There’s no denying that video marketing is the order of the day. With 87% of marketing professionals making the most of videos, it is clear that it is effective.
However, all businesses are eager for the goodies that it brings. This has caused a tremendous increase in competition. Therefore, there’s a need to improve your video marketing so you can tower above the contest.
This post identifies 14 tips that are sure to fire up your video marketing efforts.
#1. Identify Your Target Audience
The first step on the path towards refining your video marketing is to be sure of your target audience.
There’s a saying that if you chase two rabbits, you’ll end up catching none. That adage holds ever true in video marketing.
As much as you would like to reach as many people as possible, it might not be the best for your efforts.
Therefore, you need to create a buyer persona and kick off your video marketing with it in mind. According to Hubspot, a buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about existing customers.
Molding a buyer persona demands that you bore deep to be sure of your audience’s wants and needs. Thus, you have to find out the following:
- What challenges they are facing
- Questions that they need answers to
- The channels they use to consume the video
- The language they use
Identifying your target audience helps you improve and button-up your video marketing because it gives you a laser-like focus. Instead of throwing and hoping, you accurately aim and fire with your video marketing strategies.
Consequently, you’ll produce videos that strike notes and are more meaningful to them.
#2. Go for the Right Tools
The beauty of video marketing in current times lies in the fact that you can get far ahead, even with a limited budget. However, you must avoid the trap of outdated software and equipment like the Black Plague.
If your coffers are running shallow, fear not. With a smartphone that has a good camera and a tripod stand, you can boldly begin to flap your wings. Throw a microphone and proper lighting into the concoction for even more impressive results.
However, if you are a shark, and you are willing to cough up a buck to improve your video marketing, you might as well go for a complete studio. You can’t go wrong with state-of-the-art digital cameras, elaborate lighting, and cutting-edge sound systems.
Now, some software worth considering are:
- Portent’s Content Idea Generator, which helps get your creative juices flowing
- WonderUnit’s Storyboarder, to make the process of sketching your ideas a walk in the park
- Adobe Premiere Rush, the one-stop-shop for all video post-production activities
- PremiumBeat for oodles of royalty-free music to add that appropriate sound to your already captivating video
There is a myriad of others out there but these seem to rank high in the league table of software for video creation. What’s more? These are free.
I spoil you. Yes, I know.
If you care to improve your video marketing like I imagine you do, then you’d be sure to pick the proper tools. Good tools make the work fun and easy.
#3. Always Create and Use a Script
The role of scripts in videos cannot be overemphasized. A script serves as a guide during the creation of the video. Therefore, it makes sure the video is laced with fun and engaging content.
What many do not know is that sufficient pre-planning is necessary if you want to produce killer content. Without it, you might end up creating awkward clips that skid off the central message.
Worse still, your video could end up becoming padded with meaningless fluff. Unfortunately, this will bore your audience even before they’ve gone halfway through it. That’s sabotage in my opinion!
Viewers want to be enthralled every step of the way. As long as the time is ticking, they want to be entertained and informed. Scripts will help you create videos that reach that goal.
#4. Provide Value
The ultimate goal of your video marketing efforts is to make more conversions. Let’s admit it. However, the world is rolling away from the traditional style of marketing at a breakneck speed and so should you.
To improve your chances of growing your business with video marketing, do away with the buy-right-now approach.
Instead, fill your videos with much-needed information for consumption by your audience. Enlighten your viewers by answering frequently asked questions, giving tutorials, and also showing different ways to utilize your product.
People gravitate towards solutions. Serving as a treasure-mine of information to your audience gives you a special place in their hearts.
#5. Decide What Video Platform Suits You the Most
There are a variety of video platforms you can use for your marketing. Your choice should depend on which fits your goals just right. Once you figure out the best for your aspirations, then get on with it.
However, any effort to improve your video marketing will be an exercise in futility if you are unaware of the strengths and weaknesses of the various platforms. With that being said, let us consider a handful of them.
