Why You Should Be Utilizing Video Marketing for Your Business
What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is using videos to promote and market your product or service, increase engagement on your digital and social channels, educate your consumers and customers and reach your audience with a new medium (HubSpot).
Why Is Video Marketing Important?
Since the launch of YouTube in 2005, research shows that people are consistently spending more time online watching videos. In fact, in 2022, audiences are spending an average of 19 hours a week watching videos online. As the technology to create quality videos gets easier, businesses can no longer ignore video marketing and the dominant form of media it is today. If businesses want to excel, it’s time to consider video marketing.
If that hasn’t convinced you to turn to video marketing, here are some more facts about the importance of video marketing:
- While platforms like YouTube and TikTok have always been centered around video, platforms like Instagram and Facebook are trying to keep up. The algorithms are prioritizing video content, so your static posts may be getting lost in your followers’ feeds.
- Video marketing improves SEO which can in turn boost conversions and sales.
- According to HubSpot Research, Millennial and Gen Z consumers and customers prefer lower quality, "authentic" video over high-quality video that seems artificial and inauthentic – making it easier than ever to create worthwhile content right from your Smartphone.
All in all, video marketing is an obtainable objective for businesses of all sizes and budgets. Now, let’s talk strategy.
How Do I Develop a Video Marketing Strategy?
Before you hit record, it’s important to develop a video marketing strategy. If you don’t go into shooting with direction and a goal, you’ll find yourself wasting time reshooting and re-editing your content repeatedly. According to HubSpot, here are the six things you need to develop your marketing strategy.
- Choose your target audience and find out where they spend their time.
- Connect with key stakeholders to align on a plan for the video.
- Set a timeline and budget for your video.
- Choose the best platform to distribute your video.
- Develop messaging and choose the right types of videos for your personas.
- Decide which metrics you want to track and how you will measure success.
What Videos Should I Create?
A lot of video marketing strategy takes place well before you step in front of the camera. When developing your video marketing strategy, we also need to ask ourselves what videos should we create and what type of content is going to prove valuable for our target audience. There are many options, but here are several types of videos to consider:
- Demo videos – showcase how your product works.
- Brand videos – these are typically part of a longer advertising campaign and showcase a company’s vision, mission, products or services.
- Event videos – can be utilized to promote an upcoming event or serve as a highlight reel of one that’s passed.
- Expert interviews – showcasing your organization’s thought leaders or internal experts is a fantastic way to build trust and authority with your audience.
- Educational/how-to videos – teach your audience something new!
- Animated videos – can be a great format for hard-to-grasp and/or vague concepts that need strong visuals to get the point across.
- Customer testimonials – allow your organization’s biggest fans to do the work for you and talk about why you’re awesome!
- Live videos – provide viewers with a special, behind-the-scenes look at your organization. Live videos draw longer streams and higher engagement rates.
- Vlogs – Similar to live videos, video blogs are becoming increasingly popular and drive attention to an organization/individual while keeping them admirably “relatable” which Millennials and Gen-Z's are drawn to.
What If I’m Not a Video Expert?
We all start somewhere. So, if you’re not a video expert, the best way to begin is by putting one foot in front of the other, and never forget that practice makes perfect. And when it comes to just getting started, here are six steps you can follow that will make you look like one of the experts without putting in your 10,000 hours.
Write your script – There’s a time and a place for videos to be impromptu, but most video marketing needs to be scripted. This will help with keeping your audience’s attention during the video without losing its purpose and avoid long hours in editing, removing what didn’t need to be said and what doesn't add to your video's purpose.
Set up your studio or scene – Remove any clutter from your space or scene that may be distracting once recorded. Make sure to have the proper lighting whether it’s artificial or natural.
Get the basic equipment – You don’t need to break the bank to record quality videos. The basics are a tripod to keep your camera or phone steady, basic lighting and extra camera batteries or SD cards (videos take up lots of memory space). Cameras and phones do have internal microphones to record audio, but they are often not powerful enough to record quality audio. When you're shooting with your smartphone, there are many easy-to-use and inexpensive microphone choices that can be purchased online or at your local department store.
Prepare your talent – Like it’s nerve-wracking to be behind the camera for the first time, being in front of it can bring on a whole new set of jitters. Prepare your talent by providing them with the shot list and script ahead of time.
Plan your shot list – Ideally, your video isn’t going to be a three-minute straight-through clip of a customer giving a review of your business. There are going to be moments where they pause, need to start over, start a new thought, etc. In these moments, you will need to fill the video with additional shots to keep your viewers engaged. This is your shot list. Have this planned in advance and take the opportunity to get used to your equipment before working with your talent.
Shoot for the edit – Some people are better at recording and others are better at editing. Neither is wrong, just different! When you shoot for the edit, you save time in the editing room, countless frustrations and reshoots. Here are a couple of tips to help you shoot with the edit in mind…
- Leave a buffer at the beginning and end of each clip
- Record extra footage at different angles for jump cuts
- Mark your good clips
Where Can I Learn More?
At SWFL Inc., we are Southwest Florida’s only Five-Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce. Our greatest goal is simple: to help our region’s small businesses thrive. To do this, we provide our small businesses with the resources they need to grow in an ever-changing world.
In our upcoming Digital Marketing Course on Video Marketing, we’ll dive deeper into the information above, work together to create great content from just our smartphones and more. To register, click here.
If you’re unable to attend the upcoming course, sign up for SWFL Inc.’s Business Builders updates where we provide valuable information to our local businesses on the industry’s latest news and trends.