Because video marketing gets your message across to your target audience in a way that lets them connect with you on an emotional level.
Video marketing can be used for video ads, video SEO, video email sequences, and video social media updates to name a few ways. With the rise of video-sharing platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Vine, video has become one of the most popular online resources.
Instead of wasting time crafting text-based content that may not rank well in search engines or have your readers scrolling past without being engaged, video creates an instant connection between you and your target market by drawing their attention with audio and visuals which are proven to hold people’s attention longer than reading words alone.
It also helps you cut down on producing written content since the video is a great way to offer video updates to your email subscribers.
And since the video is a powerful medium, there are also a few things you’ll need to consider before you begin creating video content that gets your message across effectively and doesn’t result in lost video marketing opportunities.
Keep these video marketing tips in mind as you develop video engagement strategies for your business:
1) Video Content That Converts
One of the biggest mistakes companies make when it comes to video creation is thinking that viewers want something different from the written content. This couldn’t be further from the truth!
People don’t read anymore because the text is boring and bland – visually speaking, video content versus text-based content should be familiar yet captivating enough to hold attention with a combination of video content that converts.
The video content that converts should include video titles and video thumbnails that communicate a clear benefit to the viewer, video descriptions with compelling calls to action, video annotations for social sharing, and video email sequences for retargeting.
This way, not only will you have an engaging video for your audience but it can also be used as a tool from beginning to end from forming the relationship to closing the sale.
2) Optimizing Videos
If you want more views on videos, one of the easiest things you can do is simply optimize them so they rank high in search engines for keywords relevant to your product or service offering.
There are plenty of video SEO tools out there like TubeB, VidIQ Vision, and TubeGator to name a few, that can help you with video SEO and video rankings.
But video search engine optimization is only one part of the video marketing equation.
You need video ads that are relevant to your target market, video social media updates for engagement, video email sequences that fit into an overall editorial calendar along regular blog posts for continuous blogging content.
3) Call To Action At The End Of All Videos
Just because people are watching videos doesn’t mean they’re ready to buy now – so making sure your videos have a call to action is essential!
When it comes to video calls-to-action, expect them at the end or beginning of each video depending on context and how it fits in with the rest of your video content.
Some video marketers like Neil Patel, founder of Crazy Egg and Quick Sprout, recommend including video calls-to-action at the end of every video to increase email subscribers while others like HubSpot Video Marketing Manager Demian Farnworth believe it’s best practice to include video calls-to-action before people get invested in the video.
This depends on your video strategy and what you’re trying to achieve with video marketing – if you’re using video for social media updates then having a call to action at the beginning is probably more beneficial for engagement whereas if your videos are meant for opt-ins or sales, have them at the end so they can drive traffic back up to your website.
4) Updating Your Video Content Regularly
If video content is part of your video marketing strategy, you’ll need to make sure you’re updating it regularly.
This can be done by following video best practices like re-promoting video updates that went viral or video social media updates that got a ton of eyeballs like search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), and other paid campaign efforts.
Talk about video analytics to see what types of videos are working for your business; focus on the ones that received the most views while offering up new video ideas for video engagements with your audience.
This helps you stay top-of-mind with your target market so they continue watching more video content – if your blog readers read one article by you on SEO, video marketing, video trends, or video production, don’t be afraid to reach out to them with video updates that are relevant.
5) Using Video For Engagement
Using video for engagement can be one of the most beneficial strategies video marketers can do – not only can video help you engage your target market but it’s also an opportunity to include video calls-to-action at the beginning or end depending on how long people watch before dropping off.
If they drop off after 30 seconds, consider having a CTA at the beginning; if they continue watching until the end then leave them with a call-to-action that drives traffic up to your website for lead acquisition.
The best way to tell how engaged viewers are is by looking at video analytics to see how far people are watching. If they aren’t digging deep into your video content, then consider adding video calls-to-action at the beginning or end of the video to increase video engagement and video conversions.
6) Using Video To Increase Brand Awareness
Video is one of the best mediums out there for increasing brand awareness – most businesses forget about this!
Whether you’re using video social media updates, videos for email marketing, blog posts, or regular video content on YouTube, you have an opportunity to expand your reach by connecting with more people.
The trick is to figure out who your target audience is and what kind of video content would engage them. For example, if you’re selling Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt you might want to create video content that talks about video trends, video production, and video marketing – this will help you engage video-interested people so they’ll take your video updates seriously when it comes to organic yogurt.
This is one of the biggest benefits of video marketing – no matter what type of business you have, there’s a way to make video work for you!
