Pointers on building a video marketing strategy that works
Video marketing is a big hit for both marketers and consumers. It works mainly because people are more inclined to get information from watching a video than reading a lengthy article. Humans are highly visual, so they respond well to visual-heavy content. Also, videos have more personality and character than text-based materials.
Companies that aren’t producing video content are falling behind their competition. One of the reasons some businesses haven’t tried video marketing yet is because they’re uninformed. Some think that producing a video requires a big budget. But that’s not always true. Even with a small (or perhaps, non-existent) marketing budget, executing a successful video campaign is possible.
The first thing a marketer needs to do is to build a strategy that works. If there’s a concrete plan in place, the campaign is still viable, especially with these pointers:
Work with Available Resources
To properly outline a campaign strategy, it’s important the marketer identifies the resources available to him. This is particularly the case if the budget is limited. For this stage, basic recording tools will do. As long as he has the basic tools and a reliable editing program, he’s good to go.
Also, to maintain a consistent marketing flow, produce a video at least once every two weeks. The time between postings is more than enough to create relevant video content.
Tell a Story
All videos tell a story. Plan a storyline that connects with the brand and resonates well with the audience. Encourage them to heed the call-to-action at the end of the video. The CTA is usually based on what the video marketing campaign is all about.
The thing that turns off a lot of viewers is when the video is a blatant sales pitch. The audience needs to gain something from what they’re watching, and not just feel that they’ve been ordered to “buy this, and buy that.” If the marketer is to promote a new product or service, tie it up with a story that encourages the viewers to find out more about the brand.
People over Products
With video marketing, the approach should always focus on the people and not the products. Of course, it’s important to mention or showcase the product or service, but if there’s no compelling story behind it, then no one would care. Plus, stories revolve around people. Consumers identify with their fellow buyers, and not with objects.
It’s a video campaign. Therefore, it’s the perfect opportunity to put a human face to the company.
Keep Them Short
Packing loads of information into a single video is tempting. However, video marketing is different from a TV program, a movie or a mini-series. In the advertising world, a 10-minute video is already considered lengthy. And unless that 10-minute video has no “blah” moments, viewers may not finish watching it.
As much as possible, marketing videos should be short to accommodate audiences using different devices. Mobile users, in particular, would appreciate a short video because it doesn’t consume much battery life.
Most of the time, long videos are released when there’s demand for it or when the brand already has a significant number of followers.
Video Placement
The platform where the videos will be posted has a major impact on the overall performance of the campaign. It’s tempting to just put them on the company website or blog for exclusivity. However, this is a big mistake. Unless people follow the site or the blog, the videos will only get fewer views. This will hurt the campaign’s ranking in the video search indexes.
There are several platforms exclusively for posting digital videos. YouTube is arguably the most popular avenue. It’s practical to use this platform to publish and share the campaign videos. Other than YouTube, companies use Vimeo and DailyMotion. Snippets of the video can also be posted on micro social media networks like Twitter and Instagram.
Measuring the Returns
The final piece of the video marketing strategy is analytics. It’s important to outline the metrics used to evaluate the performance of the videos and the entire campaign. Monitor the view and share rates of the videos as well as the feedback and comments from the audience. Also, assess what’s working and what isn’t.
Video marketing is all over the internet. It’s no wonder it’s a cutthroat field.
Stand out from the competition by building a foolproof video marketing campaign that works.