Video marketing takes content marketing to a whole new level. Over the past few years, most businesses using online marketing have been using content marketing to promote their brands and services. We’ve noticed how millions of content marketing posts are being published by our competitors every day. We found ourselves hiring freelance writers to create unique and compelling content, images, infographics, slideshow presentations, and such in order to drive traffic to our websites and to convert that traffic into leads and sales.
You may consider your content marketing strategy to be running smoothly and steadily as is. But you might want to take it to the next level, especially now that video marketing dominates online marketing strategies.
The Rising Popularity of Video Marketing
According to a study conducted by MarketingProfs, more than 70% of marketing professionals reported that videos convert better than other media promoted on the Internet. Why is this so? It’s because video offers a notable feature that is lacking in any other medium. It offers you a powerful combination of text, audio, images, and animation all together.
Since the attention span of Internet user has been getting shorter and shorter over the past few years, videos have paved a way to retain their attention and encourage engagement. Videos offer the opportunity to establish a connection with your customers in a fun, engaging and interactive way.
In fact, Mist Media stated that the average Internet user spends 88% more time on a website with videos in contrast to those without. Facebook also reported that the number of video views per day has doubled up to an astonishing 8 billion views. Cisco also predicts that 80% of the Internet traffic will be coming from video content by 2019.
Aside from these mind-boggling video marketing statistics, have you noticed how just one captivating video can reverse your website’s momentum once it goes viral? Millions of users will discover your company and services. Just think, celebrities and influential businessmen in your niche may now notice you and start contacting you for possible business partnerships. Videos are opening up vast opportunities for your business!
How to Start Video Marketing
Now that you heard the astounding benefits video marketing can bring to your business, you might be wondering what steps are needed to start video marketing. Here is a quick guide for you:
1. Create a Video Channel
Creating your own YouTube video channel is relatively easy. You only need to have a Google account and connect it to YouTube. Your channel can be under your personal or business account.
2. Set up your YouTube Channel Profile
It is important to brand your YouTube channel before you start uploading videos. Start by filling out key information such as your business name, logo, banner, links, etc. This will ensure your customers that you have a legitimate business, help them engage with your brand, and learn more about your products or services.
3. Brand Your YouTube Videos
It is important to establish a consistent brand for your videos so that your customers will have that sense of familiarity when they watch your videos. They will immediately know it’s your company’s video they’re watching. And it helps to protect your videos from being used without acknowledging the source. YouTube offers the following methods to let people know it is your video content:
- watermarks on the videos lets people know it is your video
- featured content helps you get more views on the videos you want people to see no matter which video they watch from your channel
- YouTube video editor lets you combine clips, cut clips, and add branding items like a front page and a final page with your business contact information.
Some of the popular YouTube video ideas you can incorporate in your channel are introductory videos about your company, unboxing products, explainer videos, tutorials and demos, interviews, time lapse, funny videos, etc.
4. Shooting and Editing Videos
Once your channel is ready, it is time for you to create your video. Many people at this point seek help from videographers and video editors who help them craft their videos professionally. Having an appealing and professional video is important in order to relay your message and engage with your customers properly during the first 3 seconds. Remember: that most Internet users do not tolerate watching low-quality videos, so professional help is often useful.
However, there are exceptions. Customer testimonial videos are often more effective if they are not professional. This makes them seem less staged and more spontaneous, plus you can ask your customers to shoot their own testimonial and send it to you. Also, if you are sharing things happening in the office or at a customer site, it need not be professional. But company introductions, product announcements, explainer videos, etc. should be professional whether you learn to edit to produce high quality or hire it out.
5. Optimizing and Distributing Videos
Once your video is published, it is time to optimize. Keyword the video title and description so that Google (and your followers) understand what your video is about. This help your video rank in search results, not only in YouTube but in search engines like Google, Bing, Yandex, etc. Research keywords to rank and use the chosen keyword in the video’s title and use synonyms in the description.
Now for getting your video seen! Embed your video on your blog and social media posts to increase more chances of exposure.
Video Marketing Conclusion
Content marketing has evolved over the last couple of years. Gone are the days where businesses can rely on only text-based content to promote products and services. 2016 has become a pivotal year for video marketing strategies. Get started on your video marketing plans.
Guest Post Author Bio:
Yani Lea is a freelance writer at Valoso who has an intensive background about SEO, blogging, website traffic, lead generation, and social media marketing. She writes about topics that help small businesses increase website traffic and generate leads.
Very informative article from your guest poster! Video marketing really does take things to the new level. I think some may struggle with starting doing videos and finding ideas, but it doesn’t always have to be something new – you can easily “revive” some old articles or researches using video and make them relevant again.