Video marketing can feel daunting because there are many elements to consider before going into production. Depending on your business goals, it could also be a sizable investment. For this reason, many new brands and companies may feel hesitant to take the plunge into the video marketing world. However, when it comes to video content marketing, the verdict is in. It is an essential tool for growing a customer base and achieving a positive return on investment (ROI). Video content, particularly on social media, has the ability to attract new customers. It can also engage current customers and showcase your product or service in ways other forms of advertising simply can’t. That is, if it’s done properly. Let’s look at a few key aspects and strategies of video marketing that can help you make a profit.
What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is the creation and use of any video content for the purpose of supporting or advertising a brand, product, business, or organization. Videos can take many forms, depending on their intended purpose. Typically, you want your video to be the solution to your audience’s problem. A good video can set your brand apart and help viewers remember who you are and what you do.
Some examples of video marketing include: product videos, tutorials, commercials, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes clips. What type of video marketing video you create depends on your goals, so be sure to define them first. Ultimately, you want customers to learn about your business, product, or the service you provide. If you already have customers, be sure to keep them happy with videos that include promos, new product launches, special deals, or fun contests. Video marketing can be highly useful for any of these campaigns.
Benefits of Social Media Video Content Marketing
Over 90% of businesses using social media videos say that this tool has led to a new customer. This is probably due to the fact that most consumers prefer video over other types of brand content. Videos are also more likely to be shared, which can further extend your company’s reach.
There are also search engine optimization (SEO) benefits to posting videos on social media. If you post videos to YouTube with the correct tags and other SEO-minded tips, your video can be optimized to show up in search lists, both on YouTube itself as well as Google. For more insight on how to optimize your videos, check out my previous blog here.
Find Your Audience and Niching Down
You may have a general notion of your target audience, but if it’s too broad you may fail to create video content that attracts the specific group you should be targeting. A niche is a portion of the larger market that you’re tapping into. To niche down, is to narrow down your target audience to a precise degree to find people who may be ignored by larger companies. This could mean focusing on a specific demographic, location, interests, or price point for a product. For example, you may want to sell footwear, but you decide to niche down to hiking boots because of some growing outdoor trend among consumers. One benefit of niching down is that you can become a specialist of a very specific brand, while other businesses remain more broad.
Ultimately, you want your product to satisfy a particular need of your customers. Make sure the videos you produce reflect this. People enjoy products that solve problems, however small. I finally bought a lemon-squeezer because I got tired of seeds dropping into my vodka-waters. Problem solved!
Whatever niche you decide to target, be sure to do your research. Find out what already exists, read consumer feedback, then figure out what’s missing from the product or service. Soon, your new idea will form that addresses these needs.
Define Your Video Content Marketing Goals
Before you begin filming, you must define your marketing objectives. It might be to increase brand awareness, engage with current customers, or highlight a new product. Having a clear purpose for the video helps the production remain focused and consistent. Without clear goals, the video itself may be too broad to speak to anyone in particular. This will negatively impact audience engagement and all of the ROI that might come with it. You want to define your target viewer in very specific terms so that you can meet their needs, answer their questions, or provide the product they’re looking for.
Three general goals of video content marketing are to attract, convert, and close. To attract a viewer is to provide a potential solution to their problem and to do so in a creative way. This can include a video that shows your brand’s personality or one that highlights your organization’s core beliefs. You want to depict why your company stands above all others when it comes to solving a particular issue. You may also opt for a how-to video that displays some of what you have to offer.
After attracting viewers, you will want to convert them into leads. You have probably visited many websites that promptly ask you for your email address. This strategy is useful for getting you on a mailing list in order to keep you connected to the business. Often, companies ask for your email in exchange for a free product or discount. This helps get customers in the door and once you have their email address, you can continue to send them content. An engaging video can certainly help enlist new customers in this way.
