Viewers consume tons of video content daily, from Facebook Stories and Instagram Reels to TikTok and YouTube. It is not surprising that businesses have given priority to video marketing in recent years.
According to the Wyzowl State of Marketing survey in 2021, the number of businesses incorporating video content into their marketing strategy has increased by 41% since 2016. At the same time, 92% say that the competition in video marketing has risen steadily.
What does this mean? Today, video is not enough. A sound video marketing strategy helps a business stand out from the flood of video campaigns out there. Here are 3 tips to help a company or content strategies create effective video marketing strategies.
Tip #1 – Consider Your Customer’s Journey With Your Video Campaign
Typically, there are three stages for any video marketing campaign. These are awareness, consideration, and decision. These are the steps that your potential audience goes through, also known as the ‘marketing funnel.’
● Awareness – This video campaign makes the customer aware of a problem. Only then can they trust and buy into the solution. This is also where the customer is made aware of the brand. E.g. How-to videos, explainer videos, surveys or customer stories can be featured in this marketing style.
● Consideration – Imagine that a buyer is undecided about a brand. They are not sure if it is the best fit. A good video marketing campaign specifically targets this section of the audience to get them more interested. Now is the time to directly speak to the audience and show how the brand is different from its competition. E.g. Here, you can deep-dive into the content, have Live interactions, create behind-the-scenes videos, tell the story of the brand’s journey or host webinars.
● Decision – This is the final stage of the marketing funnel, where the potential buyer is concerned about the specifics of the products and offerings of a brand. E.g. Videos here could focus on individual products, usage manuals, or targeted customer testimonials for specific offerings.
Tip #2 – Choose a suitable format and the best platform
When you have so many different forms of social media, isn’t the business spoilt for choice? Isn’t variety a blessing for the brand? The truth is, not always.
Think about a brand of shoes or headphones specifically designed for a young audience. Their products are fun, modern, funky and most likely to be used by teenagers. Where will they get more engagement – Facebook or Snapchat? If your first thought was, ‘Snapchat!’ then you are headed in the right direction.
Selecting the right platform for a video marketing campaign is crucial to its success. A business must develop a critical understanding of two things – what each platform has to offer and which format works the best.
● Know your platforms: The different social media platforms have diverse specifications for video length, size, rations, and text or subtitle display. For instance, Youtube has horizontal video, re-creating the theatre look. On the other hand, Instagram has primarily square videos. However, the size and ratios change even within the platform depending on where the videos are placed. If the brand wants to use the same videos on multiple platforms, they should know how to repurpose them.
● Know your formats: According to a Statista report in January 2022, 51.4% of viewers prefer music videos, with viral memes coming in second, at 37.1%. Knowing what works for your audiences helps you target that format in your videos. Ads on many social media give businesses an understanding of the reach and engagement of certain types of videos. This data is essential to planning the next steps for your video marketing campaign.
We have looked at the stages in a customer’s journey – awareness, consideration, and decision. Different platforms and formats can cater to the audience at different stages in the sales funnel. For instance, long-form videos work best in the ‘consideration’ stage, whereas a business can increase ‘awareness’ beyond their regular customers using sponsored ads on Facebook.
Tip #3 – Allocate the video budget wisely
Now, this may seem obvious, but that is not the case. A well-planned budget is essential for a robust and effective marketing strategy where the business wants to see precise results. The budget allocation is responsible for many critical decisions and choices in video marketing strategy. Define the desired outcome of the campaign, set specific goals, determine the costs, and only then should the business execute the plan. The important questions, which the company must ask, include:
● Do we have the means of video production, hosting, distribution?
● Is the content being produced in-house or outsourced?
● Do we have the right marketing technology at our disposal?
● How soon do we expect a return on investment?
Remember that the budget allocations for video content also depend on the platform, video specifications, and the marketing funnel. When does a business need more ads, and when does it need better ads?
The ‘awareness’ stage may require the most expensive production. When you want to hook in your potential customers for the first time, you may need the fanciest and most technically-advanced videos, with a significant spend on quality production. In the later stages, this picture may transform since the audience already knows the brand. These factors need to be considered when creating a budget.
Bonus Tip:
Check out the competition. What is the age-old proverb? “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” But jokes aside, market analysis is vastly essential. Know what the other businesses in the same field and other industries are doing in terms of innovation and strategy regarding video marketing.
With the popularity of this form of media snowballing over the last few years, it is increasingly harder to stay ahead. 2021 has already seen numerous viral TikTok memes, hashtag challenges, Virtual Reality integrations in advertising campaigns. If a company wants to be part of this game, be in it to win it. Keeping yourself up-to-date can make all the difference.
