Scott Ableman (Photo credits)Although there is no magic formula that can make you popular among your audience, but you can always take some steps to create awareness, provide information, entertain audience and establish your brand image.
While there are many other forms of content marketing, your videos have higher chances to engage your target audience. According to ContentMarketingInstitute.com, one of the topmost content marketing blogs, around four billion hours of video are viewed each month.
Additionally, YouTube is the second most used search engine, right after Google. According to comScore Inc., a global digital market measurement service, an average internet user watches more than 186 videos a month, which include news, entertainment clips, advertising videos and personal videos.
Why Video Ensures Better Engagement?
As a video brings in voices, faces and a heart to your business operations, demonstrating your creativity and authenticity, it enhances the conversion rate to a much extent. The video content is engaging, informative as well as entertaining. Nowadays, creating a video has become easier than ever. Thanks to sophisticated yet easy to use software tools and affordable video cameras. However, your marketing campaign is not only about creating a video and upload it on YouTube or any other platform. It goes far beyond this, needs more streamlined efforts and effective management.
In this article, I intend to take you through the basics of video content marketing, highlighting various aspects that you need to consider when floating video content on the web. Let us take a look at how you can utilize a blend of text, images and sound to promote your online business.
Video – A Different Media Type
Most marketers make a mistake in understanding video as a media type; they promote it like any other infographic content. In fact, video is altogether a different media format that requires unique ideas and presents the message in an entirely different way. Your video content marketing won’t produce desired results if you are trying to convert existing content into a video. You need to understand that it is an independent media type and requires a unique concept to build upon. It’s better to avoid converting ill-suited content into video and look for fresh and organic ideas.
Creating Videos
Remember, it’s not always necessary to have a perfect video; even an amateur video can outshine if the idea is unique. So, you really don’t have to worry about shelling out money more than you can afford to create a professional video. You can adopt different methods or strategies to create unique videos.
1. First is, involve your employees in video creation process. You never know when their creative lighting strikes and they come up with some unique idea. Brainstorming in-house is one of the ways to keep costs low as well as cash in on a unique idea.
2. Organizing video contests in another way to build upon a distinctive concept. The best part is that it serves two purposes – driving your audiences to your website and inspiring them to come up with a unique idea, giving them a chance to win something.
3. Getting a professional’s help is certainly one of the most feasible ways to build a nice video, but again it depends on your content marketing budget.
Having a good idea is not just sufficient; rather, you will have to capture the essence of an idea. Make sure that it doesn’t look like any other blog post or infographic message. A video should be independent of all other content forms. This may take a little longer than expected, but it’s worth all the time, effort and investment.
Be Honest
No matter whether you’re making videos for awareness, marketing or entertainment purposes, be honest with your audience. Don’t exaggerate about the utility or quality of the product; stick to what is real.
The second point that you should take special care of when creating a video is the message. Don’t let your audience get the idea that you’re selling something and are looking to make a profit. However, this is the basic objective behind any form of marketing and there is nothing wrong in making an effort to be profitable but you must always show how your offering can help your audience. Think of their comfort also. The crux of the matter is that don’t talk explicitly about making profit.
Keep Video Short and To-the-Point
No one is going to spare 4-5 minutes to watch your video. Keep your videos short, to-the-point and crisp. Additionally, people are not looking for sad and heartbreaking videos unless it is related to some social or personal cause. So, make it entertaining that can re-energize the viewers, making them feel good.
Introduction and Call-to-Action
Introduction and call-to-action are two most important things that your video should contain. Introduction of you or your company in the beginning and a call to action to visit your site, connect with you on social media or call you in the end is important.
Using Videos to Promote Your Business
Obviously, that’s what you’re looking for. After all, you need to promote your business. So, what kind of videos you can actually create; let us take a look:
1. How-to videos
2. Product or service demonstration
3. Introduction of new product/service
4. Tour of your office or facility
5. Satirical video on a current situation
6. Staff introduction
Choosing the Platform
You don’t need to be omnipresent; that means you don’t need to upload videos on all available platforms. Select the most popular platforms or networks where you have solid presence and upload the videos.
Let Your Audience Know about Your Latest Videos
So, every time when you come up with a video, promote it in two-fold fashion. One, inform your existing clients through email, text or newsletters that new content is up on the website, blog, YouTube, Facebook, twitter or other channels. Two, create awareness among new readers through e-mailers or social media posts.
Keep a Track of What Your Audience Likes
That’s how you know what to create and what not to create, what works and what doesn’t work. This you can determine by the number of visits, likes, tweets or comments from the readers. More likes obviously mean more appreciation.
Strive for Better Ideas
Keep looking for exclusive ideas for video creation and try to serve your audience with something new each time you connect with them.
So, keep creating and keep sharing but with your unique twist.