For anyone new to using video marketing you need to know where to start to make sure you are getting the most out of your video marketing efforts (including your budget) and ensuring that you are delivering content that your audience will value.
Understanding your audience is crucial and by identifying your audience early on it will help inform decisions from the start of the video production process.
When it comes to utilising video for business you need to be clear on what your video is trying to achieve. Your audience are much more likely to give up a small amount of their precious time to view a video which is concise and has clarity.
Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world (Google being the largest) and the possibilities are endless when it comes to getting your organisation seen. Google loves websites that utilise a mixture of text, photos and videos.
1. What is your end goal?
Firstly you should identify your need for video. What message are you wanting to communicate and what is your end goal for your video content?
There are various types of videos including company overviews, product demonstration, testimonials, explainer, training videos etc. Deciding on which one is right for your organisation is vital.
Having a company overview video on the homepage of your website is ideal. For anyone visiting your site it’s the easiest way for them to get a sense of what your organisation and the people behind it are all about. Telling a great company story brings your company to life, giving the viewer confidence in your business and it will help them understand what you can do for them.
Is your end goal to drive more traffic to your website, sell more products or establish a following for your brand?
Video is a great, cost effective tool for reaching potential customers. You can even use your existing customers to help you gain new ones!
2. Create compelling content
What do you want your viewer to walk away with once they have watched your video?
Being able to tell a story visually will not only enable your video supplier to be a little more creative but it also means that your video will stand out from the crowd. With attention spans dwindling, you need to hook your audience extremely quickly. Your content can vary vastly from one video to the next but it’s important that your video is engaging for the watcher.
Spending time deciding what your message is is crucial and ultimately if you have identified a genuine need for your video, then it should add value to your viewer. If they find it useful/ informative there’s a chance they will want to contact you, comment on the video (potentially creating a dialogue between you and your client…and others) or they may even want share it (a free way to gain a new following!)
3. Call to action (CTA)
Every video should have a strong CTA and this will depend on the message you are trying to communicate. There are several reasons why a company may have a video produced and their CTA may vary from video to video.
A video for a charity may have a donation CTA. Some companies may want more subscribers to their Youtube channel so they can provide their followers with updates about the organisation. Others may want to drive traffic through to their website or share with their friends etc…
You can position CTA’s throughout your videos, this can be as simple as having your logo/ website throughout the video or links to other great video content on your channel. Adding a card to the end of your video is a great way to leave a lasting impression on your viewer and a clear direction on what you want them to do.
A CTA may not always lead to a direct sale but it may start a dialogue and will help encourage loyalty to your brand/company.
4. You’ve got an amazing video…what next!?
It’s time to promote your video content. First off, stick it on your website! Not all platforms are suitable for every video and even on your own website (depending on the type of video)
it might not be right to put on your homepage.
When it comes to video for SEO you need to make sure you are giving Google the best chance of finding your content, by adding great descriptions you will help Google make sense of your video content. Adding relevant keywords and unique headlines/ title will assist in their search-ability also.
Use the social channels you have to push your video out. You can do this for free and rely on your existing audience to share the videos. You could also run paid video campaigns on social media.
Adding videos to your Youtube channel and any other social media platforms will ensure that no matter how your audience finds you that they will see your most recent content. Having brand consistency throughout your channels is key.