YouTube
This is simply the granddaddy of them all. Being the most popular video platform today, it boasts more than 2 billion monthly logged-in users. It is a good starting point for various reasons such as:
- It is free
- There is the potential to reach a broad audience organically
- Live streaming is enabled
- There’s a huge earning potential if you monetize your channel
However, its downsides include:
- Ads usually get in the way when videos are being viewed
- Its suggests related videos to viewers, and this might fuel the efforts of your competitors
Vimeo
Having at least 170 million monthly viewers and about 90 million registered members, Vimeo is worth considering. Its strengths include:
- The capacity for collaboration
- There are no in-video ads
- The videos are of very high quality
- There are advanced video analytics
The cons are:
- Slim audience
- Its basic plan avails a weekly upload limit of 500MB
Quite the surprise of the decade, Facebook has grown from a platform for just sharing pictures and status updates to a force to reckon with in video marketing. There are over 4 billion video views on the platform daily.
As a video platform, Facebook is great because:
- It’s perfect for mobile devices
- Live streaming works just great
- It has comprehensive analytics
Sadly, its weaknesses can’t be ignored. They are:
- A poor organic reach
- Annoying ads pop up occasionally
- The videos don’t show up on search engine result pages
You have to be sure of your goals, then make your choice. It will help you effectively connect with your target audience.
#6. Introduce the Topic Instantly
When creating the video, be sure to kick it off with a captivating hook. Word in the street presently is that humans have an attention span shorter than that of the goldfish.
As disrespectful as that statement sounds, your marketing efforts shouldn’t be an experiment to determine its truth. You have to capture your viewers’ attention swiftly, and also make sure they keep watching the video.
Therefore, you have to start the video by giving your audience an idea of what’s coming. The intro should be clear without taking up much time. You can:
- Give a summary of what the video is about
- Itemize the problems which will be dealt with in the clip
- State what the viewer stands to gain by watching the video
Your audience might not be a shoal of goldfish, but an enticing introduction is sure to keep them hooked. Keep it short and sweet.
#7. Effectively Brand Your Videos
Another tip that serves to improve your video marketing efforts is the element of branding. Branding is a marketing technique that helps your audience recognize you once they see a video that you’ve shared.
Furthermore, it clothes your marketing activities with professionalism and helps build your audience’s trust in you. It also upholds your values and identity.
Some elements of branding that you can incorporate into your videos are:
- An alluring intro and outro
- A soundtrack playing during the video
- Your logo displayed in a specific corner of the screen
- A particular environment or backdrop where the videos are captured
- Your dress code
- The style or tone of delivery- formal language or a casual tone
- Special effects or filters in the video
Ultimately, branding indicates that you mean business and that you are here for a long time.
#8. Incorporate Stories and Show Your Personality
The digital marketing ecosystem is crowded and noisy. There are thousands of content being produced daily by businesses. What then does it take to be seen and heard above the babel?
A human face. That’s all you need.
This is in the form of stories and a personality. People are tired of inanimate marketing tactics in the form of bold facts and statistics. They want stories that resonate with them.
No one can copy your story. Therefore, your story is what will set you apart from the competition. Through storytelling, you can do the following:
- Inspire your audience
- Teach or explain a process
- Create a great connection
- Show your expertise and thought-leadership
Additionally, a display of personality helps improve your video marketing because it reveals your culture. People want vibrant videos that show your soul.
Faceless and inanimate marketing is a thing of the past. Storytelling and displayed personality are the now and future.
#9. Leverage Social Proof
To improve your chances of conversion, you have to incorporate elements of social proof in your video marketing.
Social proof is simply your way of saying “Hey! I know my stuff. Here’s proof.”. Its relevance is demonstrated in the fact that people are rarely eager to be the first to test the waters.
They want to be sure of who they are getting involved with. In the world of business and marketing, uncertainty flies in the face of certainty. Social proof assists your audience in decision-making.
Instances of social proof include:
- Reviews
- Testimonials
- Endorsements by industry experts and influencers
- A robust portfolio
- Likes, votes, views, comments, and shares of your posts
- Customer-generated content showing them using your products
Essentially, the effectiveness of social proof lies in the fact that people buy from people. Nothing attracts new customers like signs of already-satisfied customers. Shine the light on your accomplishments for the greater good.
