If you're here, you probably realize how important the video format plays in today's marketing trends. Brands can no longer maximize engagement with text and images alone - in this day and age, with live streaming, interactive 360 videos, and augmented reality videos launching from all angles, it's simply impossible. The digital video marketing industry is now valued at $135 billion: this means that brands worldwide are realizing what investing in video content creation can do for them.
Join them: increase your conversion rates, your users' loyalty, and your sales by using quality videos in your marketing strategy. Today, we will look at how you can use modern technology to your advantage and conquer social media.
What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is a marketing strategy that uses video content to promote products, services, or brands. It harnesses the power of videos to engage with audiences and convey messages dynamically and visually appealingly, with the goal of driving brand awareness, lead generation, and sales.
Video marketing is often executed through social media, websites, webinars, and email campaigns and encompasses an extensive range of video types that we will explore later in this article. It goes beyond standard video ads and includes all kinds of brand videos, from livestreams to testimonials. In 2024, video content is one of the best ways to create impactful marketing campaigns that increase customer engagement and retention.
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Why do you need video marketing?
If you don't understand why you need video marketing, we suggest you examine some statistics.
In 2023, video production company Wyzowl conducted a study with 967 respondents inside and outside the marketing industry. The study aimed to find out how video content can be helpful to a brand these days. The results are impressive:
- 90% of marketers surveyed confirmed that the video format helped them generate more leads;
- 84% of users said they made a decision to buy a product or service after watching a brand's video;
- 43% of marketers reported that using video content reduced the number of brand support calls they received;
- To date, a small percentage of marketers have promoted brands through TikTok. Still, among those who have done so, 66% reported an increase in sales.
Video marketing is a great value for a brand. In 2023, videos accounted for 82.5% of all web traffic. Social media users love to watch YouTube reviews and testimonials from other customers to learn more about the products they like. According to data from Google, it helps them decide on a purchase faster for 87% of those surveyed. Having skills in basic video creation today is a must-have for a marketer at any large agency.
The video format is in its heyday today. It will remain at the top of users' favorites among all other types of content for a long time to come. Analysts promise its long-term popularity. Let's briefly discuss why - below.
Why We Like Videos on Social Media
People prefer videos over other types of content on social media for several reasons: this can be explained from both social and scientific perspectives.
At a minimum, we tend to remember information better if it is presented in multiple formats simultaneously. For example, vivid pictures in a video are accompanied by an audio track and frame changes during editing. What we see in such a video will be remembered much better than any text or images separately.
Video content can also touch our emotions more deeply—and this, as we know, is the key to sales. Emotional response, in turn, affects engagement: brands create a deeper connection with users through video. Video viewers better identify with a company or product when they see it in a dynamic context.
Also, video usually allows you to present any information in a more visual way than text or images. The content and essence of the video can be further enhanced with animations, on-screen text, and sound so that the message reaches consumers immediately. The viewer is more immersed in the context, which means brands have the opportunity to showcase their product at its best.
We should not forget about the purely technical side of the issue—the algorithms of social networks. Facebook and Instagram are now actively promoting video content, making it more accessible to users. Using effective video marketing and releasing videos on various platforms will trivially increase views.
Video Marketing for Business: 3 Steps Towards a Strategy
Let's say that up until this point, you've preferred to promote your products statically and have been driving social media primarily through images and text. Now, you've decided to incorporate video into your marketing strategy, and you're faced with the question: where do you start? Let's break down how businesses can begin to develop their video strategy.
Step 1: Define Your Target Audience
This isn't about your key CA - you probably already know it. Video marketing can target three conventional categories of users. Determine which one is most similar to your potential customers:
- Category A. This is a "cold" audience that has not yet formed an understanding of their problem or need. Your job is to visually demonstrate the pain that your product closes. Videos at this stage should engage users, generate interest, and introduce the brand to a new audience.
- Category B. Users who are already aware of the problem they want to eliminate but don't yet know which solution is right for them. They are researching different options, looking at product reviews, reading reviews, and trying to find the best option. At this stage, you are competing with a wide range of businesses.
