There’s a myriad of online marketing strategists writing tons of tips on their blogs to help entrepreneurs get a bang for their bucks from digital media — while simultaneously using those strategies to get their message to you. So, what strategy do these mentors themselves follow to reach their prospects and promote their services?
Well, they just do what they suggest their followers to do. Throughout the year 2017, they all chanted one mantra: Video content for success.
It’s 2018 now and it’s video again!
For instance Neil Patel, the New York Times bestselling author, recently posted an article on his blog, giving reasons for why he is going to spend a whopping $144,000 on video content in 2018. With a detailed account of his budget allocations, he suggested us too to give it a thought. And no, it isn’t just Neil! Every digital marketing mentor’s action plan features moving pictures in a significant role.
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Okay! But, why what’s exactly so great about video? Well, there are reasons aplenty for this, but let’s begin with the X factor.
The internet is flooded with videos and according to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index, by 2021, a million minute video content will cross the global IP network in a second, accounting for 82 percent of the web traffic. This means, it will take a man five million years to watch the whole video content that crosses the network in a month.
Heavy traffic means a high number of users, doesn’t it? So it’s obvious that you should employ a voice that most people listen to — that’s why video content is the best way to go.
Another reason for video’s importance it that according to Google, around 50 percent of users look for a video related to a product prior to a store visit, especially millenials. That’s why creating a video for a product is absolutely essential today.
Now, it’s quite clear why videos are worth the investment. But, the question crawling in the brains of marketers is: how to find the best pick among a bunch of video types available?
I’ve tried to simplify the process of understanding the video needs of your business by illustrating the key moments when your business is in the need of stronger video content. Let’s take a look.
Announcing your brand/product
Cutting a ribbon to your office isn’t enough to let the world know that something new has arrived into the business world.
Media coverage, celebrity endorsements, and grand launch events are what it takes. We cannot deny the advantages of these campaigns for a company that can be extravagant on promotion, of course. But for SMBs?!
Development stands for a change towards the better. People always look for a solution to their problems and an alternative for the existing solutions. All they want to know is how a new startup or product is different from the rest and that is what an explainer video shows.
Take for example Feazt, the startup created a video that illustrates a solution for two concerns people have. First, the appetite of foodies in India for delicious regional dishes. Next, the declining social relations in the modern society. How the company shot two birds with one shot is explained through a funny explainer video.Take a look:
They say, first impression is the best impression! And this how one should grab it.
Clearing the air!
An innovative product gains its true value when the end-user completely understands it and knows how to use it. However, it cannot be supposed that everyone knows everything, can it? People look for help, mostly towards the vendor, when they get stuck somewhere in the process of using the product. And this is where the need for a product demo video arises.
Zimplistic’s video is a great example of how you can use customers questions as an opportunity to establish a closer relationship with them. The startup designed an automatic roti-maker by the name Rotimatic and explained the best features and feasibility of it through a product video. The content attracted more than five million views on YouTube and created great user engagement for the company. Let’s have a look at it:
Showing the happy faces
Video content is the key for any business to stay in touch with its customers. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the content has to be engaging as well as endorsing the product or service. But coming up with an idea for such a video is easier said than done! Fortunately every problem has a solution.
Generally, companies say ‘customer satisfaction is our satisfaction.’ Afte rall, she/he is the one who the products are meant for. The customer’s testimonial is the ultimate. If a business can have ‘happy faces’ speaking highly of their products, that will be the best content they could ever produce. The reason? People love to listen what others say about a product before they buy it. When they hear something great about it, can they ignore it? And that’s why one should count on testimonial videos.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla believed in this power of testimonial videos and got a brilliant video created for its Model X, showing how great the SUV works for a chocolate vendor. And the story goes like this:
Social responsibility
Of course, knowledge and money lay the foundation stones for a business. But it requires strong pillars of credibility to reach new heights. So, an organization has to be responsible towards the society it operates within.
What’s important to note though is that social responsibility doesn’t have to be associated with writing big checks. Consider creating awareness among people on societal and global issues. This doesn’t cost any money apart from a few hours of time, maybe during a weekend. For sure, it sends a positive note to the public and earns some good will for the company. And yeah, this is going to erect the pillars.
Okay! But, what kind of things grab people’s attention? It can be anything that sheds light on the prevailing issues. For example, gender discrimination in sports.
Sports are essential in making girls confident, but there’s a misconception that girls cannot play certain sports. Addressing this issue, Always ran a video campaign. As a brand of feminine products, the company took an initiative to spread awareness and encourage girls to keep playing.
Given the engagement it generated on YouTube, one could say that the campaign was a success. Here, you can watch it for yourself:
The contexts and cases discussed above are just a few examples of where a video finds a great scope. Pre-launch, launch, post-launch, and customer relation management — at every stage of a business, videos play a vital role in their own way.
Incorporating video content in marketing is a good thing. But it can be better only if the right type chosen like animation, live-action, whiteboard, and motion graphics to name some. There are several aspects to consider before deciding on it. First things first, the budget spent has to be in line with the results anticipated. After all, it’s business where every penny counts! So it is much recommended to get the price chart of each and every video type. On the other hand, a particular purpose can be fulfilled only by a specific variant of video content. Suppose, customer testimonials look appealing in live-action videos, whereas an explainer looks great in animation.
So, the choice is in the hands of the marketers while planning the route map for a successful video marketing campaign. At the end of the day, all that desired is the attention of audience to the video content and a profitable business, isn’t it?
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