video-marketing-strategy-gets-results

3 Steps to Reaching Your Ideal Customer with Video Content

Is video a part of your marketing strategy? If it’s not, it has to be! Why? Well, consumers are now comfortable with being marketed to via videos, and many now expect it from the brands they know and trust.

I know it took me a while to get comfortable with video, especially the ones that required getting me in front of the camera! But there are many ways videos can be done so if you’re camera shy, fear not, you don’t need to be a video star to get started.

The truth is, having a well-written product description, catchy paid ad or slick landing page isn’t enough to cut it for a lot of your target audience anymore. According to a recent survey by Wyzowl, 84% of respondents said that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.

Now, maybe you’re nodding your head that yes, you do focus on video marketing. That’s great! But do you have a strategy in place based on your ideal customer profile, or are you simply throwing content out there, hoping that something will stick?

According to CISCO, video traffic will be 82% of all global consumer internet traffic by 2021.

Here are a few video marketing benefits to further convince you that a carefully crafted plan is worth it:

  • You can build awareness around your product or service.
  • It’s a clever way to engage/entertain your target audience on your website/social media.
  • It helps clearly explain your product or service to people.
  • It contributes to customer retention if you offer valuable tips and advice.

It’s time to seize the opportunity to utilize this essential, yet often-overlooked marketing tactic.

Here are three steps to create a video marketing strategy that increases engagement, leads and sales.

  1. Choose your channels.

    Not every brand should be creating YouTube videos, nor should every small business owner put videos on their website’s home page.

    For example, I’ve found Twitter to be the best platform for sharing eVision Media blogs and articles, but Facebook is where it’s at to connect with my target audience via video. Could crafting Facebook Live videos be your ticket to your customers’ hearts?

    private content with my AMPLiFY! Business Academy members

    I share private content with my AMPLiFY! Business Academy members.

    To give you some insight into what platforms might be best for your small business, here’s a quick breakdown:

    • YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world (after Google, who owns it). You’ll find a huge range of industries and topics on this platform.
    • Twitter is generally used more as a news site than a social media site, and content has always been largely consumed on mobile.
    • LinkedIn is a sweet spot for sharing more professional material. LinkedIn claims that people say it’s 3 times as trustworthy for delivering worthwhile content, compared to other social platforms.
    • Facebook: According to Facebook, there were more than 3.5 billion live broadcasts in 2018. Since 2016, Facebook Live broadcasts have doubled each year.
    • Snapchat is growing fast and is generally associated with a younger user base (think millennials).
    • TikTok is also considered a platform for youth; stats show that roughly 50% of the global audience is under the age of 34; 26% are between 18 and 24.

    So, where is your ideal customer hanging out?

    Quantum Ascendance sharing HR related video tips

    One of our clients, Katherine Hartvickson of Quantum Ascendance, created educational clips for better communication in the workplace.

  2. Plan your content carefully.

    I’m not telling you that every word has to be scripted, or that you can’t do an impromptu Facebook Live to respond to a current event.

    But before you record your message, ask yourself a few questions. Will this footage add value to your customer’s life? Does it represent your brand’s voice, tone and mission? Are you succinctly explaining yourself and providing a clear call to action?

    To find the answers to these questions, always go back to your ideal customer profile (ICP). This will tell you what your target audience is, from their age bracket and occupation, to their lifestyle and pain points.

    As part of figuring out your ideal customer profile, you probably crafted buyer personas as part of your initial branding strategy.

    And it’s not just about what you say, but how long it takes you to say it. A big part of your video marketing strategy will be determining the length of your content. For example, research shows that Instagram videos should be around 30 seconds long and YouTube about two minutes. BuzzSumo found that the top-performing Facebook Lives are 15 to 20 minutes long.

    By building out a calendar and planning your timing in advance, using this tactic will be easier and more effective. You won’t be fumbling for ideas at the last minute or shooting stuff that doesn’t resonate with your target audience.

    Artifact Uprising

    Artifact Uprising allows customers to create custom photo books, cards and prints. They used video to tell a customer’s touching story.

  3. Try it out and test it repeatedly!

    Many small business owners are intimidated by the idea of shooting content to share with their customers.

    But you don’t need a huge budget, fancy equipment or movie-star looks to be successful. What you do need is the ability and willingness to listen to your customers.

    Just like you would for a display ad campaign or a landing page, you should look at your data to figure out what’s working and what isn’t. You can see how a campaign is performing by measuring things like:

    • Engagement rate: This measures the interaction someone had with your content, including time watched and whether or not they skipped through.
    • Play rate: This is the percentage of visitors who actually clicked play and began watching.
    • Social sharing: This shows how many people are sharing your footage across social platforms.

    A/B testing can be a valuable way to look at things like what performs better at what time of day, which channels are best for a specific piece of content and what length your target audience prefers.

Video marketing has gone from a nice-to-have to a must-have. It’s well worth your time and effort to create compelling and engaging footage that will have your customers coming back for more.

But no matter what you come up with, remember that today’s customers deserve and demand empathy-based marketing. Learn more about empathetic content marketing here, and happy filming!

Originally published here.