- Category C. This is for users who already know what they're looking for—all they have to do is choose between you and other businesses in your field. When working with this category, it is important to provide ironclad arguments about the benefits your product brings, testimonials from satisfied customers, and advantages.
Often, a brand's audience cannot be assigned to one of the categories - it may include consumers from three groups at once. If this is your case, it is important to determine which category prevails and focus on it. For the remaining two, you can create supporting videos.
Step 2: Figure Out What Story You Want to Tell
Behind every video - an ad, a social video, or a funny TikTok - lies a structured story. Without thinking through its skeleton beforehand, you risk presenting users with chaotic content that won't touch them emotionally.
Here are the four components of a story that underpins a video:
- A protagonist with a purpose - the protagonist should be similar to a representative of your target audience, and their purpose should resonate with most of them.
- Conflict - a pain point of a representative of your CA, an obstacle on the way to the goal.
- Encounter is when your product or service appears in the story.
- Solution - how your product solves the problem and leads the hero to the goal.
These components are in every commercial. It is not always necessary to show them "head-on" or build a script according to classic advertising schemes. Whatever commercial you create, you should always keep in mind who is going to buy your product, for what purpose, and under what circumstances.
Step 3: Find the Best Format and Create a Script
Armed with information about the audience you're going to make the video for and the story you plan to put into it, it shouldn't be too difficult.
There are several types of brand social media videos:
- promotional videos;
- video reviews and product demonstrations;
- sketches and humorous videos;
- video testimonials;
- expert content.
Each has its own benefits, features, and key points to consider when shooting. Let's discuss the types of videos in detail below.
Content Types for Effective Video Marketing in Business
- Commercials
- Video Reviews and Product Demonstrations
- Sketches and humorous videos
- Expert Content
Video marketing has five main types. A business can use each type in its strategy regardless of its field. Learn the types of video content and combine them in your social media efforts.
Commercials
The classic and familiar format of video content on brand pages is good old-fashioned commercials. Their purpose is to attract the audience's attention to a product, service, or brand and induce them to take a targeted action (purchase, subscription, and so on).
Commercials have a limited duration, usually from 10 seconds to several minutes. Quality videos evoke an emotional response in the viewer - excitement, interest, laughter, nostalgia. The hallmark of promotional videos is high production quality. Such videos usually require a larger budget than other video formats: a separate script is developed for them, and specific meanings are invested.
Video marketing for business is used to achieve several goals:
- promotion of goods and services;
- demonstration of the features of products, their advantages, and uses;
- creating and strengthening brand awareness, emphasizing its values, mission, and unique features;
- attracting new audiences and increasing the number of potential clients.
The frequency of advertisements may vary depending on the company's marketing strategy. They are published less frequently than other types of content, but maintaining regularity is a must.
Before creating an advertising video, carefully study the target audience, adapting the scenario to her pain and needs. In advertising, it is especially important to use hooks—peculiar «hooks» in the plot that raise questions, increase interest, and force viewers to continue viewing. The simplest example of a hook is phrases like «we were hard to believe, but...» or «all our customers ask...» at the beginning of the video.
Given the growing number of video views on mobile devices every year, it is important to adapt promotional videos to mobile platforms. At the end of the call to action, motivate viewers to subscribe, buy, register, or do anything else.
Video Reviews and Product Demonstrations
Detailed product or service reviews help companies demonstrate key features of their products, providing potential customers with all the information they need to make a purchase decision. Such video marketing for businesses usually requires a longer time—from a few minutes. It includes a detailed product analysis: features, applications, functionality, advantages, and disadvantages.
One of the main advantages of video reviews is the ability to demonstrate a product or service in action visually. Thus, the information given to the viewer becomes as clear and understandable as possible. Social media users often value objectivity and openness in video reviews, so brands should include this content in their marketing strategy.
Why you need to shoot video reviews of your products:
- to present their products or services in the most attractive light, show their features and advantages;
- to educate users and provide them with useful tips on the use of products;
- to answer frequently asked questions, thus closing the popular objections;
- to prove themselves as an expert in their field, strengthen their reputation, and attract new customers.
