Editor's Note: This post was originally published in November 2020 and was updated with additional content in May 2024.
If you're asking yourself, "What is video marketing?" then this blog post is for you. 7.5 million – that’s how many blog posts were written today. So, how do you and your company stand out in this sea of blog posts?
A video marketing strategy has become necessary to enhance your marketing campaign efforts. Whether it’s creating awareness or generating more leads, the combination of video and marketing is now more relevant than ever.
This strategy gives marketers an attractive and versatile format that can be easily shared online, further accelerating brand growth.
What is a marketing video? A video marketing video is essentially any video content created and distributed to promote a brand, product, service, or idea. It's a marketing tool that uses moving images and sound to engage viewers and achieve specific marketing goals.
A Short History of Video Marketing
Video marketing made its way to the forefront of marketing in 2010 and grew in popularity thanks to the introduction of affordable video editing and creating software like Biteable, InVideo, and Filmora.
However, video marketing isn’t only popular because it’s accessible and an appealing option for smaller businesses on a tight budget. Thanks to the evolution of social media, video content is a great marketing tactic that can reach your audiences faster. In fact, social videos drive far more engagement than text and image-based posts on social media. According to an experiment conducted by Biteable, a video ad on Facebook has the potential to get 480% more clicks and can cost 280% less per lead than a text-based ad.
Moreover, people tend to enjoy watching something over reading it! For example, around 47% of Americans prefer watching the news rather than reading or listening to it.
Now, it’s possible to create a professional video online in just a few minutes without employing a videographer and having a large budget.
Why is Video Content Important For Your Business?
Video marketing has become a sure-shot way to help you achieve your business goals faster and with greater ease. From YouTube, Instagram Reels and Stories, and Facebook Live to holding online seminars, there’s a lot of room to experiment with the video format, shape, and size.
With 91% of marketers acknowledging the importance of video in their marketing strategy, we’ve listed a few other statistics to highlight its significance further:
- 92.3% of people watch online videos weekly, while 55% view them every day.
- 60% of viewers would rather watch online videos over television.
- 73% of customers prefer learning about a product or service through video.
- After Google, YouTube is the most popular website on the internet today.
- 59% of executives prefer watching a video over text.
- 92% of users will share videos with others after watching them on mobile phones.
These stats prove that video is the best way to reach prospects across your business. It adds a human touch to marketing, making it easier for brands to earn the trust of their target audience.
Video has already been a compelling medium of communication in the past, so why shouldn’t businesses use this accessible and cost-effective strategy to enhance their social media presence? Plus, video marketing is also a very engaging and reliable way to educate customers about your products and services.
So, Video Content is Good for Business?
Videos remain essential for a successful marketing strategy, whether your business is big or small. If it doesn’t seem fruitful, it’s highly likely that you’re marketing the wrong kind of videos. Just convert your existing infographics, blog posts, social media updates, or e-books into an attention-grabbing video format, and you’ll be off to a great start.
The other reason why you may not be getting ROI through videos is because of the lack of a customized approach. Videos are very personable and varied, which is also one of its biggest USPs. So what works for your business and target audience may not work for other businesses.
Each and every video has to be tailored according to your buyer personas and, of course, brand. The next thing to determine is your budget and format to put your message out there more effectively.
Video content can help your business reach your target audience quickly and effectively.
Here are a few other benefits of videos for marketing:
- YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world: YouTube has over a billion users who watch millions of videos every day. As a result, there’s a good chance your potential buyers are using the platform and searching for content related to your business.
- Boosts conversion rates: Sometimes, products can be incredibly difficult to understand. Fortunately, videos are informative and easier to understand. Hence, 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service through video. Moreover, studies show that 82% of consumers have been influenced to purchase a product or service after watching a product video
- Customer relationships and brand affiliation: Videos provide viewers with audio and visual stimulation, which can help the brain remain engaged and connect with the content. This can help potential customers develop a stronger interest and connection with your product and brand.
How Do I Create a Video Marketing Strategy?
On average, video content is shared 1,200% more than text and image posts combined, making it an excellent marketing tactic for businesses that want to boost organic reach and engagement.
But if you don’t have a video marketing strategy in place yet, don’t worry!
Although videos are much easier to create nowadays, the perfect digital marketing video still requires a lot of strategizing and research.
Without doing proper market research and planning, the video you make might not achieve its specific goal or even catch the attention of your target audience.
To create a successful video marketing strategy, you need to determine your goals and targets, choose the type of video you want to make, distribute it, and track its progress.
Here’s a breakdown of each step:
Create Video Marketing Goals and Targets
The first step of any video marketing campaign is to determine your goals and targets.
In order to do this, you need to figure out what you want to achieve with the video. Ideally, the video you create should target every stage of the marketing funnel, but you still need to choose a stage that you consider to be the most important.
Here are some different video marketing stages and goals:
- Awareness: This stage is when the viewer realizes that they have a problem and need something to solve it. This is the stage when a viewer can be introduced to a new product or service. If your goal is to attract new customers, awareness videos are the way to go.
