The success of video marketing is hard to deny as videos continue to influence traffic, leads, and sales. From short marketing videos that grab attention on social media to more extended how-to demonstrations that cement customer loyalty, videos remain popular with consumers and a priority for marketers.
Today, 88 percent of video marketers report a positive ROI for their efforts, up from 33 percent in 2015. The average time each person spends watching video each day is also rising, reaching more than an hour and a half per day worldwide in 2020 – years in advance of earlier predictions.
Why Video Marketing Works
Marketers have a quick window of time, about three to eight seconds on average, to capture a shopper’s attention. A great headline or strong image may help direct readers deeper into a blog, but video can be an even better attention-grabber. We all know what it’s like to be stopped in your tracks as images unfold on the screen.
Since video is a multi-sensory format, marketers can include more information in a short video introduction than through text or static images. For some very quick messages, three to eight seconds is all you need.
Video is more engaging and more memorable for many viewers. Google reports that six out of 10 people said they would rather watch videos online than television. YouTube has risen to be the second-most-populated search engine, trailing only Google.
Content remains the cornerstone of organic SEO, but video marketing expands your reach and increases conversions. Social media videos that are two minutes or shorter increase engagement and sharing by up to 1200 percent. They make information more digestible, understandable, and memorable. We may forget that witty quote we read this morning, but vividly recall a touching phone commercial from 20 years earlier.
Videos can be a solid source of inbound links from YouTube and on social media. They can also boost your SEO ranking, so you show up higher in the search results.
Types of Marketing Videos
The ways to brand your products, services, and company with video are as wide and vivid as the imagination. Videos show, teach, inform, entertain, and tell stories. Ninety percent of users say product videos help them make buying decisions. Like written content, video marketing provides a compelling, versatile, and shareable medium to reach new and established customers.
Standard video marketing formats include:
- Explainer Videos (Short marketing video explaining your company or a product)
- Presentations
- Product videos
- Customer testimonials
- Interviews
- Livestreams
- Tutorials (Step-by-step)
- Webinars
- Ads
- Video blogs
Your video content strategy will pivot on your company’s goals, culture, and target audience.
Constructing Your Video Marketing Strategy
With so many options for video marketing, you want your team to put their efforts toward the right formats for your business. Answering two questions will help guide your video marketing efforts.
First, who is your target audience? Online data and polls can help your marketing team construct audience personas. A persona, or audience avatar, portrays a target market in a single representative person. The persona breathes life and personality to your customer data and sales numbers. It’s easier to craft customized messages when you have an image of the audience you are addressing.
Second, what part does video play in your marketing strategy, and where can you use video to enhance existing content and social strategies? If you are publishing regular blogs, videos that cover the same material increase engagement. Post the video at the top. Some readers will skip it, while others will watch only the video and read nothing below. If you are heavily involved in email marketing, then behind-the-scenes and celebrity endorsement videos can engage existing customers. A clear understanding of where you want to leverage video marketing will make it easy to choose the right format.
Social media calls for short, snappy videos that engage viewers and direct them to take action. Longer videos can build your YouTube station or increase engagement on your blogs. Success stories and behind-the-scenes insights keep your company in the minds of current customers.
Executed strategically, video content can propel your marketing strategy, make your brand more memorable, and maintain a loyal user base.
Six Ways to Optimize Your Videos for Maximum Engagement
No matter which video format your team selects, your company will invest either in a professional videographer or in equipment, software, and supplies. To get the best ROI on your videos, structure for success from the beginning by optimizing them. Here are six ways to get more views, clicks, and sales.
1. Start with a Hook
Your video could be worthy of awards, but if no one watches past the first few seconds, no one will ever know. A hook grabs attention and brings viewers into the meat of your message.
The opening should be energetic and clearly show what viewers will learn when they tune into your video. A hook can be the video intro or a compelling snippet pulled to the front as a preview of what is to come.
2. Focus on Viewer Benefits
Provide stories, information, and benefits first, and ask for sales second. Compelling video content draws people in and tells a story. It brings them into the events and perspective on the screen. Watching videos can evoke memories and feelings, adding the dimensions of emotion and personal experience to the presentation.
In consumers’ minds, videos can connect your brand with events, experiences, history, and a greater context.
3. Tell Your Story with the Sound On or Off
More than 70 percent of YouTube watch time is on mobile devices. In public areas or while browsing social media, viewers sometimes turn their volume off. If your video tells the same story with or without sound, you reach mobile viewers without clear audio.
You can optimize for silent playback with storytelling visuals, subtitles, and on-screen written descriptions.
4. Give Viewers Something to Do
Include a call-to-action (CTA) in your video. The placement depends on your style and audience. You can have a CTA near the start, finish, or middle.
A video CTA doesn’t have to be directed towards sales. Audience-building will increase sharing, SEO, and sales. Video CTAs can include an invitation and link to:
- Subscribe to your YouTube channel
- Like or follow your Facebook or Instagram page
- Comment on the video
- View related content
- Share the video with their friends
- Download a free offer (for the viewer’s email address)
An engaged viewer who appreciates your content will want to be part of your online community.
5. Optimize for Search
One of the best things about video content is it’s discoverable. Viewers searching on YouTube, Google, and Facebook can discover your video content – if it’s optimized correctly.
Optimizing makes it easier for users searching for your topic to locate your video. There are two essential ways to help search engines identify your content.
1. Use Accurate Keywords in Your Title
Don’t waste your headlines creating a mystery. Reassure viewers instantly you will deliver the answer to their question or the results they are seeking. Keyword phrases are common search terms people use to find the products and services you sell. Including them in your headline communicates effectively to both people and Google.
Keep your title short so that the whole thing will display. Seventy characters, including spaces, is the maximum recommended title length for YouTube.
2. Write a Compelling Description
Use the description to tell a story about what is in the video. The description invites the viewers to click on the video. It should confirm it’s worth their time, and they will get the answers they seek.
The description is also a valuable location for your primary and secondary keyword phrases. However, make sure the keywords flow naturally and do not interrupt the story told by the description.
6. Feature Industry Influencers
It’s easy to underestimate the power of a respected opinion, but the numbers show that little outsells social proof. Ninety-two percent of consumers worldwide say they trust word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family. Online consumer reviews are the second-most-trusted advertising format with 70 percent. Only 47 percent of people trust paid ads.
The right industry or celebrity influencer can sway undecided shoppers and bring new fans to your brand. Video is an effective medium to promote influencer endorsements. It’s more than just a written testimonial or description of an endorsement. Buyers get to hear it from the influencer him or herself.
Drive Sales with Video Marketing
Video enhances your paid and organic SEO results and builds a relationship between consumers and your brand. Although it doesn’t replace text in SEO, videos can boost your online visibility and tell your brand’s story.
The length, format, style, and content depend on your company’s goals, values, and customer base. From detailed how-to videos transcribed into blogs to shiny, produced video ads for Instagram or Facebook, video offers a wide array of marketing opportunities.
Are you thinking of revisiting your digital marketing strategy? At J&L Marketing, we combine online and offline marketing strategies. Add our team to leverage your in-house team and improve marketing ROI. Contact us to discuss your company’s goals.
