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If you haven’t heard already, video is the way of the future. Video has been hailed as the “future of content marketing,” and 2017 may, in fact, be that year. It’s hard to disagree once you consider that current estimates say that by 2019 or 2020, 80% Internet traffic will be in video form.
Even in 2017, 74% of all video traffic is projected to be video content. Already, ⅓ of our time on the Internet is spent watching videos.
If you take a look at YouTube, one of the biggest video platforms today, the rate at which mobile videos are consumed increases by 100% each and every year.
The ability of video to generate engagement, leads and get businesses to the bottom line much more effectively than other forms of content is why it’s so powerful.
Content marketers are responding to this data quickly. There has already been a significant increase in video marketing. 69% of businesses – the smart ones – have already been incorporating video marketing into their strategy.
Not only are the leading advertisers currently producing video content on YouTube every single day, but this trend will continue to the point that businesses will have to produce video content if they want to remain at all relevant.
There are so many reasons to explain the explosive phenomena of video marketing.
At its core, its highly visual and interactive qualities make video very compelling. It is able to evoke something of the human connection and to establish a relationship with customers, therein building trust.
Bite-sized videos also appeal to our shrinking attention spans and allow businesses to readily transmit their brand message within minutes. Videos appeal to the way in which consumers want to digest content, which is, of course, quickly but also while they are out and about.
As we know, content must cater to its audience in order to be successful, and video does precisely that.
What Video Marketing Can Do For Your Business
Increase All Aspects Of Your Brand (Recall, Identity and Message)
Studies have shown that people are more likely to remember videos than written material because it appeals to so many of our senses in such a strong way. For businesses, this means greater brand recall and ultimately more leads.
For example, 46% of people have taken some type of action after watching a video. This ranged from searching for more information to visiting the business’ website to even purchasing the specific product mentioned in the video.
Your brand’s identity is easily communicated through video, specifically through things like your logo.
Even more powerfully, video taps into something of the the human connection that allows for your brand message, and your value to the consumer to reach new heights.
Increase Your Website’s SEO
According to HubSpot, 65% of leading personnel in businesses will visit your website after watching a branded video.
Videos are also highly shareable, which expands your business’s reach by extension. Part of this is due to the fact that videos are easily viewed across all devices, unlike other mediums.
Roughly 92% of people who watch a mobile video will then share them. Simply Measured found that video is shared 1200% more than the whole of both links and text combined.
In short, the most important thing that you can take away from this article is that every business needs to include video as part of its marketing program. As with every marketing strategy, it is always best to be ahead of the curve. That means no short of producing video content now.
There is a certain finesse to video marketing (although you shouldn’t let that scare you away!), but this article will cover everything you need to know to maximize your video content to deliver results.
What Kind of Videos To Make
One of the commonly asked questions regarding video marketing, and one you will certainly have to answer, is what kind of videos should my business make? Indeed, producing videos can be an intimidating prospect.
If you find yourself to be in this situation, consider simply duplicating your current content, such as your blog posts, but in video form. Once you feel comfortable, you can move on to producing other types of videos.
Another option is to take the ideas below but to make them shorter in length. Over time, you can make them a little longer as you get more comfortable.
Of course, remember that not all video content is created equal. Here are some of the most effective types of videos that businesses should produce if they want to make their video marketing efforts as effective as possible.
Educational (Classic Marketing) Videos
Videos increase understanding of a product or service by 74%. According to Neil Patel, a leader in the marketing industry, educational videos – i.e. videos that the customer will find valuable – are particularly well suited to the video form.
An example of an educational video might be an online interview with a leader in the industry such as a CEO.
Another educational type of video (and with great interactivity) is product demo. This is a classic option, but still very popular and effective, with excellent conversion rates. Just like video marketing itself, there is a finesse involved in order to maximize the results of your product demo.
An extension of the product demo is the how-to/tutorial type of video, a more in-depth version of the product demo. A benefit of tutorial videos is that they are useful at building your brand when you post them on platforms like YouTube.
They also establish you as an expert. People want to learn from experts. You can also turn tutorials into a “series” kind of format, which means people will be more likely to tune in weekly (or on whatever schedule you set forth with your audience).
Comparison videos, in which you compare two products next to each other, can make it easier to see the differences between two products, priming your audience for purchasing.
Testimonial and/or review videos are also very effective, providing the consumer with increased trust in the product.
Live Videos
When it comes to live videos, a great option is to do a live Q & A on Facebook. They are always a fan favourite. The interactive aspect, in particular, also creates strong social media engagement.
Creative, Story Type of Videos
Consider telling your brand’s story in the form of a video. This ultimately humanizes your company. A great example of this is GoPro’s “About Us” video. If you have a production team on your side, this will be greatly beneficial.
Company Culture Videos
Company culture videos have a variety of purposes. They can increase team spirit, recruit potential candidates and let you showcase what makes your company unique.
They are also great for businesses who are just starting out with video content creation. While there is a certain finesse to producing effective company culture videos, a lot of businesses have success when they incorporate humour into them. Twitter is a great example of this.
Customer-Generated Content
This kind of video can actually generate more results than content created by actual companies. By customer generated content, this means getting your customers to create content in the form of a review of a product of service.
Of course, the question becomes how do you get them interested in such a task. Offering prizes to the top people to create the best review has great potential.
Low-Budget Options
For those not willing to spend on video production just yet, Instagram video and Snapchat also allow you to create video with just a smartphone. Google+’s Hangouts on Air simply requires a webcam and a microphone.
