Individuals associated with the online space have gradually begun investing in Video Marketing. It is said that this investment is towards one of the top-notch marketing strategies prevailing the world.
To put forward an idea, visuals have a proven track record of being the best. Just think what videos could do to your potential customers when you are already reaping benefits from pictures and still visuals.
This form of gaining potential customers is not new but it is less adopted. Today brands are strategically using it in the best way because compared to still images, actions are always better.
Again it is a subjective topic and might not work for everybody but it does for most of the people. Videos are about narrating the emotional values of a brand to the customers. It may seem that it is an expensive and complex practice but in reality, it is not.
To increase brand awareness and recognition this is amongst the best practices existing.
Things to remember for a Video Marketing strategy
Resource assigning
The first thing to do is designate a proper time frame and budget for the video i.e. team, editing software, equipment, and others.
Story Telling
This entire practice is highly dependent on your story. It should be well thought and thoroughly reviewed.
Connecting with the audience
Simple storytelling will be a movie. Hence, your video must create engagement with the audience.
Tracking the time
The general rule for a marketing video is that shorter is better. Anything no matter however small, if it serves no purpose omit it immediately. It is necessary to make the best in the provided attention span shots.
Publishing
Publish your creation on flexible resources like website, YouTube, social media handles and other local platforms. This will help you in attaining ease-of-promoting.
Scrutinize
Scrutinize the statics and evaluate which platform or video performed the best. This will help you in sorting and working on the weaker sections.
Advantages
Marketers are focusing on this aspect and the strategies related to it because of the association of multiples advantages.
According to a global survey, the audience will watch a quick video of a product rather than reading a descriptive article.
Instead of working out on the paper works of the technical sales process a visual sales video will do the job for you.
At least 75% of the population will choose a video over an article at any random day. Advantages associated with it are as follows.
- Audience engagement is improved through video marketing. This is because the majority of the organization’s efforts are focused on creating a trust relationship with the clients.
- It helps you in linking the bridge of actual company values to audience expectations to promote transparency with clients.
- It is a kind of goldmine to drive traffic to your website, boost likes & shares, and also help build backlinks for your website.
- Keywords and tags with the posted videos will help you attain your desired reach out at a faster rate.
- Information retention is prominent with videos compared to that of texts. This means that your potential client will retain more than 60% information they have seen on your video. On textual contents, the average retention is less than 15%.
- In terms of preference, the ratio of the video to text is 4:1
- It is estimated that for the year 2020-2021 content related to video will have online traffic of at least 70% of the entire online traffic. Hence, this is one of the prominent methods of attracting new traffic.
- The best part is that customers are more likely to make a purchase after watching a video. Percentage-wise at least 60% of the audiences are more likely to initiate a purchase.
Challenges
Video Marketing includes costs like online space, online data cost of consumption, equipment, and editing software.
There was a time in the early phase of this decade when this cost was extremely high. This particular method is all about using visuals to create buzz.
And this comes at a cost. A sound marketing team can help you with cost-cutting because there are small and big obstacles surrounding it.
Some of the most crucial challenges in this field are related to the narrative and strategy. Arousing confusion regarding an effective strategy and line of approach is haunting the makers.
The present-day focus is on to create content that can be consumed by the people. It is about creating content that can make an impact and is shared widely.
Understanding the metrics and the indication of the video’s success or failure is also equally important. Deciding and improvising on the areas of improvement is essential.
Best Practices
In the course of time, individuals around the world faced various challenges as mentioned in the above section.
Hence, to tackle and overcome such challenges best practices of Video Marketing emerged gradually. Planning, testing, analyzing, and re-testing is the key to achieve results.
The primary aim of the video is to engage the customers by featuring a story or a narrative. But, it is essential that it is in synchronization with the sales funnel so that the marketing perspective can be well-aligned.
Significant question on the target audience, the purpose of the marketing goals, and that of the video must be addressed.
In short, the marketing strategy should be driven by data and the overall bottom line. Primarily a solid strategy for each level of the sales funnel should be made.
Then outline the goals and relate them to the content. Understand the crucial metric required for the video to attain success. Have a look at it and analyze. Tweak it wherever required and spend sufficient time to make it effective.
This method is a cornerstone in the existing and upcoming decade. Hence, your marketing efforts must inevitably focus on it.
Things to do
Work on the concept
Before starting anything it is necessary to know what exactly you intend to do. Consider the viewer’s journey and identify the target audience.
Do not include entertainment when people are expecting to learn something. A clear concept will help you in attaining the right content that your users are looking expecting.
Call-to-Action
It is important that your video ends in an impactful manner and then calls for actions from the viewers.
It can be as simple as subscribing the video but must be highlighted in a manner that is light as well as catchy. Anything that attracts the eye and is prompting will do the job for you.
Emphasize on the screen
More than 70% of online videos are watched on a mobile screen. Hence this must be a part of the planning and execution of the content. Font types, audio quality, tempo, and similar factors must be polished before publishing.
Decide the duration
It will be a waste of resources and money if you unnecessarily drag your video. For a video marketing campaign, the audience cannot stay for more than two minutes.
If it is an engaging campaign you can take a maximum of three minutes before they are bored.
Start with a bang. Deliver accurate content, enlighten them the best your brand can offer and then quit while including a call to action.
Things to Avoid
Promote without dignity
Bragging about your brand or informing the audience that your product is great will do no good for your campaign. People believe when they see it happening.
It is essential to make a sensible video of the problem faced and gradually introduce your brand/service that can help them out in that situation.
Ignoring the analytics
Even experienced markets at times overlook the analytics of their campaign. This will never enable you to learn the factors that lead to the failure of your strategy and concept.
The under usage of analytics data can also create a lot of trouble. Hence, it is recommended that it is kept in check irrespective of the results of the campaign.
Inconsistency
For the same brand, product, or service consistency in video marketing is essential. People will stop relating to your brand if you dissolve your consistency with every new video.
Do not change an idea altogether. Play around it and gradually focus on evolution.
Expectations (Unrealistic)
Expectations are inevitable, but it is necessary to avoid unrealistic ones. One video will not help you in attaining your desired sales figure overnight.
Your brand is not going to be the most talked-about with just one campaign. You have to give time for survival and then re-enter as required.
Conclusion
Social handles, online streaming, and advancements in technology have made video ads a significant part of human lives. It helps in achieving a direct brand connection and reflection of its values.
One can conveniently establish a brand voice for an appeal to a particular target audience group through videos.
It will be no wrong to say that one is at a huge loss of business and potential lead if opting out of videos in their strategy. With each small release, your product will reach to hundreds of new users.
This enhances visibility and enables clients to connect with you at an emotional level. It helps in making an impact which is not attained through any other marketing medium.
