Video marketing is more than embedding a video on your website and garnering views. It requires research, strategy, and planning. Videos have made their mark in content marketing, making it essential for businesses to have a successful marketing campaign.
Videos are becoming the preferred way of consuming content with around 78% of people watching online videos every week and 55% every single day. There are more than 500 million hours of video watched on Youtube every day with 72 hours uploaded every 60 seconds.
Although those numbers are already pretty big, it keeps increasing every year. The reality is, videos are slowly becoming a staple of our daily lives. When you go on your social media platforms, there’s a high probability you’ll see at least one video in your feed.
Due to its popularity, social media platforms all over the web have embraced it. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have encouraged their users to utilize and upload videos by providing features such as Instagram Stories, Facebook Live sessions, and Twitter’s bite-sized videos.
So why are they so popular?
Easier to Understand Than Text
Attention spans are growing shorter as time goes by. With video marketing, businesses are able to deliver their messages in a more effective and efficient way. According to research, viewers retain 95% of a message when it’s in a video format compared to when they read it in text.
This is also because we’re visual learners and we process imagery better and faster than text alone. Trying to explain a difficult concept? Animated videos work as well.
The point is video does an excellent job of delivering information in a concise and digestible way, making it easier for the viewer to understand.
Highly Shareable
People love to share stuff they think is cool or relatable. Although there is some awesome content out there such as articles and blog posts, many people don’t have that much time on their hands to read through them.
With their visually appealing and often short format, videos are great for sharing on social media platforms. It’s easier to digest and process— not to mention, it saves viewers plenty of time.
In fact, according to statistics, after watching a branded video they found enjoyable, 83% of consumers said they would consider sharing the video. So if you’re looking to spread the word about your brand, try using videos.
Increases conversion rates
Did you know that videos boost conversions by 20% on average? And when they’re embedded above the fold on your home page, they work especially well. Having a video on your landing page can also help retain your visitors, doing wonders for your SEO.
According to Tubular Insights, consumers will make a purchase after watching a video. People want to know about a product before they buy it. By watching a video, potential customers get to know a product and its nooks and crannies before spending their money on it.
Videos that show viewers how to use products are a great way to boost sales and conversion rates since it gives the audience insight on how the product can be used in their lives.
Technical Tips on Creating Video
Creating a video isn’t exactly easy. It takes time, energy, and skill. Here are some simple technical tips to make sure you get the right shot.
Pay Attention to the Lighting
Imagine watching a video with great content but with lackluster lighting. It wouldn’t be that great right? So one of the secrets to creating professional-looking videos is to use decent lighting. Although this may seem like a trivial aspect, it’s actually quite important.
When you’re planning your video, be intentional about lighting and determine what types of lights you want to use and where to place them to achieve the desired effect. Lighting can be pricey, so if you’re on a budget you can opt for natural light (from the sun).
Lighting determines the mood. If you’re looking for a dramatic effect, you can use shadows. If you’re looking for a cheerful and ethereal feel, you can use plenty of light.
Keep Your Camera Steady
Whether you’re trying to get the perfect shot by panning or doing a crane shot for that sky-high effect, you want to avoid a shaky camera. Shaky shots can make your videos look amateur-like and possibly make your viewers get motion sickness.
To avoid this, you want to keep your camera steady. It’s not as easy as it looks unless you’re looking to take a picture. The key is to avoid moving your camera so much unless you really have to.
When you need to pan or move the camera, treat your camera as a full cup of coffee and keep your speed consistent. While doing this, avoid making sudden stops. You can try to keep your camera still with a tripod or set it on a sturdy surface.
Make Sure the Sound is Clear
Audio quality is just as important as video quality. In fact, it’s actually more important. Many people would be willing to watch a video that’s not shot in HD or something that’s a bit grainy, as long as the audio quality is top-notch.
With fuzzy audio, anyone wouldn’t hesitate to hit the “close” button or click on another video just seconds in. Since audio is important, a decent microphone should be your first investment piece.
