Video in Content Marketing is Indispensable
Updated: Sep 19, 2019
Only a few years ago video in content marketing was unattainable for many companies. Video was usually only available for larger budgets. But that has changed radically. In
fact, those who do not use video become a laggard.
Video achieves special results
To show the importance of video for your content marketing, here are some effects of video:
People stay on your website for longer
That's good for your position in Google and you stay in the head of your visitor longer and better.
Videos have a storyline and stories are remembered up to 22 times better than facts.
Product videos increase your sales
Place a video of your product or service on a sales page and the conversion of that page often increases by ten percent
The human brain processes image 60,000 times faster than text
You transfer more in less time.
The click percentage in your newsletter increases
Add video to your e-mails or newsletters and the click-through percentage can increase by up to 50%
With video you create much more interaction on social media, up to three times as much
Social media prefer to show videos to your followers than messages with links
You will find a lot of facts, figures and statistics about the effects of videos in marketing in this article . Useful if you have to convince someone within your organization of the positive effect of video.
Use video as a marketing tool
Video can have various applications within your marketing:
1. Communicate your brand identity
2. Videos about your product or service to promote sales
3. Helpful videos with tips and / or instructions
1. Communicate your brand identity
People love stories and that is why stories about your business are doing well. For example, illustrate why your company or organization was founded. What was the reason for this? Or tell what the people within your organization are doing. Why are they happy to work for you? How do they want to serve the customers or target group and what do they like most about their work?
Depending on the brand values that are important in your communication, you choose suitable subjects and you colour the way in which you visualize those topics. That way you
create atmosphere and that also contributes to the experience of your brand so that video offers double benefit.
2. Increase conversion with a product video
Place a product video on a sales page and you will see sales on that page rise. The condition is that the video adds something so avoid product videos that mainly repeat what is already in the text.
Adding value is possible in several ways:
Show different variants of your product.
This way the customer sees immediately which options there are, without having to click.
Let a user or customer briefly speak in your video with his positive experience.
Give a brief demonstration of the benefits of your product or service.
Seeing the benefits works better than reading the benefits.
Show different situations or places where the product is suitable or beautiful.
Offer inspiration by visualizing real situations.
Summarize your service
For more complex services that require a detailed description, you can save the visitor of the landing page a lot of time by explaining the most important points in a minute. That is more attractive than using 300 words to make your point.
3. Be helpful to your target audience with a video
For you as a seller or creator your product will have no secrets, but for a new customer that is really different. So make some instructional videos about different aspects of your product or service. How do you put it together or do you make it ready for use? Give usage tips and show how you get the most out of it. Provide maintenance tips if relevant. Or show how others use your product and what benefits they get from it.
Do not let yourself be held back by your budget
Of course, a slick produced video is super professional. But fortunately making such a video is no longer a hard demand and you do not need a big budget to start working with video.
With some technical tools and a well thought out strategy and script you can make low-budget videos that look professional.
Pay attention to the following:
Sound: provide a good microphone
Light: avoid shadows and provide clear (day) light
Stability: hand-shot can sometimes, but rather use a tripod
Different types of shots: from far away to close
Appropriate background that does not distract or add something
Rest in the transition: with editing you can go completely, but limit the special effects
Useful: add subtitles. Especially on social media, many people watch video without sound
Consider which target your video should have in advance and write it down: 'after seeing the video the viewer goes to do x, y and z'. This way you send the video in the right direction and do not get lost.
Preferably make short videos, if possible from 1 to 1.5 minutes. Do you have a lot to tell or to show, try to make several short videos than one long one. Formulate different sub goals and keep it as short and concise as possible for each sub-goal. Are they still too long? See if you can cut the main goal even further.
Long videos have their own purpose
Do long videos have a place? Of course they do! Provided that length is functional. For example because you want to transfer knowledge. In that case you can certainly make videos
from 20 to 40 minutes. In that case a script is very useful, if not necessary. Also make sure that there are good edits afterwards to get rid of the hitches and slip-ups.
And make clear in advance what your goal is and what knowledge you are going to convey. This way the viewer knows which 'goodies' still awaits him / her after 10 minutes.
If necessary, also make a hand-out of the video that can be downloaded after viewing in order to keep what they have learned at hand.
A transcript of the video elsewhere on the page where you place the video helps to make clear to Google what the video is about. That always benefits the findability of your
video.
Live video
For those who dare, live video is a godsend. Remember that live video is about interaction, so think in advance how you can realize that interaction in a meaningful way.
Invite people to ask questions and respond to them. Monologues will not have the desired effect with live video, unless you share knowledge or give demonstrations. Viewers can then ask questions directly.
Choose between text or video
This raises the question of whether you have to choose between text and video in content marketing and if so which of the two is preferable. You probably do not have to choose. It is rather a question of the right relationships between the two, the characteristics of your offer and your target group and of course the objectives you want to realize.
Often a combination of text and video works very well, for example if you:
Want to tell an appealing story
Want to share atmosphere
Want to transfer knowledge
Want to demonstrate something
To make something clear very quickly
To encourage people to take a specific action (such as purchasing something)
By choosing a combination you bet on two horses. Your text can be optimized for Google. With image you add extra elements that help with the goals above and you also address
the group of people who prefer to take visual information.
The trick then is to indicate in your content marketing strategy and planning in which topics you will use both text and video and how these two can reinforce each other.