The Ultimate Guide: Using Video Content In Your Marketing Strategy

In the past few years, video marketing has emerged as a vital component of marketing strategies. In general, video consumption is increasing yearly. The reason for this is simple– people love videos! Videos are more engaging than plain text or images, and they also hold the potential to drive action.

However, creating an effective video marketing strategy isn't easy. Many things go into making a video marketing campaign successful. You must take care of various aspects such as distribution channels, target audience, branding, etc.

Our ultimate guide below can be incredibly useful for those who want to learn how to make a video content marketing strategy.

The Importance Of Video Marketing

It is no secret that video has become one of the most important forms of communication. According to a study carried out by Wyzowl, a HUGE 96% of businesses see video as an important part of their marketing strategy. Moreover, according to YouTube itself, there were 8 billion hours of video watched on its platform last year alone.

Video marketing is not only popular, but it has also proven to be very effective when used correctly. It allows brands to communicate their message more engagingly and better connect with audiences.

As per an article published on Business2Community, "People retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video versus 10% when reading it in text." This clearly shows why video marketing is so powerful. Below we have added the top reasons why video marketing matters:

1. Video Marketing Improves SEO And Increases Conversions And Sales

One of the biggest advantages of using video marketing is that it helps improve your website's search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google love video content, ranking it higher than regular content. As videos are easily digestible and more attractive to users, they tend to get viewed and shared more on social media platforms.

All these factors lead to improved rankings of websites with video content, which ultimately leads to an increased number of organic visitors to a site. In other words, video marketing improves your website's visibility online and helps boost its conversion rates.

2. Video Marketing Is Great For Educating And Building Trust

Another huge benefit of video marketing is that it builds trust between the brand and consumers. When customers see a product being used, they feel more confident about buying it. If the customer sees someone else using the product, even better. This is because we like to buy what others have bought. An example of this is Nike's "Just Do It" campaign, where Michael Jordan was featured prominently. This helped build a lot of trust around the brand. Because video is easier to digest you can use this to educate your audience and give them valuable information that they are more likely to take away with them.

3. Video Marketing Encourages Social Sharing

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., are now flooded with videos. Research shows that people share videos more often than any other type of content. Videos are more engaging and easier to consume than text. Even if you don't upload videos regularly, posting at least once a week is still a good idea.

In addition, videos are also easy to share. This means sharing videos on social media platforms can significantly boost your reach. For instance, uploading a video on Facebook relevant to your niche audience can help increase your page likes.

4. Video Marketing Appeals To Mobile Users

We live in a world dominated by smartphones. People use them for just about everything, including shopping. A survey conducted by ComScore revealed that 55% of smartphone owners prefer to shop using their phones rather than desktop PCs or laptops.

This shows how mobile-friendly your business needs to be if you want to capture a larger market. This is precisely why video marketing is so important. Today, more and more people are watching videos on their smartphones, you should incorporate this into your brand by creating mobile-friendly videos. Using an aspect ratio of 9:16 is best for this as it fits a smartphone perfectly creating a more immersive experience for the user.

Why Use Video Marketing

Why should I use video marketing? The answer depends on your goals. However, we have added some of the more specific benefits of video marketing so you can get an understanding of how valuable it is for your brand:

1. Convert

Your content marketing strategy is incomplete without video. According to HubSpot, a 1-minute video is worth 1.8 million words. It can explain things much better than texts ever could and convert viewers into buyers by giving them the information they need.

2. Attract Customers

Showing off your products in detail can attract new customers. Customers can see how your products work and what makes them different. They can also find out how your product solves their problems. Video uses 2 of your senses sight and sound which allows your audience to feel more involved than just plain text.

3. Closure

According to a report 85% of shoppers rely on videos when they shop online. This indicates that a video can close the deal for you. People like to see the product they’re buying in action before the purchase, just like a try before you buy. Just make sure you're providing enough value.

How To Create A Video Marketing Strategy?

Now that you know the importance of video marketing let us explain how to create a video marketing strategy. The steps involved in building a video marketing strategy are explained below:

1. Decide What Metrics You Want To Track And How You Will Measure Success

Start by defining your goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve? Who is your target audience? How many leads and conversions are you expecting? These questions will help you determine the kind of content you need to create.

