Why You Need Video Marketing in 2019
If you’re not convinced of video marketing’s influence on buyers, take a few minutes to understand it. First, this strategy has the ability to not only engage audience members, but also turn them into customers. When you tell a story through your videos, people tend to pay attention. In fact, HubSpot found that 72 percent of people like to watch videos to learn about new products or services, so it makes sense that the same source found that 97 percent of marketers stated that video has increased the public’s understanding of their products or services.
Additionally, Search Metrics found that 55 percent of keyword search results include one or more videos, meaning using videos for your brand can improve your chances of appearing on or near the first page of search results. As you can see, video marketing is important in 2019 and beyond.
You can learn more about the importance of video marketing when you read the 2018 State of Video Marketing [Video]
Getting Started on Your Video Marketing Strategy
Now that you know why you need to try video marketing in 2019, it’s time to come up with a strategy. Vidyard’s guide suggests that you begin by defining your goals, with some popular options being brand awareness, demand generation, and viewer engagement. Just make sure your goals are SMART, which means they’re specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
Next, you should research your target audience, and then determine which types of videos you should make. From there, you can set a budget for your video marketing strategy in 2019. Then figure out who in your company is going to create the videos and what their campaign strategy will be. Finally, determine where you’ll post your videos and how you will measure their performance. When you follow these steps from Vidyard’s guide, you’ll have a strategy in place!
If you need more guidance on strategy for video marketing, download The Video Strategy Workbook.
Tell a Story with Your Videos
If you want your brand to stand out out from the rest, you need a good story that you can tell through video. After all, storytelling is all about evoking emotion, and marketing fits in perfectly with that. You want to make videos that can help your viewers determine who they trust, feel a sense of nostalgia, and represent your brand within a few minutes. Essentially, you want your videos to tell a story about your company does for others, not just what it sells.
So if you’re marketing smartphones, your videos should focus on the fact that your brand is helping people connect and communicate, not just get the latest phone. Note that according to Vidyard’s guide, Neuromarketing found that emotional videos tend to be nearly twice as effective as videos that are more rational. Also, keep in mind that Hubspot discovered that when people are happy, they’re more likely to share. When they’re sad, they give, and when they’re scared, they’re more loyal. Finally, when they’re mad, they make content go viral as they passionately share the video that made them feel that strong emotion. Think about these facts as you determine what kind of story to tell with your video marketing strategy in 2019.
Choose the Type of Video You Need
There are several video types to choose from. If you can’t decide, you can try them all out. But you’ll need a summary of each type first. To start, there’s the how-to video, which shows viewers how to do something through a tutorial. These are popular on search engines, so having some how-to videos just might get your company seen online. Similarly, you can make product explainer videos, which educate viewers on what your products or services can do for them. Demo videos are like product explainer videos, but more detailed since they’re meant for the middle or end of the marketing funnel.
Another type is a thought leadership video, in which an expert in your industry or at your company informs your viewers on a subject while looking into the camera to create a connection with them. You can also make brand and culture videos that tell your viewers what your brand stands for. Other common video options include testimonials, webinars, and interviews.
Decide Where to Distribute Your Videos
One of the most important parts of video marketing in 2019 is putting your videos in the right place your market sees them. First, put your videos on your website, since your customers are likely to visit it early in the marketing funnel. Plus, doing this can improve your site’s search ranking and increase the amount of time viewers spend on the page.
You can also distribute your videos through email, landing pages, blog posts, and social media platforms. Those platforms include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and especially YouTube. And before you post your videos on any of these sites, make sure they’re optimized with a title, description, and tags, which you can learn more about when you read Vidyard’s guide.
Make Videos for the Demand Generation
The focus of the demand generation is to create demand for your products or services. This process should include everything from brand awareness and inbound marketing to sales and client retention. And video is perfect for this because it’s a way to engage viewers and create a personal connection through good storytelling—from the beginning to the end of the funnel.
A few ways you can make videos for the demand gen include using videos to educate your audience, personalizing videos as much as you can, and sending gifts to viewers when it makes sense. You can even send videos in the mail by sending cards that feature video players in them, as that will surely be memorable for your viewers!
Track Video Analytics
The best way to find out if your video marketing strategy in 2019 is working right is to pay attention to analytics. More specifically, you should be tracking views, click-through rates, how long people watched your video, and more.
When you track video analytics, you’ll learn how you can improve, and you have a chance to increase ROI. That’s why Vidyard found that 36 percent of businesses use software that tracks video analytics. With so many tools available to help you track important metrics, there’s no reason to not know exactly how well your videos are doing.
If you want to learn more about getting better at video marketing in 2019, read Vidyard’s Complete Guide to Video Marketing today!
You can also get more video marketing tips when you download our ebook: Six Steps to Kick Start Your Video Marketing
The original version of this article was first published on The Marketing Scope.