There are tons of different marketing strategies that can help your business grow, but there’s one method you should definitely be employing if you aren’t already: video marketing.
Video content can include customer testimonials, brand films, and explainer video. Each type of video has a different effect, making them particularly effective at certain points in your marketing funnel. The key to video marketing is learning to effectively use each type of video to increase brand awareness, educate and engage customers, and generate more leads.
Why Does Video Marketing Work?
To understand why video marketing is effective, you first need to understand today’s consumer. For starters, more than 50% of all searches are now conducted on mobile phones according to a report from Hitwise. These users have limited screen space for reading, so a short explainer video would be a great alternative to a how-to blog post.
Furthermore, a report from Nielsen Norman Group showed that users generally stay on a web page for between 10 and 20 seconds. The best way to keep users from leaving your web page too quickly is to offer something of value immediately. A short video can keep users on your page longer, but it can also engage and educate them better than a wall of text can in 10 or 20 seconds.
Basically, video marketing works because it provides valuable content without asking too much of users.
Video Marketing Tips
Provide valuable info: It’s surprisingly easy to forget about the main focus – actual content – when you’re trying to spice up your video marketing strategy. However, the most vital part of any video marketing campaign is providing something of value to your customer. This doesn’t have to be in the form of educational material; customers also value material that’s humorous, interesting, or inspiring. A short brand film or animation can spark interest in your business without feeling overly salesy.
Demonstrate product (or service) value: A great way to engage customers without attempting to sell them anything is to simply demonstrate your product’s value. When creating marketing videos, you have to create what the customer wants, not what you want. What questions might the customer have about your business? Don’t just show them how your product works, show them how it can be used to help them in specific situations.
Showcase your brand’s personality: When creating content to represent your brand, you may find yourself sacrificing personality in favor of professionalism — don’t. While it’s important to come across as professional, your personality is unique to you brand and should be used to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to use a bit of humor or demonstrate your brand’s core values through video marketing. Some of the best marketing videos – including this ever-popular Dollar Shave Club ad – have effectively used humor to target a specific audience.
If you’re going to use humor in your ad, be aware of your target audience; certain types of humor can alienate specific audiences due to values (e.g. cursing in a video for religious consumers).
Keep it short and sweet: Since attention spans are shortening, your content needs to be short and sweet. As long as you’re getting your message across, your video content can never be too concise.
If you don’t currently use video marketing, get started as soon as possible. Video marketing is a great tool for engaging customers and generating leads, and according to statistics, it’s one of the most effective ways to increase conversion and purchase rates.