You can also think about your competition. How are they performing, and what can you do differently to stand out? This is important since video marketing has become increasingly competitive.

2. Choose The Best Platform To Distribute Your Video

Choosing the right platform depends on your budget and also where your audience is. You would not want to waste money on a platform where you are not going to be able to reach your audience easily.

Moreover, if you're looking to promote a new product or service, you might want to start with a paid ad. Paid ads are likely to yield better results compared to organic posts. Different platforms cost differently for promoting posts, so you need to ensure you’re spending in the right place. Here at Ideal Insight, we are not just a video production company we also offer social media services so we can help with all aspects of social media marketing from organic to paid including content creation, head over to our website to find out more.

3. Set A Timeline And Budget For Your Video Marketing Campaign

Once you've decided on your goals and chosen your distribution channel, it's time to set a proper plan. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to plan your campaign well in advance. The reason is that it takes time to get a video on top of search engines. Therefore, you should begin planning at least six months before you launch your campaign.

While setting a timeline and budget is important, it is equally important to prioritise your efforts. You don't have to spend all of your budget on one video; you could spread it across multiple videos. This will ensure you have a solid catalogue of videos to choose from to build your video marketing campaigns.

4. Develop Messaging And Choose The Right Type of Video For Your Personas

Once you've decided on your goals and distribution channel, it's time to develop your messaging and pick the perfect video type.

Messaging is the key when it comes to video marketing. If you fail to communicate your message clearly, your video won't resonate with your viewers. The messaging should be aligned with your brand, and it must be clear and concise.

As for the type of video, there are multiple types of video you could use here are just three examples:

• Explainer videos are short, engaging videos explaining a concept or solution.

• How-to videos - Helpful guides, tutorials, and instruction videos offer value to your audience.

• Testimonial videos - These are used to showcase the experience of existing customers.

5. Develop A Plan For The Video

Now that you've got everything planned, it's time to involve everyone who is going to work on the project. You need to decide what kind of video you want to create, who will be responsible for each task, when you want to get started and how long it will take to complete the process.

By using a video production agency we can advise on what type of video would work best for your goals, give you a quote for what you want, plan and deliver the best video for you. Check out our portfolio of work here and see some awesome examples of videos we’ve created for some amazing brands.

6. Choose Your Target Audience And Find Out Where They Spend Their Time

Once you've identified your target audience, find out where they spend their time and what type of video resonates with them most. This will help you determine which social media channels to use and how to reach your target audience.

These steps will help you create a successful video marketing strategy. However, it's not easy to maintain consistency. That's why you should keep track of your performance and make changes to your plan accordingly.

7. Offer Discounts And Trials

A great way to begin bringing your audience in is by giving away valuable free items, perhaps giving away a discount or trial which allows people to buy your product or service for a smaller price or even use it for free! Consumers love this not only will it build trust as they can try your product before but it will also build an audience. Humans love free items!

Video Marketing Goals And Targets

Once you've created a video, you need to track your results. To do this, you need to set some KPIs. A KPI is a performance indicator or measurable value that tells you how well you're doing. Here are some KPIs you can use:

1. Awareness: Top Of The Funnel

This KPI refers to the number of people who view your videos. It helps you measure the effectiveness of your video marketing effort. In addition, it also helps you understand whether your video is reaching the right audience.

2. Consideration: Middle Of The Funnel

This is the next step after awareness if you're using video ads on social media. Here, you'll measure the number of views that your video received. These metrics also show you how your viewers interacted with your video.

3. Conversion: Bottom Of The Funnel

This KPI shows you how many visitors watched your entire video and then acted based on the video. Whether it was a page like, purchase or website click. This KPI will depend on what your business is looking to build on, your conversion may be that you’re building likes or follows or simple as a purchase. It will indicate how much your viewers liked your video and their interest in your products or services.

Summary

There are tons of ways to use video marketing to promote your business. From explaining complex concepts engagingly to getting personal with your audience, video marketing can greatly benefit businesses of all sizes.

However, creating compelling videos requires a lot of hard work. In this article, we've discussed the basics of video marketing. Still, looking for some more guidance? Get in touch with us today, we can help guide you through the video content marketing strategy tips and tricks and get you started.