Video marketing is a very important tool for any business. If a business can have an effective video marketing strategy then it will have a number of benefits.
Why Use Video?
We’ll look at video strategy, video for social media and explain why you don’t need
expensive equipment to make video marketing work for your company.
Finally, we’ll cover video promotion including steps to gain views for your content many people forget to take.
Video in the Digital Age
Video has become a major part of everyone’s day-to-day lives thanks to a platform such as YouTube. Due to YouTube being such a popular website with over 5 billion videos watched each day. There are countless content creators that produce all types of videos. Some of the biggest influencers in the world began on YouTube, such as PewDiePie, KSI and Mr Beast.
Even in Northern Ireland, there are a number of big YouTube stars. One, in particular, is Luke Fergie (iFerg).
Famous for his mobile gaming videos, particularly on games like Call of Duty and Fortnite, iFerg has amassed over 1.7million subscribers on his YouTube channel. This goes to show how successful video can be, no matter where you are in the world
YouTube
YouTube is now seen as the powerhouse of video-sharing content and video marketing. According to Oberlo, there are 2 billion YouTube users, and accounting for 79% of internet users.
YouTube is a great way for businesses to promote their product services through video marketing. It is essentially a free way to advertise to a large pool of potential customers. Many companies use YouTube as a way to advertise their products.
As seen above, Apple used YouTube to market their iPhone 12, the video is successful as it is short and gets straight to the point. They display the clear benefits of the smartphone and why a customer should purchase it.
Why Your Business Needs a Video Marketing Strategy
According to Smart Insights, 92% of marketers say that video is a massive part of a marketing strategy. This is an increase from 2015 when only 78% of marketers believed this. This rise in percentage shows that the power of an effective video marketing strategy is clearly growing stronger.
Video Marketing on Social Media
Social media is a great space for marketers to promote their products as it is free and far-reaching. This means there is a potentially huge amount of people that could see the video marketing content that has been produced. According to Sprout Social, between 2013 and 2018, the number of time people spent watching videos online increased 32% per year. This shows the clear growth of video marketing on social media.
Types of Video Marketing
There is a number of different types of video marketing to choose from which will keep your video content fresh and exciting.
Vlogs
Vlogs, otherwise known as a ‘video blog’, are easy to shoot, do not require top-end camera equipment, and can just be shot using your smartphone.
Vlogs add a more personal touch to your businesses video content. Vlogging allows for people to have a real look at what the business actually looks like. A vlog could be something as simple as what a usual day looks like for someone that works at your company.
Although blog posts are great, the majority of people would prefer video blogs. Many people prefer to watch a video than have to read the countless amount of paragraphs.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes, videos are a good way of humanising your company. People will begin to become more interested in products if they feel they can trust a business. Behind the scenes videos allow people to put faces to names of the staff of the business.
Questions and Answers
Q&As are a great way to answer any questions that people have about your business. Any unanswered questions will be addressed, and can even include questions about your business’s product or service.
The great thing about Q&As is that they can be done in video form or in person. Conducting Q&As on video allows you to control the kind of questions you receive, which will prevent any unwanted questions from being asked.
Event Videos
Businesses usually produce these nature of videos to be shown before, during the event or after. Event videos are great ways to keep a memory, celebrate your staff, and even share on social media to promote your business.
The events would usually be things like:
- Conferences
- Conventions
- Corporate Events
- Private Fundraisers.
Product Demonstrations
Product demonstrations will outline the clear benefits and features of your products as a way to persuade people to purchase your product rather than your competitors. The videos usually target people who are seriously interested in buying the product.
Live Video
Live video is a format that has come more to the front in recent years. YouTube was the first to introduce live video with ‘YouTube Live’ in 2011. In more recent years, Instagram and Facebook decided to introduce their own form of live videos.
The clear benefit of live video is that you can interact with your customers easily. When you are live, people can leave comments for you to answer. This is beneficial for any customers that have questions regarding a product they purchased.
Customer Testimonials
Customer testimonials are recommendations from previous customers that explain the benefits of a product or service. This will give people that are thinking of buying the product confidence that they will have the same experience.
Customer testimonials can be something as simple as a quote from a past customer or reviews from customers online.
Tips for Making Video Content Change
Below will provide you with a number of tips to help improve your video content.
Lighting
For outside filming, ProfileTree will sometimes use a small LED light. But finding well-lit areas with even lighting (no shadows) will be ideal.
Shots becoming too bright or too dark can be avoided by being aware of your position and moving around to suit.
For studio/ indoor video, relatively cheap LED lights (perhaps £50 – £100 each) allow variable light levels.
Having good lighting while on the set ensures you do not have to go back to film after production is finished.
The Rule of Thirds
This is usually where shots will be split into thirds that are horizontally and vertically. Normally the shot should just be off centre to create a greater image effect, movement and shots.
Audio is Vital
Having crisp clear audio is just as important as having good video. Outside the audio for the actual video, it is essential to include things like voice-overs, music or narration. Having microphones in the correct positioning when shooting will ensure you have the best audio.
B-Roll
This is essentially any secondary footage that was not shot outside of the primary shot. In editing, the two are usually sliced together to add to the story or add dramatic effect.
Video Marketing
Make Results Happen
Talk with your audience, rather than at your audience, with engaging and useful content made for sharing. Simple. We built our own company on content marketing – especially video – so we’ll show you how.
How to Use Video Content for Your Business
At ProfileTree, we understand the importance of video marketing for businesses. The power of great video content marketing has the ability to build real communities around a brand as it was reported in 2018, 53% of consumers engage with a brand after viewing a video on social media. And we believe in measurable customer journeys designed around ROI.