Getting the best microphone you can afford can last you a long time, especially if it performs well. If you’re on a tight budget, there are some good options for under $100.
Apply the Rule of Thirds
In film composition, the rule of thirds is one of the most basic principles. The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guidelines and their intersection points. So instead of placing the subject right in the middle of the shot, it’s placed along the lines of the grid.
However, this doesn’t mean you should follow the rule of thirds for every shot. If you’re still getting the hang of making a video, the rule of thirds is a great tool to learn from. When you’ve gained experience, you can decide whether or not to stick to the rule or break it.
Use Good Editing Tools
With good video editing software, you can turn raw footage into something really great. There are different kinds of tools out there. Some simpler tools like Wave.video, Camtasia or iMovie are easier to use and are user-friendly for beginners. Professional editing tools such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro are favorites for many video makers.
Although these editing tools come with a lot of fun effects and options, it’s important to not go overboard and stick to a simple and clean editing style that looks more professional.
Video Marketing Strategy to Boost Traffic
After shooting your footage and getting the right shots that you need, it’s time to edit and upload your videos. Here are some tips and strategies to help you boost traffic.
Create an Engaging Title and Thumbnail
Thumbnails can make or break your chances of getting views. Although they look trivial, these small images are pretty important as writer Maria Jose would say: “The Youtube thumbnail is the 21st century’s book cover.” These thumbnails are small, clickable pictures that represent each video.
When creating an engaging thumbnail, make sure that it’s paired well with the first 10-15 seconds of your video. This is because people’s attention spans are growing shorter and no one likes clickbait.
Stick to interesting titles and try to use pictures of real people in your thumbnails. Make sure to limit the text by keeping it under seven words and use contrast with bold colors to create visual hierarchy.
Upload it on Different Platforms
Uploading your video on one single platform shouldn’t be the final step. When you’re doing a marketing campaign, you should focus on sharing the video on different platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.
Did you know that people spend almost two hours of their time on social media platforms? Social media platforms are a great starting point for reaching out to a broad audience.
When you upload your video on different platforms, make sure that the video quality is up to par and that you continue to upload regularly to engage with your audience to build your brand presence.
Optimize the Video for Better Searchability
Social media platforms are great places to build awareness and presence for your brand but the end goal is to bring visitors to your site so you can convert them into your customers. To do this, you have to make sure your videos on your site are search engine friendly.
You can make videos on your site search engine friendly by providing transcription to your video so it’ll appear on Google searches. Don’t forget to optimize your video file metadata with related or user intent keywords on the title and description of the video.
Make Sure it’s Mobile-Friendly
Almost everyone watched videos on mobile devices. As a matter of fact, a survey conducted by Facebook found that people are 1.5x more likely to watch videos on a smartphone than on their desktop computers.
So, it’s important to keep your mobile audience in mind. Use responsive video players such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Brightcove since these platforms will automatically increase or reduce video quality according to the viewers’ bandwidth.
Also, keep an eye out for text size. Text that appears big on TV will look small on a smartphone screen. Duration also matters— a sixty-second video is better suited for Instagram whereas a sixty-minute documentary is better suited for television.
Include a Clear Call-to-Action
Finally, don’t forget to include a call-to-action in every video you upload. Without a clear call-to-action, your viewers will be confused since they won’t be sure what to do after.
Add a call-to-action that leads to your site to increase traffic. You can do this by adding a link in the description box and mention to your viewers to visit your site at the end of the video and use Youtube’s End Screens.
Wrap Up
Now that you have a rough idea of why video marketing is important, you can get started with your own campaign. We created a list of 100+ tools for video marketing that you can check out. The list has a variety of tools with different price ranges and uses. I hope you can find it hopeful!
Author’s Bio:
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com
LinkedIn: andre oentoro
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Image 4 by Video Influencer from youtube.com
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