Introduction
Video marketing isn’t new. We all know that it has been an increasingly popular strategy over the past decade. Recent Technological development in hardware and software has made producing and sharing video content easier and cheaper. Almost every brand, from small to big, uses it and it is something we are exposed to online and offline every day.
But do you know how powerful video marketing actually is?
Check out the findings from Wyzowl’s survey, covering roughly 800 unique businesses and consumers over the past 7 years:
People are twice as likely to share video content than any other type of content.
- 69% of consumers prefer watching videos rather than reading about a product
- 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool – An increase of 41% since 2016
- 94% of video marketers experience increased audience understanding of products and services – resulting in more leads and fewer support situations
Impressive right? Video marketing is relevant and something you should use to boost sales. But how do you start and most importantly afford production? We’ll discuss that next.
Shooting marketing videos doesn’t have to be expensive
Video marketing is no longer reserved for big professional productions with huge budgets. In recent years, the video format has changed significantly and has become a lot more cost-effective in many ways.
Fortunately, video has become so easily accessible that anyone can use it. Video content can be produced relatively low-budget with short production time, and subsequently used on all platforms with great effect. For example, you can film in 4k resolution with several smartphones.
High or low budget?
Video production can be done in many different ways and made with several different budget sizes. Authentic low-budget homemade videos can be as effective as high-budget state-of-the-art-produced video commercials.
The professionally produced videos with greater budget and production time can of course give you a more professional end product. Here it will make sense to book a professional production team for the job. And while that may sound expensive, the cost of professional video production has decreased in recent years, as the technology has improved and has become much easier to produce high-quality video.
With either budget, it is important to have a well-thought plan from the start, so you will save time and effort from the first day of filming and increase the chances of reaching your goals.
You already know the drill
A good rule of thumb is that the same rules that apply to marketing material in text, also apply to video. Concentrate on the value you create for the customer and not the value the customer creates for you. Make sure to add emotions to your story with sounds and visual effects to communicate the recipient’s wants and needs. In addition to the message, the staging and expression in the video also help to characterize your brand and build trust.
Anything is possible with video
One of the most effective ways to acquire new knowledge is through visual learning. Think about how easily you can teach your customers how to use your product or service through video.
According to Cisco’s Social Media Manager Tim Washer, you shouldn’t be afraid to use a little humor to communicate messages. “Usually people are a little nervous about using humor in the business world and don’t think it belongs. But if it helps explain difficult messages, why not try to see if you can make it work.”
When humor is used to entertain the viewer, it often makes them more engaged with the content. So one of the things you can take with you here is that sometimes you have to break the mold in terms of how competitors use the medium and dare to stand out and take a chance.
Steps to plan your useful video marketing content
First, find out what you would like to communicate and what audience you are targeting. Then decide which channel(s) to upload and broadcast through. Listed underneath, are some of the things you can keep in mind whilst creating:
- Many people watch videos online without sound – Google has a smart guide to implement subtitles to Youtube – which increases the likelihood of your audience sticking around and getting your message.
- Never burn subtitles into the video. Instead, you should always attach them as “nameofyoursubtitles.srt” files, so they can be scaled responsively on all platforms.
- The cropping of your video is important to have in mind because the effectiveness varies on different platforms.
- The length of your content is important because the time people are willing to watch varies from platform to platform.
- Include a call to action (CTA) in your videos to increase your conversion results.
When the steps above are determined you can prepare production with a storyboard. A storyboard contains outlined camera angles, written speak/cues, and a set time frame for the length of the video.
Another good basic rule is that your message in the video must be delivered in a short and precise manner. As long as the content is relevant to the viewer, they will stick around. This is of course something that will be slightly easier if you go with the high-budget production where you can outsource for help.
Measuring and gaining success through audience data
You must understand that your audience is unique and that gaining success is a process. For that fact, the best way for you to gain success with video marketing is to analyze and study audience feedback and interactions.
The most common metric is video engagement including likes, comments, shares, and retention. Also, you can analyze if the content produces new conversions on your website, through analytics tools such as Google Analytics. If the video doesn’t give the leads you dreamed of, you might want to think about implementing a call to action (CTA) or rethink the content’s relevancy.
