Video marketing has become the hottest trend in communications strategies. With the world turning to live streaming and video conferencing during the pandemic, it’s no wonder video has become the smart marketers’ communications tool of choice. Video’s intrinsic entertainment value and increased engagement potential is an audience’s most natural connection to you and your brand outside an actual face-to-face meeting.
Now is the best time to kick off that video marketing program.
So, how do you get the ball rolling integrating video marketing into your marcom strategy? While you may be a fantastic communicator, quickly adapting to social media, integrating content marketing, and building a consistent social presence into your plans; the skill, talent, and technology to make the the video marketing leap can still feel intimidating. I’m here to tell you, in virtually every case, it’s not. Building a video marketing program is easier today than ever before. With consumer technology surpassing quality standards and web / streaming accessibility becoming faster and easier, video marketing no longer belongs solely to big-budget agencies and broadcast giants. But there are a few things to factor in before you call out “Lights, camera, ACTION!”
Three Strategic Factors to Successfully Integrating Video Marketing Into Your Communications Program:
- COSTS: How much should you invest in video equipment and software?
- INTEGRATION: How will video production seamlessly mix into your existing marketing communication strategy?
- MEASUREMENT: How will you track and measure the success (or failure) of your video marketing’s program?
By keeping these three basic factors in mind, kicking off a strategic video marketing program won’t seem as overwhelming. It will also help build a program that can scale into a robust sales/marketing funnel, keeping you ahead of communications trends and in front of your target audience.
COST:
I get it. I run a business. Virtually every decision, at its core, starts with the bottom line. How much does it cost in hard goods – equipment, software, etc.; how much does it cost in soft goods – time, training, learning curve, staff, etc. How do you measure the investment of those goods against the return from the final product (ROI).
Start small and learn the rhythm of video marketing.
Why go out and buy a $4K video camera with a 2TB Solid State drive and interchangeable lens mounts (an investment of $5K or better), when an iPhone (check out this video shot on iPhone and tell me if they’re good enough) or any number of current mobile devices will do? I don’t know a single communications professional (or human for that matter) without a “phone” that shoots 1080p video or better. The video produced by modern digital devices is more than sufficient for web. Remember, you’re not shooting James Cameron’s “Titanic II, Jack’s Revenge.”
Editing, too, can be done on mobile devices with any number of FREE apps. Generally, those end up looking like you edited it for FREE, but I’m kind of a production snob. In all honesty, if you use a tripod or stable mount, hold the device horizontally (vertical video is worthy of a sound flogging and is generally a no-no), and shoot in natural light (near a bright window, well-lit room, outside, etc.) you should be okay. Then, you can purchase or download iMovie or make a small investment into Adobe Premier or FinalCutX (both with free trials) and you’ll have more editing bells and whistles than you know what to do with.
INTEGRATE:
Create a video marketing plan that complements your existing marketing goals.
Good marketers have a plan. Bad marketers have no reason for video. Yep, I said it, if you don’t have a plan, producing a video is a waste of time.
Research has proven video marketing works. Brainshark stated that, if used in email, video can boost open rates by 20% and increase click-through by 2-3x. 73 percent of marketers have also stated that they’ve seen a positive return on investment with video marketing. But in each scenario, the research shows video was part of a larger, more comprehensive marketing plan. No single video – viral or not – will make your phone ring.
The WORST thing you can do (after shooting the vertical video) is to plop your CEO in front of the camera and let him loose to spew all sorts of incongruous technical nonsense that will do nothing but confuse and turn your target audience away. Sure, it’s a hell of an ego trip, but that’s about it. Your CEO will look out of touch and you’ll soon be out of a job.
At a minimum, answer these base “5 W’s” of marketing communication:
- Who am I talking to?
- What do THEY need?
- When is the best time to engage?
- Where can I deliver this message?
- Why do I think I can help them?
Another good question to add to that list is: “WIIFM?” That stands for the question every customer wants to know: “What’s In It For Me?”
MEASURE:
Map how you (*they) got there.
At the end of it all, you need to know if the video marketing effort is making you money. You need to be able to track views and leads generated.
Video analytics offered on social media platforms today are becoeming more and more prevalent and provide deep data on traffic flow With the right monitoring, you can track how many people clicked on/viewed your video, liked it, shared it, etc. But tracking shouldn’t stop there. You also need to document the demographic breakdown of your audience, how long the video was viewed, and how many people clicked your call-to-action. This is the best way to learn about your customers’ content preferences, ultimately helping better customize your content to their needs.
Get in the game.
Video is taking over communications and marketing strategies. Some hugely popular apps are solely about quick, consumable video and more are hitting the market every day. It is no doubt due to the fact that people are attracted to a moving image and an engaging face more than any other content.
Over 500 million people are watching Facebook videos every day. YouTube, owned by Google, is the 2nd largest search engine in the World. The implementation of video into your marketing is just a smart decision. If you do it smart.
If you need more information or would like help producing truly engaging video marketing programs, please don’t hesitate to contact us. This is what we do and we love every minute of it.
Until next time…
Keep Cooking,
Andrew B. Clark – The Brand Chef
