Before the age of video marketing, there was a time when the word “video” was associated with home movies, VCRs, or the word “music” before that. Gen Xers remember when MTV played music videos.
Channels are now called platforms, and music videos are easier to find on YouTube than on music TV. But video continues to do to digital marketing what it did to music 30 years ago: it’s a game changer.
A good video can make any company stand out by engaging its audience like never before. Here’s why you should start or develop a video marketing strategy, and how to build an audience for your brand through video.
Make your video marketing memorable
Not only do your videos help you find your business online, but you can also use them to differentiate and showcase your business in many different ways.
Be helpful
One of the easiest ways to enter the world of video marketing is to create an explanation, tutorial or instructional video. They work to show people what kind of expertise your company offers and introduce some of your professionals to potential customers.
But when making video tutorials, experts say you should do things like this:
- Keep the video short (less than 4 minutes) and focus on the learning objective.
- Use audio and visual aids to help explain; just make sure they are compatible, not unused.
- Use a conversational, enthusiastic style to increase engagement.
Video tutorials can be simple, but effective.
Get personal information from sponsored videos
If your company like thetradebuzz.com helps people solve problems, you need to share these testimonials. If you are a life-saving or life-changing hospital, please share these successes. Better yet, let your customers tell your story.
Personal stories allow you to show potential customers and connect with your peers, telling the story of how your business can help them. A letter of recommendation shows loyalty to your company and can show that loyalty is attractive to others.
You don’t always need sound
Even with promoted videos, sometimes video ads can get the point across without any discussion. Making videos without sound is becoming more and more popular and powerful.
It’s important to think about how your video will be viewed. Optimizing mobile devices is critical.
Of course, a powerful voice is good, but there are some interesting and funny videos that you can watch (and maybe work) with the sound.
Why? Because you can lead people to your story without saying a word. Graphics and music may be just what you need. In fact, 85% of Facebook videos are viewed privately.
Think of all the times you find yourself pausing to watch a video that shows you all the steps needed to complete a design. Some charts list composition, but no sound is required.
Use thumbnails to direct people to your website
Another reason why video marketing is so important is that you can direct people to your website with just one thumbnail. Thumbnails are still images displayed in a video that tell viewers to view what they are about to watch. For every video you make, you need to make sure that your thumbnail is displaying an attractive image instead of a text frame.
If you’re sharing on social media, write some keywords around your image to give some context to what viewers will see, and include a link to your website.
Use music or good conversation to sell
Some videos may not need many words, but good music and a little natural sound make for great viewing. Take Volkswagen’s “America” ad, for example. Set to “America” by Simon and Garfunkel, follow a family’s journey across the country and across generations in 90 seconds.
All you have to do is listen to your grandmother’s conversation with her grandchildren, and you have a video that you can’t stop watching until the end.
People love to be a fly on the wall. A good example is making a surveillance camera video where it looks like we are actually doing something. Ring security companies use this to great effect. Videos tell stories without words (usually grainy pictures), but we watch them all the time.
Use a few memorable, powerful sound clips
Sometimes it takes a little conversation to get your point across or make your video memorable. Sometimes you can do it in short bursts of 10 to 20 seconds. As the old saying goes, “A gift is worth a thousand words.” A good sound camera can be worth 30 minutes of emotional content.
