You’d be hard pushed to find anyone that isn’t aware of the value of marketing with video currently in the digital environment. Video is the current buzz word that marketing, digital, SEO and social media experts are pushing as much as possible. Facebook and Instagram, amongst others, have put the medium at the forefront of their future developments and the development of live broadcasts has taken it to another level.
The fact is that video production and a video strategy should be key elements of a marketing and promotional campaign but as we’ve talked about in a previous blog its also about how you use it if you want to get the best out of this medium.
Not so long ago, having a video was all that was required. A business could put any video on their website homepage and it would serve as something that generally satisfied the Google search spiders. However, times have changed and its not just about having a video on that page. Its about actually marketing with video i.e. using the medium with a purpose, trying to achieve a specific outcome and targeting at the right audience. Think about what the video is doing and saying. Is it offering some value to the viewer? Does it enhance the visitor experience to the website? Does it communicate key messages? Will it be something that generates an action from the viewer? Just like any marketing asset, there has to be a point and some identified desired outcomes.
Too many times in our experience video is an add on or a luxury that comes with the
last of the budget needing to be used up. It doesn’t really relate to other marketing activity and doesn’t fit into an overall marketing plan. As a result, a stand alone marketing asset is thrown together and appears like a stranger on a wedding photo that nobody knows who they are but are too polite to ask. We’ve written blogs about this before, here and here, but its not really rocket science. Its just acknowledging that video shouldn’t be the focal point in this situation, it should be marketing – with video, with social media, with emails or whatever it is that you have chosen to undertake your plan.
15 Ways To Boost Your Marketing With Video
Here we outline 15 uses for video (in no particular order) that can help to boost your strategy and your business, its not the only uses for video but we are simply highlighting some of the best uses of making a video for business. Obviously we would recommend that you use an awesome video production company like us (ahem) to carry out these tips and actions but the beauty of this is that utilising video in today’s world doesn’t necessarily need that. You can carry out nearly all of these tips with a good quality camera and some general knowhow about the various channels that are available.
So take a look at our 15 ways to boost your marketing using video.
Update Viewers On News Or Company Developments
A quick and easy way to keep your customers, followers and fans up to date on what’s happening at your company. But best of all you can actually show them rather than trying to describe it or use static images. This can be fast moving content and can even be done in ‘real time’ if you use Facebook Live or other live streaming options.
Explain How To Use Your Product Or Service
Also known as ‘How To’ videos, video works great as a means to not only talk about a product but also show how to use it too. If there are particularly difficult elements or updates that need to be communicated then a well produced corporate video will work wonders to get the message across.
Direct Viewers To Alternative Channels
If what you really want is for customers to walk into your shop or buy on your website then they can still be directed there from a video. It may be the most engaging medium for your target audience but it doesn’t necessarily complete a sale for you then simply use a well placed social media video or marketing video to tell your audience where you want them to go. There’s no problem mixing online and offline channels either.
Introduce A Brand Or Product
Want to brag about your latest innovation? As a famous football manager once said “Don’t tell me, show me.” Technology is perfect for new product launch videos and the likes of Apple and Samsung have got it down to a fine art with their new phone launches, just like this one for the Galaxy S8
https://youtu.be/D8Ert5yjMV4
Reach New Audiences
Are you looking at product diversification? i.e. taking existing products to new markets? If your new target market is a video marketing receptive audience then use the medium to connect with them. It may not have been the right call for an existing audience but if the new audience is consuming video in their usage habits then it provides the perfect opportunity to not only connect with them on their level but also gives you the chance for a brand refresh too.
Create An Advert
With YouTube pre-roll ads, any business can make a 30 second sales advert that simply serves as an advertising asset. With all the talk these days of engaging with the viewer and content being king its easy to forget that sometimes a simple, old fashioned advert still can work. We have a simple formula to follow that any video advert should adhere too whether its a big budget video production or simple video for business. If you stick to this guide then you won’t go far wrong:
- Establish a problem/situation
- Establish your offering
- Offer the solution that you provide
- Wrap it up
- Call to action
This advert for online estate agent, Purple Bricks follows this format and the message gets across well in just 30 seconds.
https://youtu.be/Xmgs22J4FdM
Present A Customer Testimonial
You are obviously going to say you’re great aren’t you? And does anybody really believe those written testimonials that appear by magic on your website? Did B. Gates really say you were a great company to work with or did R. Branson really use your product? You can take away any doubt by showing what your customer’s think of you straight from the horse’s mouth. Film your satisfied customer in their very own testimonial video and there’s nothing for anyone to question then. As a shameless plug, here’s one for us.
