The art of Video Marketing
Everything you wanted to know about marketing videos (and didn’t dare ask)
We’ve reached the era of video marketing. This essential channel needs to be a key part of any smart marketing campaign- but what makes a video awesome? How do you draw in your viewers? Or even reach the right ones? Today Zebra 360 Digital Marketing takes a look into the wild world of video marketing and why your campaign needs to embrace it today.
It’s stories that sell
With video, especially, it’s tempting to be sucked back into old-school marketing ideas and hard sells. Yet that’s not where the true power of this format lies. In the modern ad-sphere, you’re competing with a LOT of content, much of it consumable for free. Your audience is no longer captured, forced to sit through adverts. They have an array of dazzling content, much of it low-cost or free, to occupy their time. If you’re not adding value to their experience, they aren’t watching you- and that’s as simple as it gets.
Instead, your videos should create a connection with your audience, building an understanding of how you can add value to their lives. It’s that connection that will bring customers to see you as a trusted partner in life- and drive sales to your door.
KISS still applies
Of course, that’s not license to ramble. Remember the three C’s of video marketing Cohesion, connection and concise storytelling. Attention spans are shorter than ever- you have literal seconds to capture your audience’s attention. They need to know you’re worth their time. A ‘hook’ is a narrative tool used in the first seconds that gives a quick ‘preview’ to the viewer, intriguing them into staying tuned. You can create this pull of intrigue, not only at the start of the video, but literally from the thumbnail you use to advertise the video- and you certainly need to make sure it’s not a blurry and vague motion shot! A sleek and professional thumbnail is your door opener, catching the eye as people furiously scroll. From there, your hook will reel them in to the whole piece. Remember: you want to sell intrigue, interest, and high-quality first impressions.
So does your demographics
As with your whole campaign, you need to know your audience, too. The ability to tailor what certain audiences see is, after all, why Facebook has become such an industry staple. HIghly-targeted posts can help you create content that’s appealing to the whole audience, ensuring you’re always reaching relevant people. Just because we’ve moved from the written word to video doesn’t mean you can abandon the careful analytics that should be backing your whole campaign.
To sound or not to sound?
Talking about Facebook, they’ve recently shifted their videos to autoplay if sound is on. We don’t yet know exactly how this will affect viewers- but we do know that as much as 85% of video watchers on the platform were watching videos on silent already.
So how do you engage people who may (or may not) have the volume turned off? Try to create content that tells its message either way. Enticing visuals, short subtitles, or simply good storytelling- the how is up to you, but make sure it performs well for both audiences.
Don’t forget your call to action
As with the written word, you don’t want to forget your call to action. This doesn’t have to be a direct-sell, either. Maybe you need subscribers, likes, or shares. Maybe you want to lead them to other content. It doesn’t matter. Just make sure you’ve encouraged this vital next step in the sales process.
While CTAs can be found at the start, end, and middle of content, stats suggest the end remains the most popular spot. Yet some compelling stats suggest the mid-content CTA has the best conversion rate. Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works best for your market.
Don’t forget SEO!
Good SEO has never been about keyword stuffing- it’s about making your content compelling for search engines as well as the people who use them. Even the best content in the world will fall flat if no one ever sees it! Searches are even trending up as a way to find content on Facebook, now organic reach is shortened. There’s a few good ways to do this with videos, from title keywords to descriptions and previous audience metrics. Just don’t forget to consider it!
Make friends and let them influence people
Even in the age of monetized influencers, peer recommendation still has immense trust weightings with people. People don’t want to hear what YOU say your brand is- they want to know what consumers like them believe about you. Collaborating with known influencers and other brands in your industry and related fields can help you make a bigger splash than you ever could alone.
Delivering solid, empathetic, and valuable video content is the way to more eyeballs on your video marketing. Not even sure where to begin? Don’t worry! The Zebra 360 Digital Marketing team is always here to help.
