Video is undoubtedly the future of marketing, but only when done right. With an explosion of video marketing channels and ad formats, marketers have to balance their budget, the message they want to display, and their target audience. To help you find that perfect balance between all three aspects, we have created a list of 17 video marketing tips to help you create content your customers will love.
1. Create a video strategy
To ensure your videos are successful, you need to create a video strategy that includes your goals, target audience, and distribution plan. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Define your goals: What do you want your videos to achieve? More views? More website visitors? More customers?
- Know your audience: What kind of people are you trying to reach with your videos? What do they like to watch? What do they care about?
- Plan your distribution: Where will you promote your videos? On your website? On social media? In email marketing campaigns?
Once you have a video strategy, you can start doing some research on the kind of videos your audience loves.
2. Do your research
Before you start creating videos, it’s essential to do your research. Identify content that is popular with your target audience and the types of videos they are most likely to watch. You can use social media, forums, and other online platforms to get an idea of the kind of content that is popular with your target audience. You can then start creating engaging and informative videos to help you achieve your business goals.
3. Make your videos impactful
This one might sound obvious, but it’s a crucial step for every brand. It doesn’t matter if the video is about laundry detergent or your new product line; the content should always be impactful. If you don’t have the budget to make a TV spot, it’s better to develop an exclusive series of videos on your industry. You can create videos on social media and run paid ads.
If you’ve got a new product, give people a peek into it. Show them the prototypes and show how your team overcame design challenges. The more people know about your work before they see it, the more chances they’ll click on it later and share it with their friends. For example, here is a video of Jasper AI’s product demo.
4. It’s not just about production quality
Not everyone can afford to hire skilled commercial videographers and actors. While it might sound like an obvious tip, many marketers believe that a good production effect is more important than content. That’s not true, especially if you are targeting a specific audience. We are in the media-rich era where more and more people are looking for content.
Think about it and develop unique ways to engage your target audience using the video format. Of course, if you have the budget to produce high-quality videos, go for it! But don’t make that your focus. Think about how you can use video to tell a story or evoke an emotion that will stay with the viewer long after they’ve stopped watching.
5. Add a personal touch to videos
Some brands stick to “formulas” when making videos; this is a huge mistake. Be personal, be relatable, and talk directly to your audience as if you were talking to a friend or colleague. Doing so will make viewers feel more engaged and will hook them immediately. Whether you’ve been recording videos for a while or want to add a personal touch to the ones you’re editing, make your video more engaging by making it look like professionals shot it.
6. Make an authentic promise
Video content is more personal, allows the viewer to connect with the brand, and helps customers make purchasing decisions. However, people want to see authentic content, not something artificial and fabricated. While it’s true that not everything about your business can be shown on camera, you will have to pick up topics that resonate with your audience.
It is essential to remember that each video should contain a promise. The promise of entertainment, education, fitness or the help of a product; the promise something will make your life easier or better. If you don’t have a genuine and compelling reason for doing what you are doing in your videos, then people will lose interest quickly and give up on watching them.
7. Think outside the traditional commercial
There are many ways to use video beyond the traditional 30-second commercial. You can use video to create how-to guides, product demonstrations, customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes looks, company culture videos, etc.
Get creative and think about the most useful or entertaining for your target audience. And don’t forget that you can also repurpose existing video content to create new videos. For example, if you have a blog post with great tips for improving customer service, you can turn that into a video and post it on YouTube or Facebook.
8. Make sure your videos are mobile-friendly
People consume more video on their mobile devices than ever before in today’s world. It’s essential to make sure your videos are optimized for mobile viewing.
This means using short video formats that can be easily watched on a small screen and using closed captions or subtitles so that people can watch your videos without sound. You should also make sure your videos are hosted on a platform that can be easily viewed on mobile devices, such as YouTube or Vimeo.
9. Make sure your title is eye-catching
The title plays a crucial role in video marketing and media sharing. If you want to make a difference for your brand, don’t hesitate to invest time in coming up with a clever title that will make the video go viral on different social platforms.
The title should be concise and focus on what the video will provide. It’s essential to use keywords in your video titles and descriptions so that people can find your videos more easily. But be careful not to stuff your keywords in there; instead, use them sparingly and focus on making the title and description exciting and engaging.
