In recent years, the popularity of video has surged so much that it has become an essential part of any business marketing strategy that you can’t overlook. With some creativity and a solid plan, videos can help a brand like yours stand out with a unique and memorable voice, capturing and keeping the audience’s attention while delivering valuable information. Plus, with so many ways to share videos, from YouTube to social media and more, including video in your marketing strategy is a smart choice.
Still not completely convinced that you need to include video as part of your business’ marketing strategy? Keep reading for some interesting stats to back up my claim. Plus, learn about the different ways you can use them and considerations when creating your next video!
Video Marketing Insights for Your Marketing Strategy
Earlier this year, Wyzowl and HubSpot released their State of Video Marketing Report for 2018, which provides some very useful stats on why video has become so important for businesses. Here are some insights worth pondering over as you think about adding video to your marketing strategy.
• People watched an average of one-and-a-half hours of video a day in 2017, with 15 percent of those people watching over three hours of video every day! That’s a lot of opportunities to connect with your audience.k
• In just one year, the number of marketers who used video as a part of their marketing strategy grew 81 percent – a growth of nearly 20 percent. There’s a pretty good chance your competition is already using video – you don’t want to get left behind.
• More than half of the 19 percent that did not use video in 2017 have planned to use it this year – you don’t want to be the last one using video in your niche do you?
• The majority of people (72 percent) would rather watch a video to learn about a brand or product than read about it
Need more? Here are a few more stats straight from the HubSpot article mentioned above:
• 97% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service.
• 76% say it helped them increase sales.
• 76% say it helped them increase traffic.
• 80% of marketers say video has increased dwell time on their website.
• 95% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
• 81% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.
• 69% of people have been convinced to buy a piece of software or application by watching a video.
• 85% of people say they’d like to see more video from brands in 2018.
Ways to Use Video for Your Marketing Strategy
While those insights and stats are fantastic and show how important video is becoming for a successful marketing strategy, it doesn’t help answer the question of how you can use video. You may be surprised at how versatile videos are!
• Social Media: This is likely the most popular way for businesses (and individuals) to share their videos. It’s logical – social media is where people come together online to connect with others and brands. Videos are naturally engaging, and the platforms allow for easy uploading and sharing.
• Newsletters: Like social media, this method allows you the chance to get the video right in front of your audience, without waiting for them to approach it on their own. Adding a video that relates to the theme of your newsletter also reinforces the topic. And remember the statistics above – people are more likely to watch a video to learn about something than to read about it!
• Blog: Don’t limit yourself to just sharing your videos on social media and in your newsletters. They also provide strong support for blog posts! Three Girls regularly creates videos which we share on social media, but we also use them for a weekly blog post! Not only will you be placing the content on another channel – giving it more potential for viewers to see it – but you’ll also be doing your website a favor by adding content to your blog!
• Website: Videos can and should be used in other areas of your website – not just as blogging material. Adding a welcome video that visitors can
watch as they enter your website, as well as on other important pages, can provide new and potential customers a unique look into your business and what sets you apart.
Different Video Platforms for Your Marketing Strategy
Depending on your video marketing strategy budget and goals, there are a couple different options for video platforms you can use to upload and share your works of art.
YouTube: Chances are, YouTube was the first website you thought of when I first mentioned video platforms you can use. Since it was established, this video sharing platform has grown into a household name.
There are many reasons why YouTube has become so popular for consumers and businesses. It’s free, widely used and compatible with an extremely versatile range of applications and websites, plus it’s user-friendly!
However, there are a few downsides for businesses to weigh. YouTube is ad heavy (if you’re an advertiser on the platform that’s great news), which opens the potential for your viewers to decide not to watch the video or to leave YouTube to follow the ad. Either way, it’s a loss of viewers. Also, it’s worth noting that the video hosting site is not exactly known for their easy to reach customer service reps, but they do have a fantastic library of tutorials, self-help articles and forums.
Vimeo: Vimeo is another popular video hosting site that many are turning to instead of YouTube. It has customizable features, a great analytics panel and, since it’s not as saturated as YouTube, a much tighter-knit community of viewers. What else does Vimeo offer? Add people from your team to your account so you can easily collaborate on videos together!
These come at a cost though. While they do offer a free service option that’s nothing extremely fancy or exciting, it gets the job done. If you want more features and options, you need to sign up for a paid account at one of the levels they offer. Your account level will also determine the amount of storage you have access to for uploading and storing videos.
Considerations While Creating a Video for Your Marketing Strategy
Are you still with me? Good! Now that you’re ready to add video to your marketing strategy, there are a few things that you need to take into consideration as you start creating your first and subsequent videos.
1. Set SMART goals
Your first video marketing campaign probably won’t go viral, but with time, patience and consistency you can earn just as much, if not more valuable, results. Instead, let your focus be specifically on what you want to achieve with each video. Setting realistic SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) goals will help you monitor the success of your videos.
2. Clear call to action
Your call to action should be a very specific request telling your audience exactly what you want them to do after the video. Do you want them to leave a comment, like or share something, sign up for a newsletter or club, buy an item now or download an app? Just make sure that you don’t ask your audience to do multiple things in your call to action – it can be overwhelming and have a negative impact on your results.
3. Get creative
Know who your audience is. Every time they get on the web, they are bombarded with hundreds of videos making it hard to reach through the noise and get your message across. Put a little personality into your video that piques their interest and gives them something of value that fulfills a want or need; give them a reason to share.
4. Plan social media support
What better way to promote your new video than on social media? But be smart about it and make sure that your platforms are optimized for video sharing. There’s no point in building strong social media support if you aren’t ready to handle comments or can’t track the video’s effect.
5. Analyze and adjust
In order to reach your maximum audience base, be sure to analyze any feedback you receive as well as any analytics that track how often the video was viewed and by what demographics. From that research, adjust some details, create stronger videos and send them back out there.
Video marketing is such an important part of a business marketing strategy for building a brand that is diverse and relevant. Now that you have made it through the entire post, you’re ready to start putting video to use for your business!