Developing a video marketing strategy will help you reach customers with compelling content that can boost engagement and sales.
Video is one of the best ways to connect with your audience and create memorable brand experiences for your customers. Is video marketing a good fit for you and your business? Chances are, it’s worth exploring.
Video is an effective marketing tool, and its popularity is growing. A 2020 survey by Wyzowl found 85 per cent of businesses used video in their marketing strategies. And of those, 92 per cent said it’s an important part of their marketing strategy.
More importantly, your customers want it. According to a Hubspot Research report, more than 50 per cent of consumers want to see more videos from brands.
What is video marketing?
Marketing with video content should be a regular part of connecting with your customers on any platform. It means using video content to offer critical information to customers. Instead of simply reading about your brand or seeing your visual content, they get to experience it through video.
Creativity is an integral part of every aspect of marketing. But creating video content that will help you achieve your goals requires strategic planning and implementation.
Some video content may explode in popularity and become viral. But as a marketer looking to engage your audience and increase sales, you’d be wiser to focus on business goals. Consider how your videos bring in valuable leads, attract website traffic and help convert viewers into customers.
Types of video marketing
Understand the different types of videos you can use so you can effectively weave them into your overall marketing strategy.
Where can you use video in your marketing?
- Product videos
- Virtual events or conferences
- Onboarding and training
- Educational or explainer videos
- Social media videos
- Customer support or service
- Sales and presentations
- Customer testimonials
- Email marketing
- Video ads
The potential is nearly endless. But be sure to identify your goals first and consider how each video helps you reach those goals.
Why the buyer’s journey matters to your video marketing
The buyer’s journey is the path your customer takes with your brand from the moment they need something until the day they purchase your product.
During their buyer’s journey, customers will become aware of a need. Then they begin their research to find a solution and, finally, discover your product. They’ll decide based on their research and, hopefully, purchase your product.
Marketing pros describe these steps along the journey as an awareness stage, a consideration stage and a decision stage. Marketers need to be aware of this progression because customers will need different information at different stages of their journey.
Use market research and customer data to figure out what your customer is thinking and feeling at each stage. Once you do that, you can decide what kind of video content your customer would find compelling.
Meeting your customer’s needs and expectations at the stage they are at will help move them along in their journey. When they have all the information they need, it will lead them towards a purchase. When used to connect with your customers at every step of the buyer’s journey, video can be a powerful storytelling tool.
Creating your video marketing strategy
Video marketing can transform how you reach your customers. But you’re unlikely to make an impact if you’re creating video without goals or a strategy.
When creating a video marketing strategy, answer these questions:
1. Who do you want to reach?
Knowing your target market and ideal customer is crucial to creating content. Curate content that resonate with the people most likely to purchase your product.
2. Where are they in their buyer’s journey?
Understanding if your customer is just starting to consider a purchase or has decided to buy can be helpful to ensure your content feels personalized and memorable.
3. What information do you want them to take away from your video?
Some videos might explain your product to a customer or help them understand how to use it in new ways. Others might give information about your history and company values. Some could be short, fun videos to get people excited about using your products.
4. What do you want your customers to see, hear and feel while they watch?
Try to understand your customer’s experience when creating marketing content for them. If you’ve identified who they are and what they care about, the next step is to anticipate what they need. Do they want to feel reassured about their investment or exhilarated at the thought of owning it?
5. What do you want people to do after they see your video?
Marketing videos should always incorporate a call to action. If the video effectively connects with your audience, you have an opportunity to influence their next move. For example, you may want them to visit your website, connect on social or take advantage of a promotion.
As you consider each of these areas, you can build out your video marketing strategy to create compelling video content. Align your goals with corporate goals for brand visibility, customer engagement and satisfaction, and increased sales.
Review your business’s marketing goals and consider how each video you plan will help you achieve them. If you aren’t tying all marketing initiatives to your goals, you’ll have difficulty assessing their effectiveness.
Benefits of video marketing
We know video content is effective and we’ve established that customers prefer it. However, you still need to make sure you understand the benefits of video.
Here are some ways video marketing can benefit your business:
Elevate your customer experience and satisfaction
Videos can help customers understand your product better. Create product demo videos to teach your customers how to use and enjoy your products.
Boost engagement
Video marketing can drive better engagement online as customers react to your marketing videos.
Build trust and connection
Video allows customers to experience your brand and feel more confident that they know and understand your business.
Expand your reach and grow your audience
The more creative your video marketing, the more likely your customers will share your video content with their networks. This will help growing your audience and reach.
Remember, video marketing shouldn’t be just an occasional undertaking for your marketing department. It should be a consistent element in engaging your customers and sharing your brand story.