Other Video Ideas
One way to drive engagement is to make videos based on keywords that your particular niche audience is searching for.
Editing Your Videos
Now that you know what type of video to make, what about the best software to edit your video? Obviously, this won’t apply if you are making live videos, but if you are producing pre-recorded videos, you will want to make your videos as professional looking as possible.
This will make them more appealing overall and make them more likely to be shared. Of course, don’t think that you have to invest in expensive software. Some of the most classic movies of all time, like Braveheart, were edited with some of the software on this list.
Here is your guide to the best free video software in order to edit your videos.
Additionally, it important to add subtitles so that those who are hearing impaired or those who speak a different language can also enjoy your video content. It is not difficult to do, but it does take some time at the beginning.
You can add subtitles by downloading TEncoder or by using something as simple as any basic text editor such as Windows’ NotePad.
Where To Post Your Videos
Businesses were once encouraged to post their videos on Vine. Now that Vine has perished, what platform has taken its place?
There is not a one size fits all approach when it comes to posting your videos. This is why Neil Patel advises experimenting with a range of options to see what delivers the best results for your particular business.
Whatever you do decide, one of the most important things to consider is that each platform has its own audience and your videos should be created with each particular platform in mind.
It is also important to always embed each video into the actual platform itself as opposed to providing a link to the video. With that in mind, however, there are a few platforms that stand out from the rest based on their user base.
These platforms tend to be social network platforms – particularly Facebook and YouTube. These two platforms generate the most amount of traffic and all businesses can benefit from them, large or small.
Facebook has millions of users and therefore it is critical that all businesses, regardless of size, post videos on this platform. 500 million people watch videos on Facebook every single day. Facebook also ranks videos higher, which is just another reason why you should post videos here.
As we said, it is important to optimize your content when posting on Facebook. First of all, keep the Facebook audience in mind. In other words, videos should be entertaining and light on information.
In order to maximize engagement on Facebook with video, it is also important to do things like inspiring your audience or educating them.
Another option when it comse to Facebook videos is to utilize the Facebook Live feature, allowing you to create engagement instantly.
YouTube
YouTube is the second most popular search engine, next to Google, making it a leading platform when it comes to posting video content. Arguably it is one of the most important places to post video content (in addition to Facebook and your own website).
How-to videos (tutorials) are particularly great to post on YouTube because these make up some of their most popular searched for items.
In order to succeed on this platform, ensure that you post videos on a consistent basis to ensure that you build up a subscriber base.
There is a caveat to this, however. While you want to establish a base of viewers on YouTube, you don’t want to do so at the expense of people avoiding your website or blog.
It is also important to interact with the people who watch your videos and take the time to comment and this is particularly true on YouTube. Pro Tip: use their comments as potential video ideas!
In terms of driving traffic to your YouTube video and YouTube channel, mention keywords that your audience might search for. Saying these words in your actual video will ensure that they are evident in your transcript.
Instagram is another effective channel for posting video content given its massive user base, giving you the option to share both permanent and more fleeting content with the Instagram Stories feature, which showcases your video for a period of 24 hours.
Just like Facebook, Instagram is very effective at increasing brand awareness, but the artistic nature of the platform makes it a particularly great medium for sharing your brand story.
What About Everything Else?
You can’t go wrong with the above platforms. However, you may have noticed that we have left out a number of other potentially very viable options, from Snapchat to Twitter to Vimeo, all of which facilitate video sharing.
As we mentioned, social media platforms come and go. In determining if you should also incorporate these other platforms into your marketing strategy, first consider your audience.
For example, if your product caters to an older audience, Snapchat may not necessarily make sense. Considering your audience is particularly important for businesses without a lot of resources since it takes up a significant amount of time to produce videos.
There are a few other things to consider when deciding if these platforms are worth your investment. According to the CEO of Communicus, companies should consider if the platform makes it possible for consumers to potentially purchase a product down the line.
A new platform should not also not conflict with any of your current platforms. And be sure to consider the amount of time needed to invest in the particular site when making your decision.
Mistakes to Avoid
You are bound to make mistakes along the way, but if you can do your best to avoid making at least some of them, you will be ahead of the game.
First of all, we acknowledge that video marketing can be intimidating for businesses. While the best approach to tackling this problem is to simply “do it,” there is also a line here that you don’t want to cross.
By this, we mean being tempted into not taking the time to required to produce thoughtful content.
Patel identifies “rushing into it” as the number one mistake when it comes to producing video. He suggests scripting your videos first.
Another common mistake that marketers make is not including a call to action somewhere in their video. Call to actions provide excellent opportunities for conversion that all too many businesses miss out on.
You have a range of options when it comes to calls to action, from offering coupon codes to use on your website to suggesting they follow your blog to directing them to follow you elsewhere on social media and so on.
Other Tips
- Videos should be short and get to their purpose as quickly as possible. This will ensure that people stay to actually watch the video instead of clicking away.
- Include a storytelling element in your videos (another tip courtesy of Patel!). The reason for this is that it makes videos much more shareable. The “hero” archetype does particularly well.
- Positive emotions are key. The journal Psychological Science showed that people are more likely to share content that has an emotional element to it (and, more specifically, positive emotions).
- Platforms such as Instagram stories are primed toward short, bite-sized content. For example, this platform only allows you to share a minute worth video (which still allows for a ton of information to be shared).
The positive thing about these short videos is that they are readily shareable on social media. The point is that short videos are more ideal.
Now that you know the why and how, get ahead of the curve and start posting videos now. You will end up doing so in a year or two anyway, so why not get ahead of everyone else and start today?
