With the help of video creation tools and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others, you can create videos about your business, products, services, and just about anything in minutes. These videos can be used across all parts of the sales funnel to increase brand awareness, generate leads, turn website visitors into buyers, and grow your overall revenue.
The average person in 2021 consumed 100 minutes of video a day and Statistica predicts that in 2022 online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic – 15 times higher than it was in 2017.
“Video is the only kind of content to offer close to 100% information retention and super high conversion rates for brands,” says Maiyah Kenz-Davies, Digital Content Creator at Viddyoze.
In this guide, we’ll go through how to create a video marketing strategy for your brand, popular types of video to experiment with, and how to measure the success of your strategy so you can optimize it for whatever goals you want to achieve.
Snapshot
- The benefits of video marketing include reaching new audiences at scale and establishing your thought leadership
- Video was the biggest media trend of 2021 and has become a critical component of any successful digital marketing campaign
- With the right planning, you’ll be well on your way towards a successful video marketing campaign
- If you’re creating a video, then you’ll want to target a specific audience. Once you’ve created your buyer’s persona, you need to think about why they’d be interested in buying your product or service
- Consider what emotions you want your viewer to experience. How do you want him or her to feel about your product? What messages do you want to convey?
- To get more organic traffic for your videos, make sure that you’re using keywords that rank well
- Having a video isn’t enough – it has to be optimized and targeted to your audience. There are many tools available to help you with this process
- The most popular types of video include ads, social media stories, influencer campaigns and live streams
The Benefits Of Video Marketing
With video marketing, you can reach out to new audiences at scale — both online and off. The statistics show that people spend more than 90% of their time-consuming media visually, so why not take advantage of this by creating great content that engages them?
Recommend Reading: 22 Video Marketing Mistakes To Avoid
Why More Businesses Are Going All In With Video
There’s a growing trend among businesses to produce videos to engage customers and prospects. From B2B companies to consumer brands, and even dental marketers are increasingly turning to video to connect with consumers.
According to HubSpot Research, 93% of business leaders say they want to increase their social media presence. Video was the biggest media trend of 2021 and has become a critical component of any successful digital marketing campaign.
87% of marketers who use video saw a positive ROI in 2020, a huge increase from the 33% who said the same in 2015. For 94% of marketers, videos have improved user understanding of a product or service, leading to the 43% who saw a reduction in customer support calls.
“People want to hear more from the brands they follow, and the people behind the brand. To succeed with social media video, you have to be personable and prepared to lift the hood on your brand,” says Nick Fielding, Head of Paid Media at Viddyoze.
How Do I Create A Video Marketing Strategy?
With the right planning, you’ll be well on your way towards a successful video marketing campaign. You’ll know how much money you need to spend when you’re producing videos, and how many you’re going to make. Having a plan means you might miss out on some opportunities, or even worse, end up wasting resources.
The first step is to decide what kind of video you want to create. Is it an explainer video where you show people how something works? Or is it a branded video where you take viewers through your company culture? Once you know what type of video you want to produce, you need to determine who will be creating it. Will you hire freelancers or outsource the project? What tools do you need to create the video? And finally, once you have all the information at hand, you need to start planning.
Pro-tip: Work in the legal industry? Learn how to video market your firm with our dedicated guide.
Find Your Target Audience
If you’re creating a video, then you’ll want to target a specific audience. You may have heard about the term “buyer’s persona” before. It refers to the characteristics of your ideal customer. In other words, it describes the typical person who buys your products or services. For example, if you’re selling cars, your buyer’s persona might be someone who wants a reliable vehicle but doesn’t care too much about style.
Once you’ve created your buyer’s persona, you need to think about why they’d be interested in buying your product or service. What problems does your buyer’s persona face? How could your business help them solve those problems? Your answers to these questions should drive every aspect of your marketing strategy.
You’re now ready to create a video that answers questions about your business. These videos should answer questions such as “Who am I?” “What do I want?” and “Why should I buy my product/service?”
Look into where your target audience hangs out. That could be in Facebook groups, forums, blogs, or other social media platforms. To reach them, you need to post videos there. You also should make sure that you’re posting content relevant to the group. For example, if you’re trying to get views on a YouTube channel about cooking, then you might want to join a cooking forum first before starting a new YouTube channel.
Video Marketing Storytelling
There are many ways to use visuals to tell stories. Visual storytelling is often used as part of a multi-media campaign. Sometimes, however, you may want to use images alone to tell your story.
Consider what emotions you want your viewer to experience. How do you want him or her to feel about your product? What messages do you want to convey? These questions help you decide how to use visuals effectively to tell your story.
