“If you’re not using video you’re a dinosaur!” That’s been the common refrain in the marketing world for years now. We’ve heard that video is the fastest-growing, most important, number-one conversion-generating marketing tool for nearly a decade.
We don’t need to show you any more stats to convince you that video is an extremely important marketing tool. But there’s always more to learn in this ever-evolving medium, from tips to tools to tactics.
So how can you grow your video marketing know-how and start harnessing the power of video for your brand? Start with these four tips.
Lean into your resources
According to the 2022 Enterprise Content Marketing Report, 72% of enterprise marketers are planning to invest in video this year. With the massive popularity of video, we’ve seen marketers—who may have previously never needed to think about this medium—shifting focus. They are being asked to concentrate efforts in an unfamiliar space, and it’s easy to start overthinking it. Sometimes marketers are so caught up in trying to create the next viral video that they lose sight of marketing skills they already have.
Marketing 101 asks: Who and where is your audience? These principles still apply. You don’t need to create a TikTok if your audience isn’t there. Define your goals and follow the data!
Don’t have an in-house video team? Partner with an agency that can guide you through the process and compliment the marketing skills you already possess. Looking to amplify your agency’s own social video presence? Try looking internally to learn more about these platforms. The new intern likely has experience with social video and might very well be interested in sharing this knowledge. Mentorship can work both ways. Many young marketers building their careers have found themselves pivoting into video-specific roles just by sheer experience with the medium. Whether it’s working with a partner agency, finding internal help or diving into video solo, there are plenty of resources available to get you started in your video marketing pursuits.
Create video for every step of the buying process
Rather than creating one general, all-encompassing video, many marketers now produce a variety of video types for each stage of the buyer journey. The video type and where it falls in the funnel will be defined by your particular product or service, but let’s break down what kinds of videos you can use through the buying cycle.
Top-funnel video types: Create awareness and establish your brand.
- Corporate/Branding Videos
- Educational Videos
- Lifestyle Videos
- Problem/Solution Videos
- Documentary or Docu Series
- Expert Interviews
Middle-funnel video types: Prepare the viewer to be customers.
- How-To Videos
- Explainer Animations
- Product Videos
- Case Studies
- Tips and Tricks Videos
Bottom-funnel video: The final case for your product or service.
- Demonstration Videos
- Testimonial Videos
- Onboarding Videos
There are opportunities to use video everywhere. Did you just finish a pitch? Use video in your follow-up! Create a personal thank you video by simply using your phone. This adds an extra personal touch that a thank-you email can’t replicate. Reach out to your sales team to see how they can incorporate video in email outreach. Using video at every step of your sales journey will better connect you with leads and keep your audience engaged.
Plan and create additional content for maximum ROI
To get the most ROI from your video investment, find ways to repurpose your video content to expand its reach and impact. Before production begins, you should plan for all the ways your full video can be sliced, diced and repurposed across your channels. One or two shorter social cuts of your full-length video was once the norm, but there are now so many other ways marketers can extend the promotion of your video.
Rudy Willingham, who directed the “Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be Whole.” campaign for Whole Foods, demonstrated how one idea can be extended across multiple channels in fresh and engaging ways. While on set, Willingham shot behind the scenes footage of the team during the shoot, as well as short videos with his various cutouts which were later posted as edited Instagram Reels.
With live and short-form video now ubiquitous across social platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snap and even Twitter and LinkedIn, your video team can get endlessly creative as they shoot and share complementary video content for your campaign. Plan to go live on set, ask participants beforehand if you can interview them during breaks and add it to the production schedule. We saw great use of this leading up to the Super Bowl with brands creating promos for their own commercials.
Check out this impressive example from the masterminds at Highdive for Rocket Mortgage featuring Anna Kendrick chatting with Barbie “between shooting” their Super Bowl spot. Thinking about these opportunities ahead of time will best prepare your team to maximize your efforts. You don’t have to be a film expert to capture this type of content either. Any team member can now use the power of their phones to add to the collective content generation.
And don’t forget about audio content. You can capture sound bites from your project to create audiograms, which can also be posted to social platforms These don’t need to be exclusively used to promote podcasts. Take a behind-the-scenes still and pair it with commentary about your project. The sky’s the limit with these quick and easy content types.
Take advantage of SEO, targeting and analytics tools
Distribution can make or break your video marketing campaign. Many platforms now offer robust targeting and analytics features to ensure that you get the right eyeballs on your videos, so use them to your advantage.
Even if you don’t have the budget for a paid campaign, you can still implement discoverability best practices. Use hashtags to promote your work, do your research to apply the most relevant tags for your content. If you’re posting your video to YouTube, there are a number of opportunities to enhance the SEO of the video, from a thorough video description to uploading the video transcript.
Finally, it can pay off to track your video content’s performance. Be sure to periodically check in on your KPIs such as views, shares, and conversions across your videos. As you receive feedback, you can act on that data to inform future campaigns and distribution strategies.
Elevate your video marketing strategy
Still have questions about how to get started with video marketing? Contact us today, and our video experts can address any specific challenges so that you can start harnessing the power of video ASAP.
