Video marketing is extremely powerful in today’s digital-centric society. But what exactly is it and how do you best utilize it as part of your overall digital marketing strategy?
What is Video Marketing?
Unsurprisingly, video marketing is the use of videos to promote your brand or product. It can be used via social media such as Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram and YouTube, by posting on your own website or via marketing emails.
Video marketing doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct advertisement of your services or products. It doesn’t have to be like the traditional adverts you’ve seen on television over the years either. It can be short and humorous or long and informative videos posted in order to increase interactions with your customers on social media.
What are the benefits of Video Marketing?
Video marketing is becoming increasingly popular. In fact, mobile video usage has increased by almost 10 million daily views over the last two years.
Customers are more likely to take notice of your information if its provided in video format. In fact, some research suggests that you can boost email open rates by 19% and improve click-through rates by 65% just by including the word “video” in the subject line.
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According to another survey, 54% of consumers said they wanted more video content from brands or businesses they support.
Video content is also a fantastic Search Engine Optimization tool as it can build back-links to your site, increase likes and shares on social media and drive traffic to your website.
Video also boosts information retention. When we hear something, on average we retain about 10% of the information by a later date. But seeing something accompanied by relevant imagery allows us to retain, on average, 65% of that information.
Customers are more likely to make a purchase after watching a video too. In fact, they are reportedly 64-85% more likely to buy your products or services after watching video content.
How do I incorporate Video Marketing into my current strategy?
We could talk all day about the endless benefits of video marketing, but from the few stats mentioned above, it should clearly be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy in 2018. So how can you best utilize video marketing?
Think Before You Post
Before sharing video content on your website or social media channels, sit down and think about what you want to achieve. Think about your brand and how you want it to be perceived. Think about what reaction you want from your customers when they view your videos.
Flooding the internet with generic videos may get you some website traffic, but a purposeful stream of video content on a regular basis is far more likely to achieve positive results. Create yourself a video content calendar and map out a few months worth of content ahead of time to make sure your content is relevant and considered.
Go Professional
Although you can make video content yourself these days with smartphones and other handy day-to-day devices, consider hiring a professional video production agency to make your content. They will not only be able to deliver something of a higher visual quality, but they will also be able to assist you in delivering the right content for your intended audience. After all, video production is what they do day in day out.
Choose Your Channels
Each social media channel has its strengths and weaknesses. Some appeal to a wider audience, others appeal to a more specific demographic. Depending on your company, products or services, you may have more success with some social media apps and channels than others. Do your research and don’t be afraid to experiment to find the right fit for you.
Utilize YouTube
Don’t underestimate the power of YouTube. Owned by Google, it will help your search engine rankings if used correctly. Make sure you think about SEO tactics when posting content on YouTube and have all relevant keywords and phrases in place.
Share the Love
Video marketing doesn’t just mean sharing your own original content. Providing you don’t break any copyright laws, you can share content from all sorts of sources. Of course, you are unlikely to post content from your direct competitors but think about other companies and brands related to your field or products and share their content.
For example, if you are an e-commerce business selling snowboarding apparel, share videos of the latest snowboarding competitions or a cool snowboarding trick you found on YouTube. If you’re a local vegan cafe, share videos of people preparing home-made vegan recipes. Use your content to establish yourself as a knowledgeable and reputable player within your field rather than just as an opportunity to directly plug your own products and services.
Conclusion
As our attention spans decrease and with millennials and Gen Z becoming dominant consumers in the market, it’s more important than ever to incorporate video marketing into your overall marketing strategy. Think about the message you want to share before creating and sharing your video content and don’t be afraid to post content from other sources.
