Video marketing is a powerful, enduring, and effective way to market. Year after year the stats back this up- 96% of marketing professionals surveyed by Animoto invested ad dollars in video marketing, and 91% of those folks were pleased with their ROI. Stats also show that video’s not going anywhere – look at the world’s biggest video platform, YouTube: it boasts a billion users (half of all Internet users) and those users watch over a billion hours of video per day. In fact, in 2019, video surpassed blogs and infographics to become the number one form of media in content strategy.
Wondering how to turn those numbers into value for your company? These seven secrets of successful video marketing can help you make sure you are on the path to success.
1. A good video depends on a good story
This tip comes first for a reason – the most important factor in video marketing is storytelling. We, humans, are hard-wired to crave a story.
A story ticks all of the boxes inherent in great marketing: first, you’re intrigued, then you’re engaged, and finally, you’re invested. And video takes storytelling a step further. The human brain processes images exponentially more quickly than text. Thus, ultimately a video is the quickest way to get your story into a viewer’s brain.
Now, there are tons of video types out there. Some are stories in and of themselves- for example, telling viewers what’s behind your brand, or sharing a customer’s success. But the key in moving from decent video marketing to super successful video marketing is infusing storytelling into all types of video. Explainer videos, process videos, product reveal videos – all can tell a story.
Think it can’t be done? It has – see some examples here!
2. Get your logistics in order before getting creative
Video marketing can definitely be fun- anytime you have the opportunity to leverage creativity alongside marketing, it’s a good balance of business and pleasure. But in order to really see the value in the time and effort you’ve invested in your video marketing, it’s crucial to set a foundation for success. Define the goals of your video marketing endeavor. You can start simple, i.e. more traffic to your website. You can start small, like just getting 2 more new customers from a video. But you should start somewhere. Also, be sure you outline your video marketing budget, your unique value proposition, and basics like where your video will be hosted and shared.
3. Know your audience, and speak to them
You might think you already know your customer base, and perhaps that’s widely true. But do you know your video audience – and more importantly, can you speak their language? This is also key when determining where a video will be shared. Ask yourself why viewers are watching your video or videos. Do they want to be educated, or entertained? Are they potential customers on Twitter or Facebook? If so, you’ll want to keep the video short and focused. Are they potential employees on LinkedIn? In that case, be sure to use closed captioning, since 80% of those watching videos on LinkedIn are watching with their sound off.
4. Draw your viewers in, and give them a clear call to action
Perhaps more than any other media, videos need a hook. The first few seconds of a video often determines whether a viewer keeps watching. Even though the top 5% of videos keep viewers watching until the very end, the average video only retains 37% of viewers from start to finish. It’s important to hook viewers in at the beginning.
Use unconventional tactics, like a blurred image or a bold graphic to engage a viewer and keep them watching. Intrigue your audience by showing them a surprising fact or posing a tricky question. Or opt to share your message early and often (even within a video’s thumbnail image), to make sure it isn’t missed even if someone clicks away.
And don’t forget that a Call to Action is a crucial component of successful video marketing. You probably already know that a CTA button, whether it pops up at a video’s end or stays put throughout, is a great way to measure video marketing success. But you can also get creative with your CTAs by adjusting the color, copy, placement, and all sorts of other factors. This makes for a relatively easy and measurable way to increase your conversions.
5. Remember: the world’s gone mobile
According to the experts at Facebook, people are 1.5 times more likely to watch a video on a smartphone versus a computer. 92% of mobile video viewers share videos with their friends. And according to Cisco’s most recent annual report on video, over 70% of the world’s population will connect to the Internet via mobile by 2023. It’s a mobile world, and we’re just watching in it! Capitalize on this lasting trend by adapting vertical video formats and live video stories popularized by platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.
6. Always optimize
Last fall, Google began adding short auto-playing previews to videos that pop up in search results on Android devices. This is just one example of how video has begun to influence the SEO landscape. As video becomes a more popular web traffic driver, you’ll want to keep up by optimizing your videos. Consider your goals when choosing a hosting platform. Then continue to boost your optimization potential by doing things like adding a video transcript, creating an engaging thumbnail image (videos with custom thumbnails often have a higher click rate), and paying attention to the keywords in your video headlines and descriptions.
7. Reuse and recycle your video content
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – as much as possible, keep your video content evergreen. This way, you can repurpose it in the future, perhaps when your video topics become more relevant due to current events or new products.
While producing your videos, you should also keep other manners of video recycling in mind.
Maybe you’ve created a long-form video for YouTube, where video length recommendations are around 15 minutes.
You can share quick clips of that video on Twitter or Facebook – or repurpose the video script for an informative blog post.
You can also share high-resolution screenshots on Instagram to drive traffic back to the video.
As Neil Patel says, there’s no such thing as duplicate content – in fact, you may be able to depend on content to deliver more traffic by refurbishing and republishing it over time.
These seven secrets of successful video marketing will help you tell your story, engage clients or customers, and ultimately grow your business.