Online videos are shared 1200 percent more times than links and text combined.
If you’re looking to boost your online sales or if you want to be on the top of the brand marketing game, incorporating interesting videos may be the answer.
To help you get started, we’ve gathered a complete guide to help you create interesting videos to grow your business.
What is Video Marketing?
To fully understand how video marking works, we must start with what video marketing is. In simple terms, video marking is a strategy that uses videos to introduce and promote products and services to an audience. Video can also be used to
- Build rapport with customers
- Share your brand story
- Add prospects to your marketing database
- Educate current clients
- Demonstrate products or services
- Increase traffic to your website
- Present customer testimonials, and
- Promote special events.
With so many ways to use videos, it’s easy to see why so many companies are investing in high-quality video production to grow their businesses.
How Video Marketing Works
On the surface, how video marketing works is pretty simple. First, you create video content. Then, you place that content in an email, social media post, website, or ad so it reaches your target audience. In practice, things are a bit more complicated, like any other marketing strategy, but it’s relatively simple to understand: Put your content where your target audience will find it.
Knowing the best ways to get your video viewed is easy because viewing is data-driven, this creates metrics that make it easy to see what is working and what isn’t.
Tracking and analyzing video engagement metrics and stats can also help you determine which videos are more engaging to each of your target audiences and why. This will give you insights on what to test and improve in future videos.
Why Use Video Marketing?
There are several benefits to using videos as part of your marketing strategy. Here are four solid reasons you should use videos to market and grow your business.
1. Videos engage everybody
Approximately 65 percent of people are visual learners.
Approximately 65 percent of people are visual learners. That makes a video a great tool for learning and a great way for people to consume information.
Many of those who aren’t visual learners are audible learners. Since videos also engage the sense of hearing, these learners will also benefit from videos.
Video can also reach and engage time pressed and mobile audiences, especially busy ones who don’t like to read.
2. Videos build trust
Providing interesting and useful information is a great way to build trust and create long-lasting customers. Since most people will only buy from a company they trust and a video has the ability to engage people and elicit an emotional response, use testimonial videos.
People can identify more with your existing customers and are more likely to trust them, knowing they will be more honest than what a company spokesperson would say.
You want authenticity, not slick talking heads that are not believable.
3. Google loves videos
Videos provide entertainment for your visitors and therefore visitors are more likely to increase the amount of time spent on your site.
When someone spends time on your site, it signals to Google and other search engines that you have quality content that people are enjoying. This can give your website a search ranking boost that increases your organic traffic.
When you have your videos on YouTube, create high-quality backlinks to your site by adding them to the description, it’s quick, easy, and one of the biggest ranking factors for most search engines.
4. Provide clear explanations
If you’re launching a new product or service, you may have some trouble explaining how it works to your potential clients using words, pictures, or illustrations. There’s only so much you can explain in text, even with images.
Video allows you to show exactly how things work. You can present actual product demonstrations or use animated videos to show how your service works, is easy to use, and solves a problem.
Some 45 percent of business that use video marketing tools use explainer videos on their home page to help prospects quickly grasp their product or service and what it does.
How to Create Interesting Videos
There is more to making videos than grabbing a camera and speaking about your product or business.
If you want to create compelling videos that are watched, you’ll need to dramatize a problem or opportunity so prospects get engaged by seeing themselves and their problems. Next, you’ll need to promise that you have a solution to their problem and anchor that with a solid testimonial. That is your proof of the premise that you can help.
Here is what you need to create interesting videos for your site.
1. High production quality
Your videos don’t need to be Hollywood box office quality, but they also shouldn’t look like they were filmed by your toddler with a smartphone.
Today, people expect high-quality video, especially from businesses.
Audio is even more important than video. You’ll watch a mediocre video if the audio is clear and professional; present poor audio with good video and you’ll watch your audience scramble for the exit.
The easiest way to do this is to hire a professional videographer who already has all the equipment needed to make this type of video. We recommend VideoEnvy, Pat Lee. Here is a link to a video they made for us
2. Incorporate storytelling
People can read a set of instructions and list of facts in an article but if you place that in a video, you’ll probably lose your audience.
Storytelling provides a flow to your tale and makes an emotional connection to the viewer.
We’ve been storytellers since we were running from lions on the African plains. It was how we all learned.
Emotional connection combined with facts engages your customers with your brand or product. With that connection in place, people are far more likely to buy.
3. Optimized videos
Videos must be optimized for the platform you’re using and for your audience. You want to make sure your audience can fully understand the message of your video no matter how they’re watching it.
For example, if someone is watching your video without sound, you want to ensure they still get the message. That’s why we recommend using captions for your videos and it also respects those who are hearing impaired.
4. Utilize live streams
Live streaming can play an important role in your video marketing by bringing timely events and important announcements to your audience.
You can hold a live Q&A sessions and interviews with influencers or other customers to engage and build brand awareness. Live streaming recorded material can also help you promote social events conducted by your company.
5. Video equals YouTube
YouTube is a great place for independent content creators and brands to build a following. It’s where most people start when looking for any type of video content, so it just makes sense to have your videos there.
Be sure to fully search engine optimize (SEO) every video you publish. This will help your potential audience find it more easily. You can also collaborate with independent YouTube creators to help grow your audience more quickly.
6. Mind your time
The length of your video is important.
Most people won’t watch a 20-plus minute video when simply looking for information on a product.
However, they will watch a three-minute video about nearly anything. Consider the goal of the content and audience before putting out a video to ensure it’s the right length to increase the chances of having viewers watch the whole thing.
7. Have fun
Finally, you should have fun when creating your videos. This is the ultimate formula for producing engaging and interesting video content for your business.
If you’re not having fun with what you’re recording, do you think your prospects will enjoy it or have any interest in it?
Ways to Use Marketing Videos for Business
There are different ways marketing videos can be used to help businesses of all sizes to increase their online presence, improve sales, and convert visitors to customers.
1. Collect leads
A great strategy for video marketing is to give a viewer a “taste” of your product or service which leaves them wanting more. Then, encourage them to share their contact information with you in exchange for more information, a downloadable PDF, access to the next video with the full story, etc.
Just like that, you can start collecting warm leads for your sales team to start contacting.
2. Drive site visits
Consider YouTube itself as a marketing platform. People who would never stumble across your website may discover your videos.
This in turn can bring them to your website and get them into your sales funnel. For this reason, it’s also important to use different types of content to target people in different parts of the sales process.
Top-of-funnel videos, for example, are intended to grab your viewer’s attention and make people aware that your brand exists.
3. Tell your brand story
Believe it or not, video is not only about selling a product or service – it’s also about making emotional connections with potential clients.
Video marketing is a great opportunity to share your story – who you are and why you are doing what you do – in a way that you could never share via text or images.
Today, people want to buy from real people, not faceless corporations. That’s why telling your brand story is so important. It allows people to put a face to your brand that they can connect to and become eager to buy from.
Still Have Questions?
Now you know how essential engaging videos are for businesses. As you can see, by incorporating videos into your marketing strategy you’ll be able to transmit your message more effectively.
Thinking about ways to get your sales going and your profit margins up? We’ve helped thousands of companies reinvigorate their business and watch sales and profits increase 30 percent or more in one year and some have doubled their sales. Want to explore further? Questions? Get in touch at (281) 217-4951 and let’s set up a time to talk.
