If you’re not incorporating videos into your overarching marketing strategy, it’s time you start doing now. In this blog, you’ll learn the benefits of video marketing and how to cash them out for promoting your business.
Many marketers underestimate the power of videos. They typically assume videos as part and parcel of content strategy. However, according to research, 96% of consumers prefer watching an explainer video to learn about a product to reading a blog post or scrolling through text on a website. Furthermore, 88% of consumers claim they were convinced to buy a product or service after watching a video. These statistics clearly show that videos are much more potent than regular content in the form of plain old text.
The benefits of using video in your marketing strategy
Videos drive traffic
Believe it or not, a 2-minute explainer video about your product or service is much more potent than a well-written article on your website blog. Why? Because a video is more interactive and directly speaks to the consumer. If you want to know how to take a snapshot on your phone, would you read a how-to article or watch a video that practically demonstrates how to take a snapshot? My bet is the latter.
Videos improve your SEO score
According to Hubspot, customers are more likely to visit your website after watching your branded business video. Since Google ranks those websites higher that receive more visitors and clicks, marketing and increasing engagement via videos can improve your SEO score.
For those who don’t know what SEO is, it’s a set of best practices that make your site appear higher in Google’s search results (SERPs). The better your SEO strategy, the higher your website is listed, the more visitors you’ll receive, and the likelier you are to convert those visitors into customers.
Devising the perfect video marketing strategy
The benefits of video marketing are crystal clear, but incorporating it into your overall content marketing strategy is tricky. We suggest using an online flyer maker like PosterMyWall to craft dynamic posters and embed them in your videos. Be mindful that your video marketing should be tailored to your specific type of business and target audience. Here are some fundamentals you should be mindful of.
Post valuable video content regularly
The first step is creating your business’s YouTube channel and posting videos about your products. Don’t be too oversales-y; focus on delivering value to your potential customers through your videos. Offering valuable advice is much more effective in getting customers through your door than explicitly selling your brand or product(s). For instance, if you provide plumbing services to households, you could post a DIY guide on how to repair a broken kitchen sink pipe.
Be consistent
The next recipe for success is to be consistent with posting your content. If you’ve just started posting videos on YouTube, we recommend posting 3 to 4 videos weekly. Again, remember to avoid fluff at all costs and add value to the consumer. Make a schedule and stick with it. Don’t post 8 videos this months and none the next month. Any audience prefers a channel or brand that posts valuable content consistently.
Live streaming is the way to go
Apart from having an up-and-running YouTube channel, you must go live on Facebook and Instagram, the two most widely used social media platforms. You must have your business pages on each platform and post your YouTube videos, posters, and website blog articles to drive traffic. Besides that, you can go live once every two weeks.
Doing a live stream is difficult because there’s no time to curate your content. So, plan everything you have to mention in the live stream. It doesn’t have to be hours long anyway. In fact, the more brief you keep it, the better your customer engagement will be. Lastly, interact with your audience, take their questions, and respond to their feedback because one major component of driving traffic is engaging with your audience at a personal level.
Parting thoughts
Video marketing is one of the most effective tools to sharpen your digital marketing strategy. But you need to pull the right levers for it to work. Simply crafting a video for the sake of it isn’t going to do you any good. You need to have a strategy in place and a way to track whether your efforts are bearing fruit or not.