Is Video Advertising part of your overall marketing strategy for 2018. If it’s not, you may want to reconsider.
For the last several years, brands, and companies alike have reported that a good chunk of their marketing budgets has been going to creating video content. Considering some of the statistics that come with those reports, we can easily see why. ‘Visual content’ is the go-to marketing strategy for many top businesses for the coming year.
Perhaps you too have decided that your organization should use videos to attract and engage its audience. Not only will it help your brand to generate new leads, but it will also nurture those you already have. And because it’s measurable, you’ll know if it works or not.
But the question is, how do begin?
I have seen businesses of all sizes and shapes hit a brick wall in their efforts of implementing a video strategy, often even before they get started, simply because they didn’t know the right steps in developing a video marketing strategy. In this post, we’re going to solve the challenge by identifying key tips to implementing a successful video advertising strategy in 2018.
Tips for Successful Video Advertising in 2018
1. Assign Roles and Resources
There is no need to spend thousands to equip your studio and hire a team dedicated to making videos.
Ideally, you want to produce different content for the different phases of your customers’ journey, and you should be consistent by producing a new video frequently (maybe every week). This may seem excessive, but you can dedicate the right resources without spending too much in the process.
Start by assigning one dedicated employee, and hiring a videographer as a good start. A good camera operator can record and edit all your videos and produce (at least) a short video once every week for you. And you don’t need a big or formal studio to achieve this, but the quality is important, and so is authenticity. You can shoot the videos in your office instead of an expensive studio, and you can get a fantastic HD camera for a few hundred dollars.
2. Take Your Call to Action Seriously
Your videos might be bait, but your call to action is the bite. When you begin your video campaign, it’s imperative to understand how your audience is expected to react to it to get the best return on your investment. You should add a call to action during and at the end of every of your video to remind viewers to visit your site or even subscribe to your channel if you wish.
For a low cost, you can use sites like Virool to create your custom banners and video overlays for your “call-to-action” prompt.
3. Retarget Your Audience to Re-engage Them
One of the many mistakes made by marketers is to assume that people will make a purchase immediately after their videos have been watched. They forget to ask when was the last time they did that themselves. Customers need somewhat of a reminder on different or several points of contact before making a purchase decision. This applies to ALL marketing strategies and video is no different. Beyond the obvious sources like Google and FaceBook, there are retargeting companies, such as AdRoll or Criteo, which can help re-engage your audience later by running targeted banner ads to them.
Your video is the best way to hook people to your product and get them excited about it, but it might take a few reminders before they go back to your site to make a purchase.
4. Do Not Use Poor Quality Videos
As said earlier, your video doesn’t need a Hollywood production budget to be successful, but you should not use videos with poor sound, lighting, or a poorly planned distracting background.
There are so many help files on YouTube that contain basic information about formatting audio and video files. YouTube has a preference for high-definition videos, and you usually need to provide the highest resolution video available to offer the highest level of flexibility in encoding and playback processes.
5. Keep Your Videos Short
As a filmmaker or director will tell you, editing a video is about the most challenging step. Given, all the videos you are filming are fantastic. Everything your company does is terrific. But you cannot share all these in a minute or two.
Unfortunately too, viewers have a little/short attention span, so you must keep the videos short especially at the beginning. As you begin building your video library and also measure your audience, you will see where it is necessary to have longer and more detailed videos.
And consider using square video format. Videos in Square format get more views, likes, and share. And they have a higher degree of compliance compared to panoramic videos.
6. Think and Plan Ahead
You should start the process by setting goals and how to measure returns. For example, which target group is your goal and why? What steps are customers required to take? What are you willing to pay as cost per lead and more importantly, how much will each lead earn you?
7. Do Not Ignore the Buying Model
If you are not a known brand, most people are not likely to make the buying decisions when they first see your product for the first time. As an option to linking directly to your product, think in buying stages and consider linking your video ads to content to continue the conversation. Do not forget that most users first discover content on mobile devices, but move to larger devices (e.g., like desktops, laptops, tablets) to make the purchase.
8. Test, Test, and Test Again – The Data Doesn’t Lie
Keep your eyes on the data and adjust your strategy accordingly. If your target audience, for example, is not responding to your advertising, it’s probably time to change your message, try another audience, or edit the video.
Distribution points can also affect results. Think of companies like Facebook as one of the media companies and not just as a social networking platform. As a result, video advertising will keep growing and will play an essential role in your digital advertising.
9. Find the Right Talent
It’s not for everyone to be in front of the camera, and this is true especially when on a live video. If you choose to use talent from your brand, then it might be beneficial to examine more people and give them training if need be. Although it may seem reasonable that an in-house expert talks on the introduction of a new product, a third party professional or influencer might be better.
With the help of these tips for Successful Video Advertising in 2018, you’re on your way to developing a comprehensive video marketing strategy for the new year ahead. Follow the steps and see what a little tweaking you might need to get the perfect result you desire. Check back for more Video marketing tips to keep you mоtіvаtеd. Soon you’ll be рrоduсіng vіdеоѕ thаt will not only improve уоur mаrkеtіng results but increase you buѕіnеѕѕ’ brаnd awareness too – juѕt lіkе thе “bіg bоуѕ’ dо!
To learn more about how to get started and maximize video marketing in your strategy, check out our upcoming YouTube Video Marketing Bootcamp training. You’ll be glad you did.
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