- Consideration: During this stage, viewers are figuring out how to solve their problems. As a result, they might be looking for product recommendations and reviews. A consideration video is the right choice if you’re looking to engage your audience.
- Decision: At this stage, viewers are almost ready to purchase, so you’ll need to prove why your product or service should be chosen over your competitors. Decision-based videos are great for nurturing prospects and closing deals.
What Kind of Video Should I Create?
Depending on your goal, here are the types of videos you can choose from:
- Demo videos: Demos show viewers how your product or service works. The video should highlight its features, benefits, and a call to action to encourage viewers to purchase the service or product. You can opt for fun animated videos or a video with real people for demos.
- Behind-the-scenes videos: The type of content in these videos should give viewers a ‘backstage pass.’ Here, you’ll need to introduce viewers to your employees and show them how your product is made.
- Customer testimonial videos: A customer testimonial video requires a satisfied user of your product or service to share their experience with your brand. These videos can positively influence your target market and encourage viewers to make a purchase.
- Educational and how-to videos: Educational videos teach viewers how to use a product or service. People prefer educational videos over text because they can see and hear the demonstration.
Distribute your Video
Here are a few channels where you can publish your video:
- Website: You should include videos on your site’s homepage, customer testimonial page, features page, FAQs page, and more. This will help drive more visitors to your page and boost engagement.
- Blog: Publishing videos on your blog can help visitors learn more about your product quickly. If they’re willing to spend time reading written content, they’ll definitely have enough time to watch a quick, informative video.
- Email: Sending videos via email is an easy way to reach people who have already provided you with their contact information. You can embed videos in a newsletter or opt for an email series where you provide videos every week.
- Social platforms: Sharing videos on social channels like Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook is a great way to get video views and boost engagement. And who knows, you might have a viral video!
Measure your Video Marketing Progress
You can measure your video’s success by monitoring key performance indicators (KPI) like:
- Views
- Impressions
- Unique Users
- Clicks
- Calls
- Signups
- Sales
- View-Through Rate
- Watch Time
You can also invest in free and paid video management software, such as Wistia and Google Analytics, to help you track progress.
What Are the Benefits of Marketing a Video With a Strategy?
Video is one of the best ways to tell your brand’s story in an otherwise noisy marketing landscape.
They are snack-sized visual pieces that have the unique ability to convert like no other medium. Plus, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video but only 10% when reading about the same thing in a text, so that’s another win.
But if you still need more assurance about why video matters, here are the top benefits of video marketing:
Builds Trust and Credibility
Videos allow you to create and enhance your company’s personality as well as your brand. You can connect with your viewers and earn their trust.
Moreover, even customers prefer watching videos over reading text-heavy articles. So the more videos you create, the more you can educate and inform your customers while simultaneously establishing trust, which will ultimately translate to sales.
Enhances Email Marketing Campaigns
Let’s face it: Getting someone to open your email can be very challenging.
However, adding videos to your emails is a step closer to success. Simply adding the word “video” in your subject line can increase open rates and decrease unsubscribe rates.
Not only that, but sending emails with videos can increase click-through rates by nearly 300%, which is quite impressive. Most people (especially those who’ve been reading emails all day) would rather watch a video than consume a long block of text.
Higher SERP Rankings
Search engines have only one motive – to look for content that generates higher viewer engagement. You’ll instantly have people paying more attention when you add a video to a mix, which also means search engines love websites or blog posts that include videos.
The only catch here is to create and optimize the video properly, including choosing the right thumbnail, writing eye-catching titles and descriptions, and ensuring relevance.
Influences Consumer Decisions
There is a reason why YouTube product reviews are so popular. Not only do they give genuine insights into the product, but they are also more reliable than a traditional newspaper advertisement.
When you add such videos to your website’s product pages, you’ll experience the same benefits, which will help drive sales and generate more revenue. Enlisting the services of vloggers and influencers to review your products can also be a great tactic to make your target audience more inclined toward your offering.
Keeps Your Brand Relevant
Customers like brands that are up-to-date with the latest trends, and when it comes to business promotion, it’s inbound video marketing that has taken center stage.
Also, the fact that video doesn’t have to be conventional makes it more diverse. You can hold live videos, upload stories on your respective social media platforms, or take advantage of evolving video formats like 360 video or 1:1 video. Video marketing is continuously evolving, which is why even you’ll be able to keep up with the times.
Improves Social Media Visibility
We’ve all created content and hoped for it to go viral. When you create video content, you’re dramatically increasing the odds that this will happen — or, at the very least, you’ll get more visibility — since people are quick to share videos than other types of content.
Just have fun while showing what your company is all about, and it’ll become share-worthy content. At the same time, the video must be aligned with your buyer persona. For instance, if your target audience is 30-year-old consumers, millennial humor in your videos may do well, but you might rethink your approach if your audience is over 60.
What Are the Different Types of Marketing Videos You Can Try?
Before you start filming, determine the right type of video that suits your brand’s voice and purpose. Here are four main types of marketing video content to create:
Educational Videos
Educational videos are created to teach your target customers about something, anything. These include:
- Tutorial Videos: Videos that teach your customers how to use your product and show off your brand.
