Video Marketing Strategy No Longer an Option – Here’s Why

You should be considering a video marketing strategy for your business.

Do you ever feel like your business has plateaued? Does it feel as if your company is stagnant-like it’s not getting anywhere anytime soon?

If so, you’re not alone. Running a small business is tough, and many business owners feel the same way.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but 80% of small businesses fail within the first five years.

Sometimes, it can be easy to feel discouraged about your small business.

But utilizing video marketing campaigns just might be the answer to turn things around.

The marketing landscape is changing; it no longer contains the same scenery we enjoyed twenty years, ten years, or even a couple of years ago.

If your small business isn’t doing well, it may be time to reevaluate the playing field and…

…see what new marketing tools and strategies you need to implement.

And video marketing is something you absolutely cannot overlook if you want to achieve your marketing goals and see your small business grow.

Here are the top four reasons you need a solid video marketing strategy.

4 Reasons Why You Need a Video Marketing Strategy

1. People Watch Videos.

With the advent of platforms like YouTube and Netflix, people have become used to watching videos in their everyday lives.

During one-third of the time people spend online, they’re watching videos.

Almost 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube each day. And the average Netflix subscriber watches 1.5 hours of content each day.

People have also become used to using videos- YouTube videos and social videos to help them make decisions about which new products to purchase.

• 90% of customers say videos help them make buying decisions.
• 64% of customers normally purchase a product online once they’ve viewed a video about it.

Consumers are very visually oriented, so it’s important to appeal to them in this way.

A study from HubSpot Research discovered that this is the way your customers want you to speak to them.

54% of your potential customers want to see videos… and that number outweighs their desire for any other kind of content.

As a business owner, it’s your job to give the people what they want.

By 2021, Entrepreneur predicts, 85% of all online content will be video.

That number should be more than enough to convince you that if you want a corner of the Internet.

At least part of what you put out has to be video content.

And more than just Netflix or YouTube, these platforms were created specifically for video content, and nothing else.

So you have to branch out to be different.

Think about the opportunities of the best social media platforms such as…

…Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok and etc. can present for your business.

Video content is popular on every one of these social media channels, from Facebook to Instagram to Twitter.

Videos are important no matter what channels you’re using to funnel your marketing efforts.

Facebook, for instance, is right behind YouTube when it comes to where people are consuming their video content.

And a Facebook executive–Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president of European, Middle Eastern, and African operations…

…even predicted that in five years, the Facebook algorithm will be all video.

That prediction may be a little extreme. But it is true that video content is only becoming more important.

2. Everyone Else is Doing it.

When you were a kid, you may have used this line on your mom when she wouldn’t let you do something you thought you should get to:

“But everyone is doing it!”

It probably sounded suspiciously whiny and was accompanied by a big eye-roll and maybe even a slammed door when your mom inevitably refused.

But you don’t have to use it on us… we’re giving you full permission to give in to the peer pressure here. And we think your mom will, too.

Why?

Simple: more and more brands are making a point to incorporate a video marketing strategy into their overall digital marketing plan.

If you don’t focus on video marketing- both video production and running video ads, you and your business will be left in the dust.

We want your business to grow. Your mom probably does, too. And a good video marketing strategy is the answer.

For example, MOZ is a SaaS (software as a service) company that’s one of the most well-known brands in the industry.

Like clockwork, the company publishes a video on its blog every single Friday. The videos are dubbed “Whiteboard Friday.”

Each week, a MOZ employee shares explainer videos with tips and tactics for managing marketing, SEO, clients, and more.

Uploading this type of video helps them get dozens of view counts, comments and engagement.

Real-time live videos are another important video format of many companies’ marketing plans.

On Facebook, you can save the videos to your page, so customers can join in later if they weren’t around when you went live.

Your video marketing strategy should include ways to make your videos easily accessible to everyone, especially to your target audience.

Beauty company Sephora does a great job of this.

They often host Facebook live videos, where they invite an influencer to sit and chat about beauty trends. The videos are informal, casual, and popular.

Sephora also publishes shorter videos with bite-size tips and tutorials for applying makeup or using skincare products.

And don’t count Instagram out.

With the relatively new IGTV feature, it’s easier than ever to share video content on Instagram.

Even if what you want to share will take longer than sixty seconds.

Glean inspiration from the Instagram channel of Food Network, the popular TV channel.

They recently uploaded an IGTV video where a few of their staffers were blindfolded to taste pizza from different restaurant chains, trying to guess where each slice was from…

…and Food Network’s 7 million followers loved it.

Food Network calls this series “Taste Test” and regularly publishes new episodes.

If big brands like these are taking advantage of the advent of video marketing, it’s important that you do, too.

Companies like MOZ, Sephora, and Food Network realize that video marketing is the future- and more than that, it’s the now.

3. Videos are Easy to Integrate.

You need a video marketing strategy because you can integrate it with all of your other marketing efforts, leading to a higher conversion rate overall.

No matter what other kinds of marketing you’re doing, from social media to blog posts to emails, it’s simple to include your video content with each one.

Let’s start with Facebook. We’ve already established that the platform is tailor-made for video content.

You can include videos on Facebook in two big ways:

1. Sharing videos as status updates
2. Doing live streams

No matter which you choose to focus on, or whether you do both, incorporating videos into your Facebook strategy is absolutely essential.

