Over the last 5 years, the rising popularity of videos for marketing can no longer be denied. According to a 2017 survey by Hubspot (now no longer available), businesses published 18 videos every month on average. This isn’t surprising. With more and more consumers looking for innovative ways of finding products and services, businesses also need to get strategic ways to connect with the audience.
Videos are no doubt changing the business landscape. They can be an awesome tool to amplify your content so you can reach the right target audience and successfully deliver your message.
Amplify Your Content
If you are interested in maximizing your content’s reach, you probably should start getting yourself familiar with how you can use video for content amplification. To get you started, here are 4 ways to try on to take advantage of video marketing.
Entertain, Educate, Encourage
You are probably not new to seeing those funny cat videos all over the web. Chances are, you are one of the millions of people who liked and shared those videos. But let me asked you. After you have enjoyed consuming the videos, have you gained anything? Did they ever encourage you purchase a product or avail a service? Unless you have a cat, the answer is probably no!
No matter how many views and shares a video gains, if it lacks content substance, it will not resonate with your target audience. Just like any other type of content that delivers, your video must also contain the three “E” of a good content. It must entertain, educate and encourage.
One good example of a successful marketing video, is this one by Dollar Shave Club. In 2012, this startup razor-blade company gained about 23 million video views. And their blades sold out 6 hours after releasing the video ad.
The company did not need sophisticated production and famous talents. Clearly, the entertainment aspect is there. But if you look into details, the video informs consumers about what they do and how they help people get jobs. And of course, they encourage people to try out their products. It gained the trust of so many men, that Unilever decided to buy the company for a whopping $1 billion.
We live in the world where people are sick and tired of seeing salesy pitches and promotional messages. You need to get their trust to lead them down the sales funnel. That is why you need more than entertaining videos. You also need to educate people before you can to encourage them to act.
Leverage Social Media Channels
Video-sharing sites like Youtube and Vimeo are two of the go-to places to upload videos. But one thing you’ll notice when uploading to these sites is that your video doesn’t look good when shared in social media.
Sharing your videos with users is one thing. Getting the intended audience to view your video is another. Looks matter. If you want to encourage your followers to consume your content, the first thing you need to do is to make your post inviting.
Allow yourself to explore other channels in uploading videos. If you want to reach your social media audience, it is best if your primary uploading tool is the channel itself. These channels also have some competitive advantages compared to third-party video uploading sites. When uploading video to Facebook for example, users can play and watch the video without redirecting to another page or on the news feed itself. This minimizes waiting and loading time. In Twitter, users can directly retweet uploaded videos. This increases your chances of reaching a wider audience. Click here to see an example of a video embedded in a tweet.
Social media has been a crucial element for promotion. But with the staggering growth in the number of social media users, the same old content can easily disappear beneath newer feeds and updates. With videos, it is easier to capture your audience’s attention.
Moreover, hitting the right target is a lot easier with the use of paid social media advertisements. Compared to staying on one common channel, your video content can better hit the wider market when you branch out to other social media channels.
Share Content Through Vertical Videos
Viewing vertical videos from desktop or TV may seem awkward but it is best when viewed in mobile. The rise of vertical videos may be debatable. For some, it can be a little awkward since most screen space is consumed by two black side bars. But it is a convenient way of viewing videos on mobile devices.
According to a recent survey, in the US, 71% of online minutes are spent on mobile devices. Thus, marketers should never limit themselves to sharing their messages in horizontal videos. AdColony, a media advertiser, is one of the businesses who took advantage of this trend.
AdColony Creative Showcase: UFC® from AdColony on Vimeo.
Adapting to different formats is important. While educational videos which require more left and right screen space are still best viewed horizontally, ads and testimonial videos which are more “face-in”, could attract more mobile viewers in a vertical set up.
Try to explore different kinds of videos in different formats and determine which could best attract desktop and mobile users. Incorporate your findings in your content marketing strategies. As mobile social networks like Snapchat and Instagram get more popular among digital users, mobile videos will soon change the video marketing landscape.
Explore Varieties And Personalize Your Videos
Among the various types of content, videos are surely the best at invoking emotions. Video is unique in conveying emotions like facial expressions and hand gestures. And like podcasts, you can also use music. However, how you attract your audience is actually up to the kind of video you share to them.
Different kinds of audiences have different needs. You have to make sure that you can provide the right content in your video so you can compel your viewers to act. If you want to target audience who are interested in your products but unsure on how they can use it, an explainer video or “how it works” video would be best. If you want to build the trust in your market, you may share testimonial video from existing clients. And if your aim is brand awareness, introduction and educational videos are more suited.
As much as possible, you need to predict what they need and what your audience is looking for. So provide a video with the right content to convince them to try by what you are selling.
Summing Up
As the world of digital marketing continues to evolve, other forms of media advertising are expected to change the current marketing landscape. Specifically, as videos continuously gaining more and more popularity, consumer’s preferences in consuming content may also be changing. As you plan your next content marketing roadmap, make sure you don’t omit video in your content distribution strategy.
Have you embraced video marketing? Can you share your experiences? If you haven’t yet used video, is it a time, money or expertise thing? Whatever your experiences or lack thereof, we’d love to hear from you!
Featured image: Copyright: ‘https://www.123rf.com/profile_apinan‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
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