Video marketing may sound technical, but with technology advancing rapidly, it’s becoming easier for smaller businesses to access. It’s a fabulous way to boost credibility and authority, becoming the go-to expert in your industry.
And with the increase in ROI that comes with video marketing, it’s no surprise that it’s growing in popularity.
However, video marketing isn’t a breeze. For it to be effective, you need a carefully planned strategy and a determination to succeed. Let’s get started on explaining how to execute brand building with video marketing.
What Benefits Does Video Marketing Bring To A Business?
With 81% of businesses using video as a marketing tool (up from 63% over the last year), it’s clear that video marketing brings considerable benefits.
Increases brand awareness – 54% of consumers want to see more videos rather than written content. It’s the ideal way to stay ahead of your competitors and get your brand seen. It allows you to provide a sneak peek behind the scenes of your brand, increasing trust and credibility.
Improves lead generation – 84% of video marketers say video has been effective for generating leads, up 1% from 2020. Video marketing also drives more traffic to your website. After all, YouTube is the second biggest online search tool.
Boosts conversion rates – people love watching videos. They’re more engaging, and it makes retaining information more manageable. 84% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. Isn’t that worth giving video marketing a go?
And that’s not all.
Video can be used across a variety of channels, including email marketing. It increases engagement on social media channels and indicates a brand commitment to new technology and growth.
What Needs To Be Included In A Video Marketing Strategy?
For most brands, creating a video marketing strategy is similar to other marketing strategy techniques.
In short, video marketing needs a focus on customer personas, research, and buyer awareness.
Know Your Target Audience
As with any aspect of your selling within your business, knowing who you’re targeting is essential. There’s little point in investing in video creation if the wrong people see it.
The good news about personas?
Once you know who your ideal customer is, you’ll create videos specific to their needs.
And even better, focusing on well-defined pain points wants, and needs leads to higher engagement and conversion rates.
How To Create Customer Personas
A customer persona (or avatar) is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. Most brands have more than one persona. It depends on the type of product or service.
Carry out customer research to figure out who your target audience is. Personas take in all details, from location and age to interests and profession.
Each persona should contain the following information –
- Goals in relation to the brand
- Pain points needs and wants
- Demographics (location, age, job title)
- Hobbies and interests
You could also look at other brands they’re likely to buy from and what they might look for in a supplier.
In short, the more information you have, the easier it will be to hit the right points in your videos.
What Kind Of Videos Should Feature In A Video Marketing Strategy?
When planning any video marketing strategy, it’s essential to take buyer awareness into account.
What does this mean for your brand?
The key to a great video marketing strategy is to have videos that touch on every area of the buyer’s journey.
And that’s easier than you think.
Awareness stage – Create a great first impression through educational videos. Research shows that 96% of people watch explainer videos to learn about a product or service. Informational videos also work well for awareness. Think “How to…” and “5 ways to fix…” style videos.
Consideration stage – You got your viewers through the awareness stage, and now they’re considering buying. Empathy is required in these videos – by the bucketful. For this stage, the best types of videos are demos, social proof stories, and videos that humanize your brand. Stay focused on the pain points and answer any FAQs.
Decision stage – Congratulations! It’s time to convert your potential buyer into paying customer. Hit them with some of these converter vids – a comparison of your product against others, a free trial explainer, testimonials, and previous buyer success stories.
Post-purchase stage – It’s not time to pop the champagne corks yet. The work is ongoing. It’s time to turn your buyer into a loyal brand supporter. “Thank you” videos work particularly well, especially if personalized. And “How to use…” videos are ideal. They show your buyer your dedication to helping them get the most out of their purchase.
How To Use Video Marketing When You Have Little Time And A Limited Budget
Wondering how you can tap into the incredible benefits of video marketing without owning a filming studio or a crew to help you record?
Don’t sweat it. You can still go to the video marketing ball.
Social media platforms are the perfect place to launch a video marketing strategy. Firstly, you can upload videos for free (unless you’re running a paid ad). Secondly, you don’t need fancy equipment to make engaging videos.
Using native social media (videos uploaded directly on the channel rather than via a link) is ideal for boosting brand awareness. It’s also less formal than some video styles, providing the opportunity to humanize your brand.
But here’s the thing.
Choose your social media channel wisely. There’s no point using Facebook or Instagram if your ideal audience doesn’t hang out there.
LinkedIn tends to be the number one choice for business. This is because it has a more professional style. 86% of professionals have claimed they’ve gained leads from the LinkedIn channel, making it a worthwhile option.
Make Video Marketing Part Of Your Business Plan And Enjoy The Benefits
Using video throughout your business structure, from your website to social media channels, has the potential to increase your customer base.
So give it a go and reap the rewards of having your brand on screen.
About the author
Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based video marketing production agency. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain, and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations. Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.
