Video marketing is the top marketing priority for companies in 2019. 87% of marketers in 2019 use video marketing, which is up from 63% in 2017. Videos are valuable pieces of content because they are the most visually engaging, and the best way to tell your brand’s story to your customers.
While adding video content to your marketing strategy is highly recommended, your team needs to develop a fully-vetted plan before getting started. Creating beautiful and engaging videos takes much work, and there are some fundamental building blocks you need to ensure your success. Videos can be costly, and setting these in place will help boost your ROI.
You can establish these foundational building blocks no matter where you are in the video marketing process. These tips apply if you are just getting started or launching your next video marketing campaign.
1. Develop Your Brand’s Story
Creating marketing videos can be incredibly beneficial for your business, as long as you're delivering the right message to your consumers. Digital video marketing is much different from a 30-second TV ad. We all experience a high-level of noise between phones, laptops, TVs, and advertisements we see every day. Your goal is to cut past the noise-barrier and grab their attention with your video in a way that benefits the viewers.
Storytelling in videos became popular with companies because it’s a great way to cut through all that noise we experience and grab the viewers’ attention. Our brains are naturally wired to understand and visualize ourselves within a story. It's the easiest and most efficient way for our minds to collect and retain a large amount of information.
Figuring out your brand's story isn't difficult because it already exists. Defining the elements of your story and putting it on paper takes some work. We recommend listening to the podcast Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller to gain a better understanding of how to craft your company’s message in a way that resonates with your audience.
Having your brand's story is the first significant step when developing your video marketing strategy. The story is an essential foundation block for all the videos you create. It’s what further separates you from your competition, and it creates a stronger appeal for your core target audience.
2. Determine Your Strategy
Video marketing needs to be driven by a goal. Creating brand awareness, driving traffic to a site, increasing conversion rates, or whatever you decide. This goal will mold the script of your videos and determines how your message gets delivered to your consumers.
Choosing the right platform will be a pivotal part of your strategy. Not all digital and social platforms are equal; they each have their unique user behaviors and engagement metrics. Having a digital platform in mind for your video before the team creates it will give them the guidance they need to create a custom video for that platform.
According to HubSpot research, these are the ideal video lengths for each platform:
For Instagram, it's best to make your videos short, concise, and dynamic. If a viewer watches more than three to five seconds of your video, they will likely finish it. We recommend making the video aesthetically pleasing from the start and introducing your brand quickly to hook your audience's attention.
Twitter is a bit longer at 44-seconds. This amount of time still allows you time to establish a personal connection with your viewers. Use this time to inform and excite your consumers about your brand.
Facebook videos see higher engagement around 60-seconds. 85% of users on Facebook watch videos on mute, so adding subtitles to your videos is an excellent way to succeed on their platform.
YouTube videos are best at 2-minutes or less; this is the perfect amount of time to cover a large amount of information. These videos can accompany a longer article, get placed at the top of your product's landing page, and pull in followers on other social media channels.
Shorter is better with video marketing. Your videos are competing for attention with everything else your consumer sees each day. If you’re able to educate your audience quickly and concisely, then your video has added value to your consumer's day. You can create a series of videos and convey digestible amounts of information in an episodic format.
3. Be Authentic in Every Way
When consumers are deciding which brands they want to do business with, authenticity is one of the top criteria they have. A 2018 report shows that 90% of consumers find authenticity necessary when deciding which brands they like and support. This number is up from 86% in 2017.
Marketers agree. In that same study, 83% of marketers believe that authenticity is essential to their brands. As marketers, we all strive to be as authentic as possible. Are we though? It turns out, 51% of consumers say that less than half of the brands they've encountered create content that resonates as authentic.
Where’s the disconnect? As marketers, we’re putting out content that we believe is solid, story-branded material, but our customers are digging maybe half of it. What are we putting out there that resonates, and where are they tuning out?
User-generated content (UGC) is what consumers want to see. While some brand marketers may see UGC and brand-created content as equals, UGC resonates with consumers 2.4x more than brand-created content.
UGC is effective for two main reasons:
- It gives your consumers a chance to see what you’re selling in action, which enables them to visualize themselves using your product or service.
- Consumers see it as a message that’s coming from people rather than a business. People want to do business with people, not a corporation. The more you can personify your business and create a community of followers, the more authentic your brand becomes.
While UGC is vital in your content strategy, brand-generated content still serves a valuable purpose also. It's all about striking a balance that works for your audience. Consumers expect to see brand-created content from brands, but the UGC is what resonates the most. Your team should strategize on the best way to build UGC into your content, and that applies to video marketing.
The most common objective of video marketing is to spread awareness and educate consumers about what you offer. When creating your videos, keep the perception of your consumer at the forefront of the conversation. Your videos should portray a customer benefiting from your product or service. Show it in action. Make it easy for them to see themselves as the consumer in the video.
4. Partner with a Video Agency
Video marketing agencies have the expertise and resources to take your story, with your goal and platform in mind, and put it in a spectacular video format. Agencies also have portfolios, so it’s best to check out past projects to see the quality of work you should expect from each agency.
It is best to interview a handful of agencies to see who will work the best with your team and execute with excellence. Put a list of questions together before the interviews begin. Some examples of some questions to ask are:
Do you have a portfolio?
Have you had clients in my industry?
Who is on your team?
How do you use storytelling in videos?
The number of services the agency offers is another factor to consider. Boutique agencies specialize in creating marketing videos, and full-service agencies offer a variety of marketing services along with video marketing. Both types of agencies have their advantages.
Interview agencies as if you were hiring an employee for your company. Have a list of questions tailored to the goal you want to achieve and see who comes out ahead of everyone else. Look for an agency that delivers a customized video project fitting your exact needs, and creates videos that make your audience feel like a hero.
5. Develop a Post-Campaign Strategy
Marketing videos are reusable. Have a plan to repurpose the videos after your campaign is over. It keeps your investment working for you longer, further increasing your ROI. Here are some ways to reuse your video content:
Turn your video into a blog
Writing a blog to accompany your video gives you a chance to write an in-depth narrative of the topics covered in your video. Having a blog with a video also adds to your organic ranking on search engines.
Boost your customer experience
Whether it’s client onboarding, answering FAQs, or employee training, marketing videos can be used to answer common questions your company receives. Answering questions with videos makes more time for your team to focus on other customer experience areas.
Use your videos as eCommerce assets
Use the marketing videos you’ve created to boost your sales by attaching the video as an explainer on your product landing page. Answering more questions during the sales process will increase your conversion rate.
As long as your video content is relevant, look for additional purposes for it after your video campaign is over. Use your marketing videos to enhance all aspects of the customer's experience. Better customer experience leads to higher loyalty.
Final Thoughts
People connect with video content because it is highly visual and packed with information. You can use videos as a way to tell your brand’s story. Make it easy for your customers to picture themselves as the hero in your brand’s story, and winning the day with your products. The stronger the elements in your video are, the stronger of a connection you’ll have with your viewers.
Defining your story, goals, campaign strategy, and post-campaign strategy will help you launch a successful video marketing campaign and stretch your ROI. Partnering with the right agency is a critical step in the process as well if you do not have the resources in-house. Ask the right questions and ensure the agency lines up with your priorities and campaign goals.
There is so much noise out there today that it has caused every consumer to develop a B.S. meter. Your audience can quickly sense if you’re trying to sell them, or connect with them. Viewers will pay attention if you take time to make videos that get to the point, tell a story, and add value to their day. Introduce your brand quickly and make sure you have a strong hook to keep their attention.
