As you may already know, video is becoming the Michael Jordan of marketing. Because our current generation is lazy and can’t hold still for five minutes to read an article, videos have this problem covered. They provide a more personal experience for your customers who have that short attention span and are comfortable with social media.
Videos are an increasingly important marketing tool for businesses because they’re useful and versatile. Whether it’s for your social media, your website, or for your customers, videos are important to the success of your business. Enough with the boring content and memes that don’t mean anything (cat memes are still okay), upgrade to videos, you’ll thank us.
The Numbers:
Videos for business don’t just “look good,” they bring big numbers. Numbers and data are the name of the game in marketing, because that’s what everyone wants and needs. A survey by Renderforest.com found that videos can increase awareness of your brand by over 70%. As a result, your business reaches new audiences and attracts new potential customers to your website and media pages.
This increase in brand awareness correlates with traffic, which video can increase by over 51%. It’s simple: the more people that come to your website and social media sites, the more successful your business will be. Unlike the horrible traffic on US-19 at five o’clock where you’re stuck listening to “Put you to sleep” radio, this is the traffic you’ll enjoy.
But enough with the “boring” statistics, let’s get to the one thing that ALL business leaders are most interested in, MONEY. Using video marketing increases sales by over 34%. Over 45% of people are more likely to buy a product or service after watching a video because of the improved SEO. It’s simple math, folks! People want to see what your product or service does. These stats are great, but you first need to know what type of video you need to produce, for what platform, and who your target audience is before these numbers even matter. Keep reading if you’d like your business to make more money.
How to Use Video Marketing:
The amazing thing about video marketing is how far it’s come and how many different areas in which it can be used. With its ability to communicate and deliver messages efficiently, video marketing has evolved in numerous ways to help you be as successful as possible.
Informative Videos
To start out with video marketing, your best bet is to create informative videos. These are videos that explain who you are, what you do, and how you can help the target audience you are pursuing. Don’t get too personal right away though; make them want to come back for more just like a first date (yes, we give dating advice as well).
Tutorials and How-to
People love tutorials or how-to videos. These go along with informative videos, but they are more in-depth. You can use these to show how a product works or show your audience how to better use an online system that they may already be using. Many people are visual learners, so these types of videos make it easier for them to follow along and want to visit your page for the next video you share.
Educational Videos
Depending on your company, educational videos are great as well. Use certain narrative resources such as graphics and scripts to gain their attention and combine them with interesting topics to keep their attention throughout. The purpose of these is to be engaging and fun while providing useful information in the process. Webinars and live streams on social media are two of the main effective ways to use this technique.
Testimonials
An effective video marketing technique that gets overlooked is testimonials. This is an powerful way for your audience to hear about how your company has helped others from the perspective of previous or current clients. Future customers tend to trust the opinion of others who are like themselves rather than the voice of the company. When doing this though, make sure these are people that ACTUALLY like you (if possible).
In today’s marketing era, video is essential to success. But, it’s more than just plastering your face or visuals in a video; you need to use it in a smart, content-strategic way. When you create video content for your company, remember that the #1 goal is to stay on track with the audience you are trying to reach. Make sure your quality is recognizable and that your viewers understand what you are trying to say about a product or service. Create videos that people will share and discuss with others, so that they are more likely to check out the rest of your company’s attributes.
One more word of advice: don’t try to go viral right away. Yes, it worked for the Kardashians, but being normal human beings like most of us are, perfection takes time and repetition. Repetition. Repetition.