During our video training, we deliver an overview of video know-how for building your business…
Our Work
ProfileTree practises ‘pull marketing’, meaning we produce useful content made to encourage further engagement between the potential consumer and brand.
As video far outweighs the ROI of any other work we have done, we continue to invest in equipment, our own YouTube videos, live broadcasts and more.
Over 750 videos – across tourism, education and more – have been published by ProfileTree, gaining over 115,000 hours of watch time.
A recent ‘Places to Visit in Northern Ireland’ won its category for ProfileTree’s ConnollyCove brand in the recent Irish Content Marketing Awards.
Why do we produce our own videos in sectors like tourism? Because, by showing our customers the power of video already supporting their industry, we don’t just help local businesses, but can prove how great content means genuine results.
For more information, check out our tailored range of video packages.
Social Media Video Marketing
The term ‘video marketing’ doesn’t only refer to vlogs and professional YouTube videos, but it also refers to social media video marketing. The rise of social media marketing demonstrates the changes and shifts in the digital landscape as the consumption of social media has grown rapidly over the past few years. Nowadays, video marketing has become a front-runner for driving engagement and conversions on social media platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
Recent reports over the past few years have indicated that consumers prefer viewing video content rather than still images. As discussed earlier in this blog, it’s no surprise that consumers prefer watching videos as they are more visually engaging through the use of different clips, effects, and transitions.
Due to the engaging nature of videos, this has contributed to the massive success of Instagram Reels and TikTok videos as consumers scroll through their feeds to find the next interesting video.
Video content presents a fantastic opportunity for businesses to grab their audience’s attention and reach not only existing customers but also new customers. Customers enjoy taking in stories through video content, and so a video marketing strategy can help your business communicate your brand messaging while building connections with your audience online. Let’s take a look at how you can develop a video marketing strategy based on some of the leading social media platforms.
Building a Social Media Video Marketing Strategy For Facebook
Facebook remains the most popular social media platform in the world. With its incredible user base, Facebook offers multiple opportunities for businesses of all sizes to reach their target audience through video content and sell their products and services online. Let’s take a deep dive into some of the best video marketing tools to utilise on Facebook to reach your target audience.
Facebook Live
Facebook Lives offers the opportunity to connect with your audience in real time and allows your customers to participate in a Q&A session to learn more about your business. Some of the best practices to implement when delivering a Facebook Live include:
- Encourage your audience to participate in a Q&A session.
- Schedule your Facebook Live in advance to allow as many attendees as possible to set a reminder for your event.
- Arrange your Facebook Live around significant events or occasions for your business, such as an anniversary or a product launch to build audience anticipation.
- Advertise your Facebook Live through Facebook posts, video content, and Facebook ads.
Facebook Video Ads
Facebook video ads are a great way to maximise the power of video marketing while targeting your audience based on their location, age, and interests. Some of the best tips to practise when developing your Facebook video ads include:
- Target Your Audience: When setting up your video ads, ensure to include details about your target audience such as their location, age, and interests as this will ensure that Facebook will show your video ads to the correct audience.
- Experiment With Content: Remember to experiment with your video content by testing out videos related to brand awareness and product demonstrations, and review your insights to understand what type of content your audience engages with the most.
- Include a Call-To-Action: Add a Call-To-Action at the end of your video to encourage your audience to interact with your business by taking action such as visiting your website or purchasing a product.
Building a Social Media Video Marketing Strategy For Instagram
Instagram has become so much more than a photo-sharing app. Since the launch of Instagram Reels and Instagram Stories, video content on Instagram has become a key contributor to the success of viral content. Here are some of the best video marketing strategies to utilise when promoting your content on Instagram.
- Instagram Stories: Stories on Instagram are a great way to utilise video marketing and also engagement features such as polls and quizzes. The more engagement your content generates, the better it will perform on Instagram!
- Instagram Highlights: Highlights allow you to save any Stories you would like to allow consumers to view past the 24-hour period from when you posted content. Ensure to save your top-performing video content as highlights to encourage users to return to your content.
- Instagram Reels: Reels perform the best as short forms of video content as online users enjoy short and useful video content. To ensure your audience watches the full duration of your Reels, we recommend utilising free video editing software, transitions, and text to hold user engagement and increase your reach online.
Building a Social Media Video Marketing Strategy For TikTok
Since the launch of TikTok in 2016, the social media platform has positioned itself as one of the most engaging and entertaining social media platforms for online users. The large amount of social media video content available on TikTok allows businesses to develop content strategies that will attract their target audience and increase brand awareness. Here are some of the best practices when developing your social media video marketing strategy for TikTok:
- Create Trending Content: Trending content performs extremely well on TikTok due to content being current and shareable. When developing your social media video marketing strategy, identify trending topics and discussions within your industry to implement these in your TikTok videos. Utilize a specialized TikTok video editor to create engaging and viral-worthy content that aligns with the platform’s trends and aesthetics. This will increase your chances of reaching a large audience and generating engagement.
- Utilise Keywords to Improve SEO: Adding keywords to your social media video content means that you are aligning what users are searching for with the content that you are creating. Including keywords related to your products and services improves your SEO and ultimately your reach when targeting online users.
Respond To Comments: Connecting with your audience online is key to generating an online following and engagement. Once you have published your social media video content, ensure to reply to the user’s comments to increase the engagement rate and encourage users to react to your content. This also indicates how engaging and shareable your content is, so ensure to monitor your engagement rate in your TikTok Analytics.
Want to know more about video marketing for your business? Get in touch with ProfileTree today to develop your video marketing strategy and increase sales!
ProfileTree
Claire Mulligan // 11th February 2024 