Video – Where to start?
You know that adding video to your digital marketing strategy can help you keep up with the competition, but where should you start? Anywhere!
Your strategy will differ a bit depending on your audience – do you sell a product or a service? Is your company selling business-to-business or business to consumer? Think about what type of videos your prospects would like to see.*
Here’s what was most popular in 2017:
B2C Video Marketing
By creating, brand-centric, eye-catching videos, B2C marketers can boost awareness of their brand and increase sales.
Video is an important part of today’s shopping experience:
- Almost 50% of web users look for a video before visiting a store, says Google.
- Wyzowl says that 79% of consumers prefer watching video to reading about a product.
- And Hubspot says that 43% of consumers want to see more video content this year.
- 84% of consumers have bought something after watching a video.
- 91% of consumers have watched an explainer video.
- Information about offers and discounts can be included in the video as click to buy a component.
And what your viewers hear (or don’t hear) is important, too:
- 75% of consumers have not bought a product because the voiceover annoyed them
- 83% prefer an informal and chatty tone.
- 85% of Facebook video is watched without the sound turned on.
Experts tell us that 35 -65% of viewers bail out before the end of the video. B2C companies should aim for 30 second – 1 minute videos with a catchy title and attractive thumbnail/cover image. Closed-captioning should be used if the visual content needs narration. The first 10 seconds are critical for grabbing the attention of your audience.
The bottom line is to think about the viewer. Do they truly have an incentive to watch your content? Identify the audience and understand what kind of videos they want to see. Be relevant and on-brand. The most successful (and viral) B2C videos reflect pop culture and humor; however, make sure that your message is consistent with your brand.
We’ll cover B2B video strategies in our next post, so stay tuned!
The impact of video in digital marketing can’t be dismissed. If you’re just getting started with video, or want to step up your game, DNA Digital Marketing can help. We offer a full range of digital marketing services and have some of the best video talent in the business in-house. We’d love to chat about your goals, challenges and video projects!
*HubSpot suggests these ideas:
1) Demo Videos Showcase how your product works — whether that’s taking viewers on a tour of your software and its use cases or unboxing and putting a physical product to the test.
2) Brand videos Brand videos are typically distributed as a part of a larger advertising campaign, showcasing the company’s high-level vision, mission, or products and services. The goal of brand videos is to build awareness around your company and attract your target audience.
3) Event Videos Is your business hosting a conference, round table discussion, fundraiser, or another type of event? Produce a highlight reel or release interesting interviews and presentations from the gathering.
4) Expert Interviews Getting internal experts or thought leaders in your industry to do short interviews on camera is a great way to build trust and authority with your target audience. Find the influencers in your industry or those with a different point of view and get these discussions in front of your audience.
5) Educational or How-To Videos How-to videos can be used to teach your audience something new or build the foundational knowledge they’ll need to better understand your business and solutions.
6) Explainer Videos This type of video is used to help your audience better understand why they need your product or service. Many explainer videos focus on a fictional journey of the company’s core buyer persona who is struggling with a problem. This person overcomes the issue by adopting or buying the business’s solution.
7) Animated Videos Animated videos, such as the below one we created to promote a key theme from the 2017 State of Inbound report, can be a great format for hard-to-grasp concepts that need strong visuals or an intangible service or product.
8) Case Study and Customer Testimonial Videos Your prospects want to know that your product will solve their specific problem, and one of the best ways to showcase this and build trust is by creating case study videos that feature your happy and loyal customers. These are your best advocates. Get them on-camera describing their challenges and how your company helped them meet their goals.
9) Live Videos Live video is a great format for giving your viewers a behind-the-scenes look at your company. Stream interviews and live presentations, and encourage people watching to comment with questions.
10) 360-Degree & Virtual Reality Videos With 360-degree videos, viewers can see in every direction by scrolling around to see the content from different perspectives. This spherical video style is suited best for allowing viewers to experience a location or event, such as exploring Antarctica with scientists or meeting a hammerhead shark. Virtual reality allows viewers to navigate and control their experience. These videos are usually viewed through devices such as Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard.
11) Augmented Reality Videos In this style of video, a digital layer is added to what you are currently viewing in the world. For example: You can point your phone’s camera at your living room and see how a couch would look in the space.
12) Personalized Messages Recording a video can be a creative way to continue a conversation or get the attention of someone who has not responded via email or another communication channel. Record yourself recapping an important meeting or giving personalized recommendations using a tool such as Loom or Soapbox. These videos will be a delight moment for your prospects and can drive them further down the purchasing funnel.