Emotionally engaging videos make viewers feel something, whether it’s joy, sorrow, fear, or anger. There are several ways to create these emotions, but here are three techniques that work particularly well:
- Visuals
These can be any type of image, including photos and illustrations. They don’t have to be professionally done; they just need to express the emotion you want to evoke in your audience.
- Music
Music can add an emotional dimension to your video. It can also set the tone for your video and even influence how people respond to it.
- Text
A picture says a thousand words, but a well-crafted message will tell your story more clearly. You could include subtitles or captions to explain certain words or phrases.
Video SEO
In 2006, Google purchased YouTube, then the second most popular website in the world. What does that mean? Well, if you want your videos to appear high up on Google searches, you need to optimize them properly.
To get more organic traffic for your videos, make sure that you’re using keywords that rank well. You also want to ensure that you’re getting as many backlinks as possible. Both of these things help increase your rankings. If you’re not ranking, there’s really nothing else that matters.
In terms of SEO, videos are great because they help drive traffic back to your website. However, if you use YouTube as a means to get there, then you’ll just be giving Google more data points for them to analyze. Instead, create a channel on your own or partner with someone else to host your content. Then, make sure to include other relevant information on your page such as contact info, social media links, etc.
You want to make sure that you don’t duplicate any of the metadata in both places. Doing so might hurt your efforts. In our Guide to YouTube SEO, we cover how to optimize your videos and boost your rankings with just a few simple steps.
Video For Demand Gen
People don’t always share what they want to hear, so video content is often used to persuade audiences into buying products or services. A recent study found that people who watched a video ad were more likely to buy the product after watching than those who didn’t watch at all.
However, having a video isn’t enough – it has to be optimized and targeted to your audience. There are many tools available to help you with this process, including:
- Facebook Ads Manager – The best way to get started on Facebook ads is through their platform. It allows you to create custom audiences based on interest, behavior, and demographics. You can also target by location, device type, and age range. This tool is very easy to use and gives you access to video performance metrics like cost per click, conversion rate, and reach.
- AdWords Keyword Planner – Google’s keyword planner helps you find keywords related to your business and competitors. You can even set up alerts to let you know when new terms are added.
- YouTube Analytics – If you have a YouTube channel, then this tool will provide insights into how viewers interact with your videos. For example, you can see which videos get the most views, comments, likes, dislikes, shares, and other interactions.
- Google Trends – Search trends can give you an idea of what topics are trending in real-time. Find out if there are any particular issues or concerns about your industry that are currently being discussed online.
Video As An Account-Based Marketing Tactic
Video ads are one way to reach people where they spend most of their time — online. Marketers can create videos that appeal to a specific audience by targeting them based on age, gender, interests, location, and behavior. For example, if a customer has recently purchased from your company, you might post a video thanking them for their business. Or you could offer tips on using your service.
The Most Popular Types Of Video
1. Ads
There are three main types of ads: pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll. Pre-roll and mid-roll ads play before or during your content, while post-roll ads appear after your video. They may feature celebrities, sports stars, or any number of real people. They can also include animated characters and logos.
2. Social Media Feed And Story Videos
There are many different types of social media platforms out there including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Each one has its unique features and functions. Social media feeds are generally made up of posts from friends, family, colleagues, and brands we follow. This includes status updates, photos, videos, and links to articles or websites.
Example:
Buzzfeed Tasty
Tasty mixes wide-appeal information with generous helpings of cheese pulls and gooey chocolate slow mos to become synonymous with the POV format for social videos.
But that’s just scratching the surface of what you can do on social media. Check out our comprehensive list of the types of videos to use on social media for more inspiration for how to take your social media strategy to the next level.
3. Influencer Videos
Influencer videos are often used by brands to promote products. They’re usually short and feature a celebrity talking about a product or service. The video might include testimonials from people who say they love the product, or it could show a demonstration of the product being used.
Example:
Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty went 100% digital and combined reviews from influencers with customer testimonials to create videos on a huge scale. This customer-inclusive strategy was successful in getting the brand to 11 million Instagram followers in just a few years.
4. Live Streams
Brands are increasingly using live streaming to communicate directly with consumers. This allows them to connect with customers at any time of day, across different devices and platforms. It’s also a great way to share news stories, events, promotions, and offers.
Example:
Tough Mudder
Tough Mudder used Facebook Live to broadcast their Merrell Michigan Training Event with Coach T. Mud, a.k.a. Kyle Railton. The energetic stream gave an intoxicating honest front-row seat to those who may have been too afraid to take part.
5. Explainer Videos
Explainers have become a powerful tool for brands looking to communicate with their audiences. They explain your brand, product, or service, concisely and engagingly and are an affordable option for businesses of all sizes.
Example:
PlayStation VR
A how-to can provide step-by-step instructions to reduce the customer’s mental load when purchasing a product.