A few key things to keep in mind:

• 85% of Facebook users watch videos with the sound off
  • Consider creating a video that has words on the screen or closed-captions.
• People are 5x more likely to watch videos on a phone than a desktop computer.
  • So make sure your content is optimized for mobile viewing.

• People click because they see something they like, peaks their interest, or sparks curiosity.
  • Make sure your thumbnail image elicits some kind of emotion. Whether it’s funny, powerful, or shocking, it should make people click.

Integrating videos on Instagram is easy, too.

From IGTV to live videos to sharing shorter clips on your profile, this social platform is making it easier than ever for you to share your video content.

Although it may seem a bit counter-intuitive, you can also share videos in your blog posts if you have a blog, like MOZ does.

The software company includes a transcript for any viewers who would like to read along.

Tweets that include videos get higher engagement than ones that don’t. So make sure to post your videos on Twitter as well.

You can post a video in your feed or use Periscope, a video app, for a live stream.

And if you want to upload those videos on video hosting sites like YouTube, one of the things that you should optimize is the thumbnail image.

The image that you need to use should be enticing enough to encourage users to click the video.

This is obviously because the thumbnail is the first one that they will see when they type a certain keyword.

As a matter of fact, studies say that most users decide whether to watch your video or not based on the thumbnail.

Adding video content to your website is a great way to spruce things up.

Greeting people with a video as soon as they navigate to your website can be a method of getting their attention.

You can use video content on your landing page or web pages in a couple of big ways:

have a video background (but do this carefully, as it can get overwhelming), or embed a smaller video.

Check out how we embedded a high-quality video on the homepage our our social media management company

If you want to be the “face” of your business and feel like you have the necessary charisma, this short video can be a clip of you talking.

You can also produce a video (animated or non-animated) about your products or services coupled with call-to-actions (CTAs).

Or blend clips of people giving positive customer testimonials about your company.

A video is a good way to explain a lot of information in a short amount of time.

And since people don’t have long attention spans (the timer begins as soon as they get on your website- you’ve got seven seconds).

Watching a brief video may be more appealing than the prospect of reading a long block of text.

Although you may not have thought about this before, you can also incorporate video content with your email funnels.

A study showed that simply mentioning the word “video” in the subject line of an email increased the open rate by 19%.

Often, opening an email is the first step towards becoming a customer, so this is an important way to reach your audience.

The word “video” in an email subject line also reduces unsubscribe rates by 26%. Videos can help you generate new customers and retain existing ones.

You need a good video marketing strategy because you can integrate it with all of your other marketing efforts, leading to a higher conversion rate overall.

4. Videos Bring Out Your Personality.

Video content can help you build brand awareness, put a face to your company, and show your customers that you have a fun side.

Think about Geico, for instance.

When you think about this insurance company’s brand, where does your mind go first: Geico’s insurance options? Their Facebook posts?

Or the green gecko that you’ve probably seen on your TV many times?

We’re guessing it was the gecko… and there’s a reason for that.

Geico has done a great job of leveraging the power of video to make sure people recognize their brand anywhere, anytime, and in any context.

The insurance company’s video marketing strategy has done wonders for their brand awareness.

What exactly is brand awareness? The term refers to how well a customer can remember or recognize a brand.

For instance, you’d know the golden arches anywhere, right?

Whether on a billboard, in a magazine, or on the Internet, McDonald’s is one of the most recognizable brands around.

But for SMB’s (small and medium businesses), it can be a little harder to cement your brand into people’s minds.

It’s important, though. Brand awareness plays a huge role in consumer behavior.

In other words, if someone remembers you, they’re more likely to buy from you.

The good news: video content can help in this area.

Over half of marketers feel that video is an effective tool to increase brand awareness. Images linger in people’s minds for longer.

Videos engage the senses in a way that the written word just doesn’t and can’t.

Videos can also help you put a face- a literal one, to your business.

People connect to people. You don’t want your customers to think of you as a corporation.

You want them to think of you as a friendly face, ready to help.

Many companies star their founder or CEO in their videos.

They might do a webinar or live stream with high-ranking employees to show the faces behind the ideas.

Or, a series of short videos spotlighting various employees to demonstrate the personable side of the company.

Much like this clip about a typical day in the life of Virgin Group CEO, Richard Branson.

This is important because it helps customers feel more of a personal connection to the brand and its representatives.

And finally, a video marketing strategy is important because videos can show your customers that you have a fun side.

Think about it. Which would you rather have:

A dry piece of content that’s trying to sell you something, or a video with funny graphics and happy, upbeat music?

All types of content marketing are important.

But with the medium of video, you have a combination of sound and visuals that other platforms just don’t offer- and…

…this can really help get your point across.

James McQuivey, a digital marketing expert, has said just one minute of video content is the equivalent of 1.8 million words.

And to your customers, that one minute of video content will probably be far more entertaining.

If you’ve been searching for a way to show your audience that you aren’t a dry, stuffy brand- rather.

That you’re a fun and exciting one- video content is the way.

A strong video marketing strategy is important because people watch videos. Everyone else is doing it.

Videos are easy to integrate on other platforms. And videos can define your brand’s personality.

Don’t wait- create a video marketing strategy for your brand today.

We can help you do just that. Contact us today to get started!