Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past several years, you’ve probably noticed that video marketing is making its way to the forefront of preferred promotional techniques. Unfortunately, many larger businesses make video marketing look easy and the few videos that you’ve posted haven’t seen much traction.
The good news is that video marketing can be easy – with proper planning and know-how. We’re going to tell you exactly what you need to know in order for your company to run a successful video marketing campaign in 2020; keep reading to learn more!
Types of Videos for Marketing Purposes
In order to truly understand video marketing, you must first know the different types of videos that can be used. Certain styles of videos will work better for different purposes, styles of marketing, and business types.
Live Videos
Live videos are just that – they are shot and streamed from a live event or demonstration of your product. This video might encompass any or several (but preferably not all) types of videos below. You might show the inner workings of your company or have a question and answer session.
The one thing to remember about sharing a live video is that it cannot be edited! You must have an idea of what you’re going to say and the topics you wish to cover. If this is difficult, don’t be afraid to use notes or cues to stay on track.
Customer Testimonials
Using a customer testimonial video is a sure way to help convince other potential buyers that they need your product. These videos can be user-generated, submitted, and then edited accordingly. Or if you’d like, you can obtain testimonials from customers local to your business.
If finding people to film customer testimonials is difficult, you could also film yourself reading positive reviews from real customers. These aren’t quite as fun and sometimes aren’t as believable, but doing this can serve the same purpose.
Explainer Videos
An explainer video does just that – it explains your product or service to potential customers. Explainer videos may or may not be animated or use aspects from other videos mentioned here.
Often, these types of videos feature a fictional person who has a problem that is solved by the use of your product or service. The person featured is ideally someone who resonates with your target market, both demographically and psychologically.
How-To or Educational Videos
An educational video doesn’t have to completely focus on your product/service. These videos aim to educate users on how to use your newest solutions or teach some basics about a problem that can be solved by using your product or service.
These types of videos are especially useful if your business is offering something completely new or if you have new insight into an old issue.
Event Videos
Event videos are often intertwined with live videos because there isn’t a better way to promote an on-going event than to shoot it live! However, an event video can also be promotional about a future occasion.
If you want to promote a recurring event, you might feature video clips from past functions. Should your event be a one-time affair, you may choose to mention any keynote speakers or why this event is noteworthy. These videos are a great opportunity to build interest in your company’s upcoming happenings.
Demos
Demo videos aren’t a difficult concept but worth mentioning. These videos show users exactly how to use your product and the direct benefits of your product. A demo might feature unboxing a product or showing off the various components of your service.
These differ from educational/how-to videos because they focus more on the product/service versus building knowledge; demos are also typically shorter in length.
Brand Videos
Using a brand video is effective when you are trying to educate people about your mission, vision, or company goals. These videos don’t necessarily promote a specific product, but rather your business as a whole.
Expert Interviews
Calling upon an expert is a great way to promote faith and trust in your product/service. Whichever expert you choose to feature can talk about how they use your product and why it’s a better choice than your competitors’. The key to this type of video is using someone that is (preferably) well-known in your industry or has the credentials to prove why they are considered an expert.
Setting Goals for Your Campaign
Once you’ve decided on the type of marketing video you wish to use for your campaign, you will need to determine measurable goals. The goals for your campaign may be to increase awareness about your brand/product/service, improve sales conversions, or simply to educate people about your industry.
Whatever your goals are, they must be measurable – there should be some way to determine if your video has the desired effect, and if so, by how much? You should be able to gauge if your marketing video is having a positive impact on consumers by looking at hard numbers.
Opting to hire a video marketing agency or get a videographer from Splento can help you identify your goals and allow you to see whether your video is reaching the intended consumers. An agency may also help you determine which of the above videos will work best for your purpose and can help ensure the success of your overall campaign.
Know Your Target Audience
Your target audience is who you want to sell to – your ideal customer. In order to create an effective marketing video, you will need to identify who the perfect consumer is, whether it be a business or an individual.
In order to do this, it can be helpful to identify who your competitors are marketing to (and why), as well as if they are seeing success in their efforts. There are many apps that offer a way to do exactly this, allowing you to see what works for your competition and what doesn’t. Having the ability to see what your competitors are doing can help you create a more effective strategy for your target market, which ultimately will allow you to meet your campaign’s goals.
Planning and Scripting Your Video
For most videos, you will need some type of plan of action. This will include determining what you’ll say, how you’ll say it, any physical actions that are taken, and how long your video should be.
As far as your script goes, you don’t want it to sound as though you’re too rehearsed or like you’ve memorized your ‘speech.’ Instead, opt for an outline that includes key points. You may also opt to have a few notecards available in case you lose track of what you’re saying – this is especially effective for live videos!
When planning your video, you will want to take into account the goals of the video, how to measure its success, your target audience, budget restrictions, and when you want the video to be ready.
Lights, Camera, Action
If you’re using a marketplace like Splento or a marketing agency, you’ll likely be able to send them your video clips for them to edit them together and create an ideal video. If this isn’t the case, and you’re using your phone to film, be sure that it is on silent or Do Not Disturb. This prevents any distracting alerts while you’re filming. You may also want to consider the use of a tripod to avoid any shakiness while recording.
Should you be lucky enough to film your video in one take, you still may need to edit it. This can be done through a number of video editing apps or through the professional service like Splento where you can get video-editing only packages. The final goal should be a professional-looking video that conveys your message.
Sharing Your Content
You might have a perfect video, but if you share it at the wrong time, it could be buried under thousands of other posts. The key to knowing when to share your content comes from knowing when your audience is online and most active.
It is advisable to schedule your content (video, blog, or other) to post at set days and times. This helps users know when to expect new content from your company and may help keep a steady influx of traffic.
Practice Makes Perfect
Your first marketing video may not come out perfectly and it may not do as well as you hoped. However, if you continue to use this guide, you will soon begin to see traction with your marketing videos, including higher conversions, more engagements, and improved brand recognition.
It may take some time and effort, but just remember – practice makes perfect!
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