VR is a new technology that may be daunting to trial. Through video, PlayStation coaches its audience through setup from where to place the camera to the amount of space they’ll need.
If you’re looking for an easy way to create engaging explainer videos then check out our favorite list of ready-made and fully customizable templates.
6. Animated Videos
In this day and age, it’s not enough to just tell people something; you need to show them. Animations are a great way to convey information quickly and clearly.
7. Product Videos
These videos are similar to infographics in that they’re visual representations of information. The key difference between a video and an infographic is that videos include moving images and sound for a richer experience. This makes them useful for explaining complex concepts or demonstrating a product.
Example:
Ikea Place
A product video can show what it is capable of, similar to a demo. But product videos focus more on the target audience rather than how to use it.
IKEA used video to show off its augmented reality service and demonstrate how it works.
8. Testimonials
Testimonials give you real-life examples of people who have used a particular service or product. They’re great for convincing others that the service or product works across a number of different use cases. They help prospects see themselves in the offering.
Example:
Square
Find testimonials from businesses that look and feel similar to the customers you wish to attract
Square used testimonial videos to great effect to tell the stories of their customers. Not only are they relatable, they are there to inspire prospects and customers to use the service in new ways.
Video Marketing And The Customer Funnel
Video marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate leads, engage users, and convert them into paying customers. The top of the funnel refers to the point where people first hear about your business. The middle is the stage where they’re considering whether to buy from you. If you’ve got a video ad running during this period, it could influence whether they decide to take action.
A lot of companies will tell you that they want to run ads through the funnel. But if you look at the stats, you’ll see that people don’t watch the whole thing. Only around 20% of viewers complete the buying process. So, if you’re not getting people to click on your call to action button, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
For more information check out our guide to generating funnel building with YouTube.
What Are The Three Stages Of Video Production?
The first stage is planning. This involves creating the content outline, deciding what media you’ll use, and figuring out where it should live online.
The second stage is creation. Once you know what you want to say, you need to find ways to communicate it visually. That means finding footage, editing it together into something coherent, adding captions and music.
“Even cheap accessories like phone stabilizers reduce shake considerably and really elevate the quality of your videos,” says Tom Ainscough, Video Editor at Viddyoze.
The third stage is distribution. Now that you have a finished piece of video, you need to share it with the world. There are many different channels you can send it through, but some of the most popular include social media, email marketing campaigns, and websites.
How Do I Distribute My Video?
If you’re using YouTube, it’s pretty easy to distribute your video. Just upload it to YouTube, set your privacy settings, and start sharing it.
It’s also possible to embed videos from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on your website. Videos are great because they provide visual context for what you’re saying. They also allow you to show off your personality, which is important if you want people to trust you.
If you’re going to embed videos into your website, it should always be done in a way that makes sense for your audience. For example, if you’re writing a post about health, don’t include a video about cooking.
Tracking Your Video’s Performance
The best way to track the performance of your videos is by using Google Analytics. This will allow you to see which pages are getting the most views, where people are coming from, and what they’re doing after watching your content. It provides valuable data about your audience, engagement, and conversion that you won’t find anywhere else.
FAQ
1. What is a video content strategy?
Content Strategy is all about creating a plan for your videos. It includes deciding what kind of videos you should create, how often you should post them, and where they should appear on social media platforms.
2. How do I make my video content better?
The best way to improve the quality of your videos is by using the right tools. There are lots of free resources out there that will help you create high-quality videos, including Viddyoze. If you’re serious about video you’ll want to invest in a handful of tools that will make creating, editing, and publishing videos quicker and easier.
3. What kind of video content should I create?
Video content has become incredibly popular online, so it makes sense to start creating your own. Videos are great at grabbing attention because they allow you to tell stories through images and sound. They’re also useful for sharing information across different platforms, whether it’s social media, blogs, or Ecomm websites.
4. What should a brand video include?
A brand video should tell viewers what your company does, why they should care, and what makes your products different from others. It should also explain how your business works, who your customers are, and what sets you apart from competitors. Your brand video should be creative, engaging, and memorable. If you want to see some examples of great brand videos, check out our guide to how to tell your brand story with video. If you already have an idea of what to include then make it happen with our favorite video templates for brand storytelling.
5. Why is video important for your brand?
Video marketing has become one of the most effective ways to connect with audiences. According to HubSpot, nearly 80 percent of consumers prefer watching videos to reading text. 60 percent of people say they watch more YouTube videos than any other type of content. So if you haven’t started using video yet, it’s probably not too late!
Creating engaging videos doesn’t need to be hard. Viddyoze makes creating beautiful video animations easy, fast and affordable. With our simple platform, anyone can create professional-quality video animations in minutes without any technical skills or previous knowledge! Try it for yourself today.
