Looking for a way to reach your target audience while improving engagement and sales? Then start thinking about Video Marketing, that is, adding video content to your existing marketing strategy. It is the process of making video content and incorporating it into your overall marketing strategy to reach your marketing goals. If you’ve been following social media these days, you know the power of videos in holding attention, especially in health content marketing. Also, the last few years saw a surge in the popularity of video as a content marketing format. However, just because video marketing is trending you shouldn’t jump into it. It’s easy for businesses and marketers to slip-up when trying something new. Prepare very well for this new change because, jumping into video marketing without second thoughts or proper planning could be a huge mistake.
Video marketing is a powerful, effective part of marketing strategy, and is a unique way to make your product or service stand out in the crowd of marketers. Videos are popular and highly effective, which makes them a necessity for your marketing strategies. Other benefits of video marketing are:
- Most popular format on social media having good reach
- Videos attract more attention than other forms of content
- They promote your brand, services or products
- Good videos help build brand consistency
- Build customer trust and create long-term relationships
- Generate more leads than blog posts
- Videos can engage even the laziest buyers
- Easiest form of explaining
- They help generate traffic
- Help in boosting SEO
There are many types of video hosting platforms, tools, and techniques you can use to grow your business, because, today, people watch a lot of videos and share them with their family, friends, and colleagues, helping your product reach more audiences. According to Social Media Today, 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube (second most popular search engine) every single day, 1200% more shares are generated by social videos than text and images combined, videos on a landing page increase conversion by 80%, and 80% of users recall a video ad they have seen online in the past month.
Video Marketing can be used to present how-tos, promote customer testimonials, live-stream events and deliver viral (entertaining) content. Videos have not only become an inseparable part of our personal lives but also a valuable tool for business promotion. According to research by Hubspot, 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, up from 63% over the last year. And 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day.
Many reports suggest that consumers today are turning to video to get their information. The State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl reports that 66% of people would prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service, and only 18% would rather read a text-based article, website, or post. The number will increase in future, because, by 2022, 82% of internet traffic will be driven by video. The impact of video rises as people embrace Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) or 4K video streaming. The introduction of the 5G standard already sped up video rendering and streamlines VR and AR video experiences in China, says a report by Cisco.
However, if you are planning video advertising as an essential, much-needed part of your marketing strategy for the first time, build a solid and effective video marketing strategy, create content that people want to consume and create engaging videos that would get shared. Watch out for the below listed common pitfalls many businesses and marketers fail to spot. They are:
- Too long video: Too much information is not good for business videos. The shorter the video, the better it will perform. A 60 to 90 seconds video works best and make sure you deliver your main message within the first 20 seconds.
- Making a video without a proper marketing plan: As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” video marketing also needs proper planning, else it fails. Producing a video without having a broader marketing plan and distribution strategy is the one of the biggest mistakes in video marketing. Video should be a part of a larger marketing/branding strategy. You should keep in mind why you are making the video, who it is intended for and what tools you are going to use to measure video success.
- Ignoring customer needs: As mentioned before, you need to keep in mind why you are making the video and who the intended audience is. Research your target audience, find what they’re looking for, and deliver that information through your video. Make sure your videos are packed with testimonials and tutorials to drive the customer’s decision-making process. For instance, if the purpose of your video is to teach people about your product or service, your video should be educational and informative. If your aim is to get users to make a purchase, provide them with relevant comparisons and benefits.
- Ignoring SEO: A strong SEO strategy in your content marketing is very important and videos are no exception. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comprises the techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of quality traffic to your website, by improving your ranking in search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing). Optimizing your video descriptions and titles is vital to get your content found. If you fail to implement SEO practices for your video content, then there is less chance for your products to be found by potential buyers.To avoid this mistake, be sure to properly title your video with relevant keywords in the content, take the time to properly fill out your video description (including links back to your website), and add keyword tags with industry and brand terms. Another SEO technique is to use interesting thumbnail images to attract people to check out your video. Ranking of the video will improve as more people watch it and like it.
For instance, when we search for video SEO on Google videos, we can see the top videos related to the query “video SEO” that had properly used SEO practices in their video.
- Videos are promotional- not informational: Videos are a very effective way to connect with prospective customers and creating relationships between your leads and your brand. But if they are too promotional then you may lose your audience, because people don’t like being sold to. In fact, 90% of users say video is helpful in their decision process. but not if you’re constantly pushing the viewer to buy (impactbnd.com).So instead of being very promotional, make your video lead your prospect towards making an informed decision. Try to grab the audience attention by adding value or solving a problem they are facing. Share a testimonial, tell a story, touch their pain points and let them realize how your product would be beneficial to them.
- Choosing the wrong video partner: Another mistake to avoid while marketing your video is choosing the wrong video partner that lacks the resources, knowledge, and industry experience. This can directly affect not only your brand, but also your success. It is very important for businesses to work with video production partners that are not just familiar with their industry, but also excel in it.
- Omitting Calls to Action: A call to action (or CTA) is a simple direction or set of instructions that you give to your viewer, which tells them the next step you would like for them to take. Producing a video that does not have a clear CTA, leaves viewers unsure of the appropriate next step and your marketing efforts will end up resulting in nothing.To avoid this, tell your audience exactly what you want them to do next, and remove the ambiguity. Whether you want people to subscribe, follow your social media handle, or just buy from you, encourage them through a powerful CTA.
Even if you have no experience in video advertising, avoiding these common mistakes is a grand step toward a successful video strategy and essential for the success of your online brand. So, evade the mistakes and build up your video marketing strategy with the tips above, and make great videos. A professional SEO company can help improve your SEO performance through great videos and their effective implementation, as part of their comprehensive organic SEO services.