The third step is to turn your leads into customers or to close. At this stage, the person is aware of your product or service, but now has to decide whether or not to purchase it. A product video can assist with this by showing the usefulness of the product and how it can solve their particular problem. Closing videos can also tap into a consumer’s emotions to drive a sale. This might include heartfelt testimonials, relatable stories, or a witty advertisement.
How to Improve Your Return on Investment
Calculating Return on Investment
Ultimately, you want to know if your videos have been a worthy investment, which means assessing and improving your ROI. This can be done in several ways. First, let’s define what ROI is. ROI is the ratio of your net profit to the return on initial investment amount. To calculate, simply subtract the initial investment for the video production and accompanying services from the final value earned from this investment (net return). Then, divide the net return by the initial investment and multiply this answer by 100.
Measuring Return on Investment
It’s important to note that dollars is only one form of return on investment when it comes to video content marketing. There are several other “returns” that can prove beneficial to a brand or company, all of which may in time contribute to your bottom line.
View Count
Noting the view count of your videos is a great indicator of its popularity with viewers and a noteworthy metric. Obviously, the more people watching your videos the better.
View count also allows you to compare two or more videos to gauge any difference in audience preference. If a particular video quickly gets 100,000 views, it is important to determine why it worked so that you can replicate whatever magic it contained. Conversely, if another video struggles to get 100 views, perhaps there’s an element of that video that’s not working and therefore should not be repeated.
Think about how much companies pay to get their advertisements in front of people. That’s what view count is, getting in front of people who are potential customers.
Video Engagement
Video engagement measures how long viewers are watching your videos. Clearly, you want everyone to watch your entire video, but with attention spans being short this is becoming increasingly challenging. If people are clicking away from your video, you’ll be able to see when they’re losing interest and note any patterns. Perhaps the hook isn’t strong enough or maybe there’s an element that turns people away at 30 seconds. Whatever it is, it’s important to know because, again, you can correct this pitfall and avoid it in the future.
Overall Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is a measurement of whether or not you got the viewer to do the thing you wanted them to do. This could include something simple like liking the video or Facebook page, clicking through to your website, or purchasing the product your video showcases. Again, having a clear goal for the video is essential because it helps you to understand exactly what metrics are important to measure for a particular campaign.
Shares
Shares on social media are super important for getting your videos in front of more people. We’ve all seen how videos go viral, with users not being able to share the video with their family and friends fast enough. Sharing can exponentially increase exposure overnight. Videos that tap into a viewer’s emotions are more likely to be shared, so keep this in mind if this is your marketing goal.
Comments and Feedback
People aren’t shy on social media; they will tell you exactly what they think of your video in the comments. So read them. If they’re all positive, then that’s great. But you also want to note any negative or constructive feedback as well. If possible, try to respond with a professional response of your own to address the concern and tell the viewer you appreciate their input. This shows that commenting user and others that you are willing to meet customer needs in a respectful manner.
Audience Reactions
We all know that Facebook has a reacting feature that includes a thumbs up, a heart-sign, a “care” symbol, a surprised face, a sad face, and an angry face. Noting the distribution of these emotional reactions could tell you a lot about how the audience is responding to your video. It’s particularly useful during a FB live video because the reactions are synced with the live feed. So, if the CEO says something at the 1:25 mark that gets a flood of angry faces, that would be important to note, understand, and potentially respond to in the future.
Conclusion
If your company or organization is planning on starting a video content marketing campaign, there are many factors to consider in order to get a positive return on investment. First determine who your target audience is and be as specific as possible. Consider niching down to target a specific group within the larger market. Clearly define your marketing goals. This will inform what type of video you make and any calls-to-action you want to include. Are you trying to attract, convert, or close? Calculate your ROI in several ways; measure various user engagement metrics including social media views, likes, and shares. Also, note all forms of feedback and adjust your video content accordingly. If you keep these tips in mind, you will be sure to utilize engaging videos to grow your brand or business and attain a positive return on your investment.