- Explainer Videos: Videos that explain complicated topics or even the benefits of your product or service. Typically, explainer videos are animated and run small.
- Industry Update Videos: Videos that establish your credibility in the industry, allowing your audience to see your authority and understanding of industry trends.
See how we use the words ‘teach,’ ‘explain,’ and ‘understand’ for these videos. It’s because the priority here is to build trust with your audience through your products and services.
Product Videos
Companies use product videos to showcase their products appealingly to arouse consumer interest. These include:
- Product Launch Videos: Video marketing can be especially useful for launching a new product. You want hype, and videos can deliver just that. You can show how your product was conceived and its new features, but the focus should be on getting people excited about your product.
- Product Demo Videos: Product demo videos help viewers understand how your product works. You can also use this video to discuss your product features and how they can help solve your audience's specific pain points.
You have complete freedom to decide how you want to present your products. It can be formal or more laid-back, whichever approach you like better.
Company Culture Videos
Your brand is vital. 59% of customers prefer buying from a brand name they recognize since it makes them more confident about their purchasing decisions – some things that company culture videos can help with. These include:
- Brand Videos: Brand videos give you and your team a chance to talk about your company, while the viewer also gets reasons why they should trust your products over your competitors. Additionally, you can explain your company’s mission and values or even talk about the brand history.
- Event Videos: Event videos showcase team volunteers working together. It can either be a social service event or a more corporate setting. Industry interviews and speeches given at big conferences would also make excellent event videos.
You can leverage company culture videos to establish trust between your company and the general public. This can also be a good tactic for recruitment, highlighting your core values and mission.
Testimonial Videos
Companies make testimonial videos to show customer satisfaction, which, in turn, helps establish trust. These include:
- Customer Testimonials: When you want to push prospects down the sales funnel, customer testimonials are all you need. When a customer is in the consideration stage and is comparing different products, having glowing testimonials from past customers could make them more inclined towards your products.
- Employee Testimonials: Since these videos involve employees, they give a more personal touch to the whole thing. More so because your current employees know what it’s like to work for you. Prospective candidates can also meet their future co-workers. You can consider including snippets of the office and other events that could help candidates understand your company culture better.
Viewers will naturally create a positive picture of your company in their minds after seeing so many people praising your products and services.
Video Marketing Strategies to Boost Visibility
Your website is your first impression on prospects, and now that we’ve established that video is a winner for small- and medium-sized businesses, you should think of ways to include videos on your web pages.
Now, let’s discuss some strategies to help you optimize your video.
Set up a Video Library or Gallery
Not only search engines but also visitors appreciate websites that have an organized video library or gallery page. This way, you’ll be able to categorize, describe, and organize your videos however you deem fit.
Carefully Choosing Thumbnails
Although they might seem irrelevant, thumbnails are the driving force behind increasing clicks and the number of potential customers.
Choosing an exciting thumbnail will make consumers think of the video in a similar light. We’d recommend thumbnails that have color and look compelling enough to attract more customers to your website.
Embed Videos on Relevant Pages
Embedding videos on your website pages can help to communicate the context of related content clearly. This will make your web pages more visually appealing and also convey your message better.
Work on Your Titles, Descriptions, and Metadata
Video search engine optimization has three integral components: video title, description, and metadata. You may have the most amazing videos, but no one will know about them if you don’t optimize these three components properly.
The video title should be catchy and descriptive, and the description should complement it while being enticing enough to encourage people to click on it.
As for metadata, you need to fill in certain specifications like the genre, company, and keywords. Make sure you use words that add meaning to the video. You can also add a transcription of the video if you’re interested in creating subtitles.
Can AI Help You Make a Marketing Video?
Leveraging AI tools for ideating and producing video content allows agencies to streamline their video marketing process and generate high-quality content that resonates with their audience. Video creation no longer has to be lengthy and tedious. However, it's important to remember that this technology is still evolving.
AI can indeed create marketing videos. Here's how:
- AI Video Generators: Platforms like Synthesia, Arcads, and Creatify utilize AI to generate marketing videos.
- Process: AI video generators can produce videos from text or audio scripts, incorporating realistic avatars, voiceovers, and animations.
- Features: These AI tools can create basic presentation slides with text, B-roll footage, background music, and other elements.
- Benefits: AI-driven video creation saves time and money, streamlining the production process.
- Effectiveness: Utilizing AI in marketing videos requires understanding how to leverage these tools within your marketing strategy effectively.
AI video generators offer efficient solutions for creating engaging marketing videos, enabling businesses to enhance their digital marketing efforts.
Do You Need a Video Marketing Strategy? Lights, Camera, Action!
Video marketing is the future, especially in today’s world of viral content and tech-savvy customers. If you make an effort to launch a creative and effective video marketing strategy, you’ll be able to create trust, attract customers, as well as boost your ROI.
If you're still wondering, "What is video marketing"? or are not sure where to start, it's time to get in touch with us ASAP!
