who will create your videos. Most companies go with one of the two following options:
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Make the videos yourself
With the good quality of smartphone cameras and the availability of video editing software, it is possible to make marketing videos yourself. This is a very cost-effective option if you plan on making videos on a regular basis. However, it can be difficult for companies to develop good quality videos that will resonate with their audience. If you are thinking about in-house video production, you must take video quality into consideration. Sacrificing quality to save money on video production could actually hurt your campaign by negatively affecting your conversion rate.
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Work with a video production company
Hiring a video production company to create a video is obviously the more expensive option, but you will get a better quality video. Video production agencies can help you clearly develop your ideas and they have the right equipment and editing software to create videos that look professional. They can also help you work within your budget by finding little ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality. If you want to create one really good video for your company, hiring a video production agency is a good option.
Keep Videos Short and To the Point
One of the most effective ways to minimize the cost of video production is to keep your videos short and sweet. This will not only help you stay within your budget, but also help you reach your audience more effectively. Consumers have short attention spans on the internet and will most likely lose interest about two minutes into your video. A video that is two minutes or less will retain your audience and get more people to watch the entire video. You can take an extra step by thinking of a creative way to leave your audience wanting more, which will also make them more likely to share the video.
Create a Video Promotion Strategy
Once the video production is finished and paid for, you will be in control of where to post and promote your video. The video promotion is important for getting the most out of your investment because the more views your video gets, the higher your ROI. Posting the video on your YouTube channel is a good start, but you can’t just leave it there. Post it on your website and your social media outlets as well and incorporate it into a blog to get more views. You can also post your video to relevant social media communities where it is more likely to be liked and shared. The video promotion will cost you very little to do but it will help you get the most out of your video production budget.
If you are interested in starting a video marketing campaign for your company but you are concerned about your budget, follow these steps described above. Defining the goals of your video marketing campaign, identifying your audience, and coming up with ideas for the content and format of the video before approaching a video production company will help you make the best use of your marketing budget. Motionpost is a video production company in the Chicago suburbs that will work within your budget to create a professional video that best represents your brand. Contact Motionpost with your ideas and budget to start your video marketing campaign.
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