Five things evident in every effective video marketing strategy

For the past couple of years, businesses have been finding new ways to use effective video marketing to gain a wider audience. Compared to other forms of content, videos easily stand out online. This is particularly the case on social media.

 

Effective video marketing can make your brand stand out from the competition

Presenting the target market with a video overview of a new product or service makes potential buyers remember the brand even after a while. Videos also don’t overwhelm customers with text-based content. In just a minute or less, potential leads can get the information they need about the brand.

Thanks to the advent of software and apps, creating a memorable video at little to no cost becomes easier and faster. Startups can use their smartphones to shoot a video. Small to medium-sized businesses can purchase software that creates animated videos. Global companies that have a large budget can hire experts to work on the actual video shoots. But regardless of the size of the business and the people behind the results, it’s imperative to methodically create an effective video marketing plan to maximize the campaign’s reach.

 

Here are five elements every video marketing strategy should include

1. Editorial Calendar

Rather than publishing a video to promote a new product or service, consider presenting the campaign as a series of videos. This way, the marketer can effectively tell a complete and coherent story.

Once the concept of the video content is in place, set up a publishing schedule. Much like when the brand marketer schedules Facebook and Twitter posts to ensure a consistent timetable, the videos must also run the same course.

In using a series of videos, it’s important to space them out evenly. Timing is everything, especially when the primary goal of the campaign is to promote or hype a big product launch.

2. Micro-Videos

Social media has revolutionized the online world. In terms of marketing, short and concise materials are more acceptable than lengthy and elaborate content. Micro-videos or short-form videos typically run a minute or less. They’re ideal for social platforms like Instagram. In this format, the audience can quickly discern the message of the video as they scroll their social media feeds.

On the flip side, it’s also recommended to have longer versions of the micro-videos to explain further and communicate the brand message. The longer ones can be posted on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo or DailyMotion and shared on the company website/blog and social media handles.

3. Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks

One of the most effective video marketing forms is posting tutorials, tips, and tricks relevant to the brand, product or service. Sharing tutorials will establish the brand as an expert in the field. This leads to the audience wanting to learn more not just about the product or service promoted, but also about the company.

Videos containing tutorials, tips, and tricks provide a potential for built-in series. It’s very rare to see a video marketing campaign that only posts a single how-to video. As long as the content of the video is helpful to viewers, the market will keep coming back to watch the next videos in the series.

4. User-Generated Content

There’s nothing a customer trusts more than another customer giving an honest testimonial about the brand. An excellent way to engage and connect with potential leads is to put current customers on cam.

The best thing about user-generated content is the chance for others to see how people are passionate about the brand or the product/service the company offers. When skeptical buyers watch other customers give positive feedback on a brand, they’ll want to experience the excitement too. This will lead to potential sales.

5. Call-to-Action

The audience may enjoy your video, but if they don’t have an idea what to do next, then everything goes down the drain. Every video must have a call-to-action in the end. It can be as simple as encouraging them to buy the product or as elaborate as attaching a discount code for any viewer who’ll share or repost the video.

The bottom line is that there should be a directive (call) from the video to nudge the viewers to do something (action) immediately after watching the clip.

Effective video marketing takes meticulous planning and strategizing. But when done properly, the effort will make the brand stand out from the competition.