Humanise Your Business
Many SMEs are built on the expertise, passion and personality of the owner or founder. So if that is your USP then why not make the most of it. Showing the owner, staff and everyone involved at the company can humanise your business but also build trust. It proves that you are who you say you are, you haven’t farmed out your processes to a call centre and can demonstrate your company culture. In a world where online businesses are thriving, this can go a long way for those customers that still look for the human side of a company.
Train Your Staff
If you have multiple sites with staff at each one or need to address staff with training programmes 
then a staff training video can work wonders. It gives you the perfect opportunity to make sure that the message is correct and consistent and it can also be a huge money saver. Instead of paying for a venue, getting staff to come to one location, paying for a training provider each time there are new employees on board you can simply send out the training video. Once your staff have watched it, its there as a library resource for them to refer back to.
Make ‘Dry’ Subjects More Engaging
Lets be honest, not everything that you want to communicate is always going to be the most compelling. But it still needs to be out there for your stakeholders to see so sometimes its not what you say but how you present it. Just having the luxury of someone talking about it, presenting it in an animated video style or being able to show it rather than describe it often takes the edge off something thats a bit dry or boring.
Enhance Your SEO
This one is more of a functional benefit rather than video content marketing driven but its just as important. Marketing with video isn’t just about the top line results, sometimes its about whats going on behind the scenes too. To put it simply, Google likes sites with video on. Google also likes sites where visitors spend more time on each page – video engages your potential customers keeps visitors on the site while they watch. Google also rewards websites that provide valuable information or enhance the visitor experience – video can do those things too. Once you get into tagging your video correctly, giving it the most optimised title and creating a powerful video description then you are really taking steps towards positive SEO vibes.
Communicate Sensitive Or Difficult Subjects
Sometimes an organisation might need to say something thats difficult to say. It might be a taboo subject or something thats just plain uncomfortable – but it still needs to be said. Video production could well be the answer. If you have to say it, it only needs to be said once and then its done or alternatively it can be conveyed through an animated video. It doesn’t have to be a high level animated video production, it could be a motion graphics video that just gets the message across but however its presented it can really work as a means to combat those awkward moments and save your blushes.
Build Relationships With Customers
As with any other relationship marketing strategy, video can be great for building up a rapport with your client base. Producing a series of marketing videos for a business and then scheduling them accordingly to target your audience can work wonders in building a relationship and building trust. Keeping your customers informed and up to date with what you’re doing and what’s happening in your world and how it can affect/benefit/help them is crucial in any relationship. Your video strategy should really look at this as a model to get the best use out of engagement and marketing videos.
Create A Social Media Campaign
Marketing with video on social media is a surefire way to get your posts noticed and help you stand
out in your followers’ timelines. Images and video are playing a huge part in the minefields that are timelines and a consistent video campaign with targeted and informative content will help your business get noticed and communicate your key messages. Mashable is the perfect example of creating video based content, embedded into timelines on social media, that makes you take notice and click on the post.
Entertainment
Everything we’ve talked about has been all for informing your followers, keeping them up to date and communicating your key messages. Sometimes its just about entertainment. The popularity of YouTube began with people posting funny, interesting or engaging videos that people wanted to watch. There’s no reason why this shouldn’t still be the case. Sometimes you can keep your viewers onside with just a well placed, funny video that may not necessarily sell anything but extends brand recognition for you or just associates you with a positive interaction on the web. Just be careful, it can be very subjective and what you think is funny might not be to your audience and it could do more harm than good.
We’re not saying that these are the only ways to use video for business or a plan for marketing with video needs to have all of these elements but this is more than enough to get started with a video marketing strategy. The mot important thing to remember is that not every video marketing activity will work for every business across all digital channels. If you can identify what will work for you with your audience and your digital channels then select the right ones and try to implement them accordingly. Of course, if you need some help identifying which video strategy is the right one then that’s what we’re here for and you can contact us to find out how we can help you.
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