There is no denying the power of video marketing as a tool to help reach consumers and boost return on investment (ROI). In fact, according to Google, six out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television and, by 2022, online video will comprise over 80% of all consumer internet traffic. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that over three-quarters of all small to medium-sized businesses use video in marketing campaigns currently.
Despite the widespread use and popularity of marketing through video, not all video content is created equally. Many startups and small businesses jump headfirst into video content creation without building a plan. This haphazard approach rarely leads to the number of conversions, increased site traffic and ROI businesses desire. However, with a measured approach to video marketing, companies of all shapes and sizes can create a results-driven video advertising strategy. Below, we’ll explore this crawl, walk, run, building-block approach to marketing via video.
Crawl — The Basic Building Block of a Video Marketing Strategy
Before your business can begin running a video content marketing marathon, you must learn to crawl. At this stage, there is no substitute for detailed planning and goal setting. Here, you should consider elements such as:
- Your target Viewer: Build a customer profile which factors in the age range, education level, occupation, household structure and income of your target customer.
- Viewer motivators: Next, assess what motivators would cause this customer to seek your business’s products or services. Not only does this element help you tailor your video content to a customer’s needs, but also helps determine the right messaging, tone of voice and specific language to use in video content creation.
- Your specific goals: Devote time to assessing the precise goals you hope to achieve through video marketing. Are you hoping to boost awareness of your brand, generate leads, increase traffic to your site, maneuver leads through the sales funnel or all of the above
This early stage is also the right time to work through some necessary video content creation preferences. Here, you can begin drafting ideas covering elements such as:
- Appealing calls to action to embed in videos and capture users’ attention
- Optimized titles and video descriptions which include keywords
- Formatting and length considerations
- Short and concise messages which are well-targeted to your audience
- Entertaining, engaging and actionable video content.
It’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the video production process so you have a realistic understanding of what it takes to actually produce good video content.
Walk — Fine-Tune Your Brand Messaging and Video Budget
Backed by a detailed viewer profile, goals you hope to reach and an outline of basic video content, you can start walking your way toward developing a powerful video marketing campaign. Here, it is crucial to spend some time fine-tuning your brand messaging. After all, potential leads and long-term customers alike are more likely to engage with a business that conveys a strong, concise and consistent brand identity.
Any video content developed at this stage should capture and express unique elements of your brand and translate them in a way your target audience can relate to and understand. For example, consider highlighting aspects of your business including:
- Experience and background
- Passion for customer service
- Commitment to sustainability and the environment
- Elements that set you apart from the competition
- Consistency and focus on quality
- Insight into your company culture
- Unique qualities of your leadership team, and more
Walking your way to a successful video marketing campaign also requires attention to budgeting. We all want Hollywood-quality videos, sure to capture a potential client’s attention and get them excited. However, realistically, few small business owners have the corresponding budget at their disposal. Budgeting, when it comes to video content, can be a double-edged sword. Spending excessive resources on a project may not necessarily guarantee its success. Conversely, failing to devote enough resources to video content creation could lead to a low-quality video series that fails to capture a customer’s interest or prospects having a negative perception of your brand.
Run — Optimize for Your Chosen Video Platform and Evaluate Effectiveness
You’ve set some goals, constructed a target audience profile, crafted a solid brand message and even ironed out your video content creation budget. Now it’s time to really stretch out your video marketing muscles and unleash your business’s full potential. At this stage, it is vital to understand the differences between each platform on which you plan to host your video advertisement.
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites each offer unique ways to host your videos, garner views and generate leads.YouTube, for example, with over five billion videos watched each day, can be the right choice for businesses looking to showcase a product or service. Keep in mind though that, to access your video, a user must either search for keywords or access the video directly through a landing page or your homepage. Video advertisements uploaded to Facebook or LinkedIn, on the other hand, may appear in a user’s news feed. Regardless of which video hosting site best fits your specific needs, be sure to monitor the performance of your content continually and assess factors including:
- Total number of views
- The videos view rate
- Volume and content of comments
- Number of video shares
Last, but not least, just like any other marketing strategy, do not hesitate to return to the drawing board at any time to reassess your video strategy, viewer profiles and campaign goals. The ways your customers’ view the value of your product or service offering will continually evolve as so should your video marketing strategy.
Telideo Can Help You Deliver an Effective Video Marketing Strategy
Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level with video but you aren’t quite sure how to get started or the best approach to take? Contact Telideo today by calling us at 720-245-8277 for a free video consultation or project estimate. Don’t have time to talk on the phone now? Shoot us an email at initiate@telideo.com to schedule a time to connect.