10. Keep your videos short and sweet
People are busy and don’t have the time or patience to watch long videos. Even though you think your video is too good to shorten its duration, remember that there is always someone who would like to share a different opinion. You don’t want to lose potential viewers because your videos are too long.
The best length for a video is between one and two minutes. But if you can make your point in 30 seconds, don’t hesitate to do so. The most important thing is to keep your videos interesting and engaging so that people will watch them until the end. Make sure all your customers love your brand by keeping the video short, simple, and entertaining.
11. Provide value
Your video doesn’t just need to be entertaining; it also needs to provide value. Whether you’re teaching your viewers how to do something, informing them about current events, or simply providing a behind-the-scenes look at your business, make sure your videos deliver the information your audience wants. When you provide value, you build trust with your viewers, and they are more likely to become loyal customers. For example, fitness trainer Chole Ting provides value with each of her videos.
12. Don’t forget to incorporate call-to-actions
Like every other type of content, videos should include some CTA that tells viewers what to do next after watching the video.
A call to action doesn’t have to be very complicated or complex to understand; it can be as simple as making a comment on the video or sharing it with friends. Whether you want your viewers to sign up for your email list, visit your website, or download a white paper, be sure to include a clear CTA.
13. Don’t forget to brand your video and have a brand voice
Even though it might sound like an obvious tip, many marketers forget about the importance of branding their videos. Make sure to brand your videos in a way where it will help viewers recognize your brand and trust it more. You can create a consistent look and feel for your brand by using the same colors, fonts, and style in all of your videos.
It will be hard for your viewers to engage with your business if you don’t have a clear brand voice. People respond better to brands that resonate with them on some level.
Your videos should have a distinct brand voice throughout so that your audience knows what to expect every time they watch one of your videos. One way to do this is to consider the overall tone of your videos and keep it either formal or casual.
14. Make your video unconventional
Controversy can be tricky to navigate. Pushing a boundary or being too unconventional might seem like the key to getting your video discovered, but ultimately controversy is just a matter of opinion.
In marketing videos, controversy can be used as either bait or an actual driving factor. It’s often the first way to grab a person’s attention and make them stay for longer than three seconds. Some businesses even use controversy as their whole campaign strategy. Like all marketing techniques, controversy needs to be used carefully.
Here is an example of Burgerking’s unconventional marketing campaign.
If you’re planning on using controversy in your marketing videos, keep things simple and stay within established boundaries (things like harassment and content that could be considered offensive, for example). If you’re going to take a risk by creating something provocative or outrageous, you might want to rethink your strategy, especially if there’s an established precedent that would make it seem unethical or too risky to venture into controversy.
15. Keep an eye on your video marketing analytics
The video marketing world has come a long way because of analytics. We can track the number of views, clicks, shares, and downloads for videos uploaded to social media platforms in real-time and then compare this data with what other similar videos are getting from their campaigns.
However, video analytics isn’t just about numbers and comparing metrics – it can help you understand your audience’s feedback to improve your video marketing strategy.
Some essential data points to look out for when in your video marketing analytics data include:
- The number of views, likes, and comments your video receives
- How long people are watching your video for
- What parts of the video are being rewatched or shared the most
- Where your audience is located
- What age group and gender are most interested in your video
You can use this data to improve the quality of your future videos and make sure that you’re targeting the right people with your marketing campaigns.
16. Don’t forget about SEO
Just because your video is on YouTube or another video platform doesn’t mean it will be automatically found by people searching for related terms. You should optimize your videos for search engine algorithms by including keywords in the title, description, and tags. It would help if you also created transcripts of your videos so that search engines can index the spoken words and make your content easier to find.
17. Never give up
Viral videos are created through lots of brainstorming and hard work. Don’t give up on creative ideas just because some didn’t work in the past. Even the best video marketers will tell you that not every video will be a hit. Don’t hesitate to try new strategies until you find a formula that works for your business.
Final Thoughts on Video Marketing Tips
Video marketing can be a powerful tool when used correctly. Not every brand can afford great actors and big budgets. The key is to create engaging and creative videos so that the target audience will respond naturally.
When it comes to video marketing, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. By following the tips mentioned above, you will be able to create engaging content that resonates with your audience. It would be best to test and tweak your video marketing strategy to create engaging videos that reach a wider audience and help you achieve your business goals.