In recent years, the popularity of video content has grown so fast that it has become essential to any marketing campaign. With a little creativity and a well thought-out plan, video is by far the best media for brands to stand out from the competition on internet and especially on social networks. So what’s the smartest strategy to get the best of it ?
Over the past decade, content has dominated the digital world and more specifically video content. Nowadays, vids are everywhere. Users are active on platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok … and videos continue to populate our news feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and even LinkedIn. YouTube started on Internet in 2005, and the platform has grown exponentially. As a pioneer in streaming video, YouTube has given way to other broadcasting platforms, such as Twitch, Periscope, Younow and many other social networks.
With the growth of all these online streaming platforms, more and more companies are using video as communication tool for their campaigns. According to Hubspot, 81% of companies use video as a marketing tool. This is also due to the great development of tools and resources such as editing applications and software that gave the opportunity to brands and businesses to find affordable ways to produce their content. However, if you have the means to achieve high quality production, don’t deprive yourself of it!
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Why use video content in your marketing campaigns ?
Integration of video into your marketing campaigns can help to differentiate your company from your competitors. In effect, video is a form of rich multimedia content that involves more people than traditional forms of marketing, such as text and static images. Today, brands and companies should consider using video in their marketing campaigns, as the demand for video content is growing. In other words, your consumers want to watch videos.
According to a Hubspot study, 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support. It is therefore an opportunity to meet the needs of your audience and to interact with them in an authentic way. Nike, Coca Cola, Oreo or Dove are among the most successful brands in the field.
Three ways to use video content to launch your marketing campaigns
Product videos
Creating product videos is a great way to launch your marketing campaigns, especially if your brand or company operates in a niche sector. You need to educate new users and potential customers in order to increase brand awareness. According to Neil Patel, product videos can increase purchases by 144%. That being said, you may also consider creating videos of procedures that can be associated with the audience you are trying to target and reach.
Among the best examples of product videos is DollarShaveClub.com video campaign entitled “Our Blades are F***ing Great” which apply to the public in authentic and humorous way.
Testimonial videos
This type of content that is generated by users is also an excellent way to trigger your marketing campaigns, as it helps to build brand trust. Building brand trust is difficult when your customers rely solely on your word. Today, many potential customers look for reviews on different blogs and forums before buying a product or service. Consumers want to know whether products and services are reliable or not, and they want to make sure that many others have purchased and used the product or service before them.
Nowadays, a growing number of brands and companies, such as Garnier, Audible and Olay, are partnering with several influencers on YouTube and Instagram, such as Jenn Im, Claire Marshall and LaurDIY, to create sponsored content to promote their products or services. This process is also called “Influence Marketing“. Working with influencers who have many Internet users who follow them on social networks helps companies sell their products to an engaged audience.
Social networks
Among the most powerful communication channel when planning your video marketing strategy. Especially since social networks have added stories and live videos. They are also a quick and easy way to attract your audience.
Oreo is an excellent example of a brand that successfully uses video to launch its marketing campaigns. With more than 2.5 million subscribers on Instagram, Oreo’s simple but attractive video campaigns remain fresh and innovative. They are constantly finding new ideas to maintain and strengthen their presence on social networks.
How can video content help your business ?
Video marketing does anything that traditional marketing can do. Humans are visual creatures, and we cannot avoid to have a particular attraction for moving images.
Video content can increase your brand awareness
To expand your potential customer base, it is essential to improve your online reputation by promoting your brand, products or services. It’s not about blending into the crowd, but trying to stand out from the crowd, and vids will help you do that. Here, the choice of video format must also be taken into account. In fact, you can increase your online exposure by providing your potential customers with entertaining content or educate them to remember your brand in a positive way.
Video content can increase your business’ online presence
The more are the places where your potential customers can see you, the better are your chances of converting them into paying customers. Once you have identified and established your brand, you need to spread the word. There is a big difference between a business that stands out and a business that is chosen in relation to its competitors.
YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world. Numerous other sites, including many social networks, promote videos. If you don’t use video in your marketing strategy, you will miss a huge opportunity to expand your audience and engage your target audience.
Video continues to play an increasingly important part of social media content through Facebook Live, Twitter Periscope and Instagram Live, just to name a few. Then why should you care? Because video is the most shared content on social networks.
Facebook, for example, gives higher priority to video content because they know that this is what users want. We like to share content that will entertain our friends and this media has the best chance of doing it. More than links, images or plain text, video is more likely to be shared by your subscribers. You can easily use video marketing on social networks by learning how to publish videos on Instagram and Facebook.
Video content will help you build and maintain trust
The marketing consists in showing potential customers that you understand their concerns and problems and that you can solve them. The best way to create trustworthy relationships is to establish one to one meetings, but this isn’t realistic for the growth of a business. You will not have enough time or resources to personally meet each potential customer and earn his trust. Fortunately, you can convey this feeling through a video that will be available at any time.
Video marketing will allow your business to establish a trustworthy relationship with its customers even before meeting them. When customers see your team or product in videos, they will trust your brand. Trust is essential for all businesses and video marketing is a major contributor.
Advantages of video marketing
Previously, small businesses were at a disadvantage in video marketing. Fortunately, with the current marketing landscape, video content production now offers more advantages than disadvantages. Below are some of the key advantages of video marketing for small businesses.
Video content improve your search engine ranking
Video is one of the best ways to increase your engagement rate and conversion rate. It also helps you improve your SEO. Indeed, Google uses an indicator called the bounce rate. This is a criterion used by search engines to evaluate your website. It represents the time that users spend on your website. This indicator is used to determine if you provide a good response to user requests. When your prospects spend time watching your institutional film for example, it improves your bounce rate. Google considers then, that you responded to their request. It will therefore take this positive criterion to better rank your website.
Videos are mobile friendly
The increase in mobile internet use is being driven by the technology improve (79% of internet use). In this context, video content has several advantages because it adapts not only to a young audience that spends a lot of time on social media networks, but also to an older audience such as entrepreneurs who spend a lot of their time in transport and mainly use their mobile as a working tool.
Video let you condense complex ideas in seconds
When you try to find out more about a product or service, you want quick details, in an easy to process layout. Tutorials or motion design animation is a great way to communicate with your potential customers. In few seconds, you can get their attention, explain what your business is and why they should be interested.
Video content has the best return on investment (ROI)
Because story telling is the best way to sell and videos are the best way to tell stories. Adding an explainer video to your landing page can increase sales (up to 80% according to some studies). Beside, with the current evolution of technology, producing effective videos no longer requires a substantial expenditure on your marketing budget.
The future of video
As video continues to thrive and dominate the digital landscape, it definitely has a place in a digital marketing strategy. We are already seeing technological advances in the complexity and quality of online videos. With the rise of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 360° videos and the democratization of 4K, we have definitely reached the stage where videos are and will be for a long time a major tool to increase brand awareness. Video has all the qualities to last because it is the cornerstone of business marketing strategy.