#10. Keep Learning
The growing jostle for attention is massive in present times and evolution is constant. To improve the likelihood of winning in your video marketing campaign, you need to stay updated.
Find out what works, and how you can step your game up. One way to do that is to keep up with the top trends in video marketing. Lots of noteworthy innovations have taken the world of video marketing by the storm.
Some of these trends are:
- 360-degree videos
- Virtual reality
- Live videos
- Video reportage
- Shoppable videos
Don’t be ashamed to join the bandwagon as long as it’s heading in the right direction.
Another idea is to study your competitors. Don’t do this excessively, else competitive intelligence will overwhelm you. Just pay attention to find out what they are doing right, and try borrowing a leaf.
Additionally, a video content audit is necessary. It exposes the flaws in your game and reveals what you can do to enhance your campaign. There might be the need to add videos to old blog posts or create videos on new delicate topics in your industry.
Just keep your eyes open.
#11. Optimize Your Videos
Video optimization comes in two different aspects:
- Optimization for search engines
- Optimization for the video channel
Videos are essential for successful
The numbers don’t lie. Optimizing your videos for search engines is immensely rewarding. So, what to do?
Here are some tips to optimize your videos for search engines:
- Pick a suitable video platform
- Utilize keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags
- Use engaging thumbnails
- Don’t embed the same video on multiple pages of your site
To optimize your videos for a video channel, you need to follow the channel’s algorithm rules. Some practices that have been found to work for most platforms include:
- Optimizing the videos for silence
- Posting native videos instead of links
- Posting vertical videos
- Picking a compelling thumbnail
- Using keywords and a catchy description in the headline
Ultimately, these optimization tips serve to improve your visibility, boost your organic reach and generally upgrade your video marketing.
#12. Always Add a Call-To-Action
Never forget that video marketing is part of your inbound strategy. You must guide your viewer all through his customer journey and ensure that he takes the desired action.
The efforts and resources invested in creating powerful videos crumble to dust if the video rolls to an end without your viewers having any idea what to do next. The call-to-action tells them the next step you want them to take.
A CTA should be compelling enough and elegantly crafted to fit the type of buyer you are aiming at.
Instances of calls-to-action include telling your viewers to:
- Follow a link to buy a product or service
- Follow a link to learn more about a product or service
- Subscribe to your channel
- Drop their comments and questions
- Share the video
The CTA effectively improves your conversion and ties up loose ends of your video marketing efforts. Furthermore, it indicates a proper organization of efforts and the awareness of your customers’ needs.
Inconsistency does more damage to your video marketing than an ocean wave would do to a sandcastle on the beach.
Have a laid-out plan that will help you create and publish videos regularly. You need not publish videos daily, but your posts should not be far between. You can create an educative series, and release episodes according to a schedule.
Such a schedule indicates that you have tons of good content for your audience, and also shows your commitment.
Furthermore, it is worth a mention that your videos are not eat-alone meals. Neither are they the aroma of delicacies that relentlessly waft their way to people’s nostrils. Your videos have to be shared, and a solid strategy is needed for that.
Sharing is a core part of marketing.
Share your videos on social media and also embed the videos in your blog posts. Go ahead and share links to the video to your email subscribers. After all, statistics indicate that including “video” in the email subject line boosts the open rates by 19%.
Now that’s something.
#14. Monitor the Outcome
Track your progress to know if your efforts are causing any significant advancements. This step is imperative because whatever gets measured gets accomplished.
You can pay attention to your ROI to spot any increase. Also, you can gain insight from the analytics of the video platform that you use. Metrics that are worth monitoring are:
- Views
- Likes
- Comments
- Shares
- Click-through-rates
- Complete views
Tracking your progress helps you figure out what works and what doesn’t. Armed with such knowledge, you can take further steps to improve your video marketing.
Phew! You wanted it, and you got it.
What are your takeaways from this post? Any extra tips on how to advance video marketing efforts?
Let us know in the comments. Also, please share this post.
video editing – DepositPhotos
