Tips for Successful Video Marketing

by Dan Matthews, Guest Contributor

Video marketing is very important and can be impactful when you’re trying to connect with consumers. In fact, 51% of marketing professionals believe video marketing offers the best return on investment. The great thing about creating and publishing videos as a part of your marketing plan is how quickly people can connect and respond. 

Video content is easily shared across social media platforms, which makes it easy to boost engagement with consumers.] With the right components in place, it can go viral, potentially making your brand or company a household name. It’s also a great way to give your business more humanity, allowing consumers to interact and connect with you.

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But, because video marketing is so important and so popular, it’s not enough to simply shoot a quick video on your iPhone and publish it to the world. Video marketing requires a strategic plan of its own, and it needs to be well thought out. Let’s look at some tips you can use to successfully integrate video into your marketing campaigns. 

Create Content That Stands Out
A quality video marketing campaign needs to have several components in order to stand out. First, don’t focus solely on sales. While any company’s ultimate goal is to boost revenue, you can’t use that mindset when you’re trying to create video content that will connect with people. Consumers are inundated with thousands of advertisements each day. Self-promotion is considered “spammy” by a lot of people because they’re simply tired of it. 

Think about some of your favorite commercials or videos you’ve seen online. It’s probably safe to say that whatever stands out to you told you an incredible story. Whether it tugged at your heartstrings, made you laugh, or made you think, chances are it didn’t focus on a particular product or promotion. 

Instead of focusing on selling your brand or product, focus on telling a story. Your audience either wants to be informed of something they don’t already know or they want to be entertained. Focusing on the story aspect of your videos can make it easier to connect with the people watching. When you form a connection and they trust you, they’ll be more likely to spend money on your goods and services. Focus your story on consumer needs rather than how great your company is. When you do that, your content will stand out over competitors who are using video strictly to promote themselves. 

Stories that really connect with people will also make it easier for your video to go viral. When someone finds a video interesting or entertaining, they’re more likely to share it. As that cycle continues, the number of views will continue to grow. It doesn’t get better than word-of-mouth marketing, but you have to create something worth talking about. 

Make Sure Your Quality Crosses Platforms
Not only does the content of your video marketing campaigns have to be fresh and innovative, but you have to make sure it’s easily watchable for everyone. A successful video marketing campaign focuses on all audiences and how they might be watching. You might intend for your video to be viewed on a big screen or on television, but you can’t forget about your mobile watchers. If the video quality is inconsistent depending on the platform it’s viewed on, people could think it's unprofessional and not take your company seriously. 

Nowadays, mobile-friendly content is extremely important. Most consumers worldwide are viewing content on their phones. While the visuals on smartphones are getting clearer and more detailed than ever, you should keep the viewership platforms in mind when you’re creating your content. If something will be hard to see or inaccessible on a phone, it’s probably best not to include it. 

You also have to take into account that your videos could be viewed on a bigger screen. It’s not uncommon for people to stream content from their phone onto a television or computer. If your video ends up looking pixelated or grainy when it’s on a bigger screen, negative consumer perceptions could hold back its success. Publishing video content that looks clear and crisp across all viewing platforms is the key to maximizing how many people will be able to see and enjoy it. 

Call In the Professionals
Marketing teams and strategists find the most success when they’re willing to capitalize on their strengths and understand their weaknesses. It’s not uncommon for a marketing team to be made up of people with different skills and specialties. 

If your team doesn’t currently have someone who specializes in video marketing, it’s worth it to look into hiring a professional. Now that you know the importance of video and the impact it can have on a business, getting it right the first time can set the tone for an entire campaign. 

Hiring another agency or other professionals who can make your video marketing stand out could be just the thing you need to take a specific campaign or business over the top and to really start connecting with consumers. Don’t wait to expand on your video marketing efforts — you might just be surprised at how quickly you’ll see results!

Author bio:

Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, finance, marketing, and culture. 

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