Learn video marketing in Leeds
It is not hard to understand why video is so popular these days as it is an easy to digest format that gives our eyes a rest from the overabundance of textual information online. This in one major reason why the audiences reportedly watch 1 billion hours of YouTube videos per day.
It is important to incorporate videos into a brand’s digital marketing content in order to remain relevant in today’s competitive world. Video is no longer just a piece of a brand’s digital marketing plan. It is central to the brand’s outreach and campaign efforts especially in their social strategy.
Videos are absolutely dominating social media and according to a Hubspot study, four of the top six channels on which global consumers watch videos are social platforms. It goes without saying that any businesses not creating video content are falling behind.
The more simple and raw a video is the more authentic the content seems which matters to the audience. Video production is more cost effective than ever- brands can shoot in high-quality, 4K video with their smartphones. In 2017, video rose to the top of the digital marketing tactic list.
Video as a tactic was likely to be streamlined by the brand’s creative team as a one-to-many awareness play with lots of focus on expensive production and little analysis to show for it. But 2018 and 2019 transformed video from a singular marketing tactic to an entire business strategy.
Today, video is a holistic business approach, meaning video content should be produced by all teams in a actionable, conversational and measurable way.
We live in the age of ‘show me don’t tell me’, very few people will read reams of information if there is an option to watch it presented live or pre-recorded on screen.
Why Video?
Video is a versatile and engaging content format that gives audiences a real life picture of what is going on and it is easy to share across multiple platforms.
Consumers like it because it is easy to digest, engaging and entertaining and digital marketers like it because it can give a potentially huge return on investments through various channels. Video is very accessible to anyone with internet access, both to watch and to produce.
There is certainly a trend towards higher quality video on a professional level, anyone can hop onto their technological devices and create their own videos in under an hour.
Types of videos
There are various types of videos which are a part of creating an effective content marketing strategy. It is important to have a solid understanding of the purpose of the strategy before sitting down and creating the video. To that end, the brand should make sure that both the type of video and channel of purpose fit the requirements of the video itself. The different types of videos are:
- Explainers can help educate the audience about the brand’s product and can be used in conjunction with instructions, customer service activities and a whole range of applications.
- Interviews can help encourage conversations between sides and showcase a special guest or influencer. If a brand is creating videos featuring guest experts, they can always re-use the audio and market it as a podcast.
- Product reviews and demo videos can be created by brand ambassadors in return for free products and samples. If a brand can find people in their industry looking to boost their social following, this can be a great way of essentially getting free advertising. Doing this can also help the brand to find out information about the product if the people doing the video reviews have a lot of comments and engagements, resulting in market research.
- Live video is the best chance to get up close and personal with the brand’s audience as it works well on social channels in particular.
Digital Marketers need Video
- Informing and Educating
97% of marketers claim that videos help customers understand a product much better. For the most part, marketers today are no longer taking a pitching type of approach as there is simply too much choice out there.
Consumers and businesses simply don’t need to be sold to anymore instead they are doing a quick internet search to find the best products in their location or even in the world where they will proceed and order it online.
Marketers in many fields need to approach audiences with a value based offer instead of a sale and videos excel at giving customers a really up close look at a product, service and even an influencer or teacher.
Over 80% of all traffic will consist of video by the year 2021. Search engines love videos because they see them as high-quality content and using videos in various types of contents as well as on the brand’s main web pages can work wonders for their search engine optimization as long as the videos themselves are optimized properly as well. This means brands need to incorporate the right keywords, a solid Meta description and a strong title.
- Staying Competitive
81% of businesses are now using video for digital marketing. Videos are an amazing way for getting all sorts of messages out there and if brands think in terms of practicality, a short, unique explainer video can do a world of difference when it comes to educating people on the ins and out of a particular product.
By using storytelling and unique types of media, brands can easily catch people’s attention and hold it while they are actually getting entertained. Depending on how it matches a brand’s product, they may want to use an animated or illustrated explainer video to stand out from the crowd.
- Getting Personal
Live video will account for 13% of traffic by the year 2021. Instagram stories and snapchat are both amazing platforms for offering audiences intimate glimpses or short, personal glances of what brands or individuals are up to and they are great for creative tools.
The interesting thing about these videos is that they are only for 24- hours which creates more of a real-time feel. It also gives digital marketers the opportunity to develop advertisements that are focused on time- sensitive promotions.
Real time content is great for offering a feel of face to face interactions, building brand trust and offering audiences casual and interesting updates like behind the scenes
- Boosting Conversions
90% of consumers claim a video will help them in making a purchase decision. A study claims that 74% of audiences who get an opportunity to see a product in action via an explainer video will purchase it. Landing pages are a great place to upload videos on and supposedly boosting conversions rated by up to 80%.
Videos are great for conversions on websites as they keep people around for long enough to look around the website. This is especially true for those who aren’t big readers. On average, people watching a video will stick around for two whole minutes longer if there is a video included.
Tips for Best Practice Video Marketing
Figuring out what the ideal video length for a particular platform is very important. A study suggests Instagram should be for 30 seconds, Twitter for 45 seconds, Facebook for about one minute and YouTube for 2 minutes.
It is important for the brand to ensure necessary engagement and accessibility as well as boost their SEO which includes captions for auto play and keeping the video on silent if it is on the landing page.
Videos on landing pages can be very effective but only if they do no scare the viewer’s away from the website. The brand should also ensure to keep their video mobile friendly across the board.
It’s also important to understand how the videos are performing, practicing good SEO standards while always checking the metrics. The brand can develop a standard library of various videos and keep them organized on YouTube, later incorporating them into various forms of content such as blogs and emails.
It is essential not to forget the call to action which on YouTube usually consists of a little annotation suggesting that users subscribe to the brand’s channel.
Video is one of the most popular content forms in the world and truth being told it is not likely to be going anywhere soon. In an impersonal digital world, audiences are craving connection and personality. They want to see and hear people in a real life context which should be meaningful.
Video is fun and it is really one of the best ways to get up close to the audience and give them a real glimpse of what the brand and company is doing. The key is to think beyond profit and product, show the audience something about the brand’s philosophy or share some information on an interesting event, or offer some valuable information.
The more the audience knows about the brand’s positive practices, the more likely they are to stick around. 71% of consumers are watching more videos online than they were a year ago, brands can no longer ignore the increasing popularity of this form of marketing. Want to specialize in Video Marketing? Call the above number or email us for your marketing and social media needs. Let’s plan a project together!