It is better to release video reviews regularly, at least several times a week. When choosing objects for review, choose best sellers and only then remove non-trade goods. Invest in quality lighting and installation because the reviews should be nice to look at. As you shoot, interact with the audience: answer previously left comments, ask questions, and listen to wishes.
Sketches and humorous videos
Entertainment video content format is used by companies to establish positive interaction with the audience. The more emotion your product arouses with a potential buyer - the higher the purchase probability. To do this, you do not have to do something with the product or service itself - sometimes, it is enough just to beat it in the right context.
Creativity and humor are always available. This format is best perceived by TikTok and Reels audiences. They can be used if you want:
to promote their products or services by initially presenting them;
attract the attention of the audience and stand out among the competitors;
To create a positive and friendly image that improves interaction with the audience.
Humor in their social networks should be added as spices in the dish - a little. Add sketches to the main content that closes user objections and informs about your product.
Ideas for such videos should be taken in TikTok: open the recommendations feed and save those videos that gain maximum likes, comments, and saves. It is important that the referents for your humorous videos are in tune with the niche in which you work and do not hurt the feelings of a certain audience.
Expert Content
Expert videos are life hacks, tips, or useful stories from professionals in their business. Your potential buyers could be you. Such videos enrich the brand's content and recommend you as an expert in their field - and such a person is not afraid to buy. In addition, when you share useful advice or solve the viewer's problem just like that, he feels gratitude and desire to do something for you in return - often, it can be a purchase.
Several ideas for themes for expert videos:
- Tips and tricks to use products or services, secret tricks, and tricks that will make the purchase even more profitable.
- Analysis of current trends in your niche and forecasts of its development.
- Your briefcases and success stories open up a window into the interior kitchen.
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Video Marketing on the Internet: Top Life Hackers for Business
Trends in social media content generation change every season. Knowing the principles and algorithms by which the sites work does not guarantee broad views and involvement. The secret of the audience's attention is understanding current trends. We will devote the following sections to them.
- Be concise
Short videos of up to 30 seconds significantly affect the engagement of the audience and the conversion of viewers to buyers. Divide long content into short-themed videos, release multiple episodes of a single clip, and remove all that can be removed without harm. So, according to recent research, you can keep your audience focused 89% better.
The popularity of short videos is explained by the fact that in the era of TikTok, users used to quickly absorb information. Their attention span is often limited, and users may not appreciate a really high-quality video due to the protracted intro. Creating short and dynamic videos provides the viewer with quick and easily digestible information, thus satisfying his needs.
- Use video in email marketing.
Brands often opt for video format in advertising and engaging content on their pages. Still, it is rarely seen in personalized mailing lists. This trend is slowly coming closer to us from the US, where recent statistics showed an increase in the number of clicks in promotional emails by 200-300% - all of them included short dynamic videos.
One of the most effective ways to take advantage of a marketing stunt is to combine it with another. In this case, it combines a concise and catchy video with personalized mailing. To do this most effectively and to track the result will help services designed for work with email-mailings: MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, Loops, and others.
- Optimize video for the sites.
The more video content the brand makes, the better. However, do not duplicate the video on multiple networks simultaneously. Each of them has its own rules:
- Instagram loves aesthetic content: beautiful video range to trendy music;
- TikTok is simply a beautiful video that will not get views but an exciting story, a funny video, or a sharp social clip;
- Facebook is best perceived by informational videos or expert content;
However, some nuances are equally welcomed on all platforms. It has pleasant background music (better—a trendy song), a high-quality voice, subtitles on the screen, dynamic editing from different angles, and the presence of a person in the frame. The best video marketing option for a small business is not to prepare a separate content plan for each site but to edit and change some parts of each video to optimize it for a specific social network.
- Use UGC Video
Many brands still underestimate the power of user-generated content - videos shot by your potential buyers to order. In fact, UGC has long been a valuable resource for companies, and there are several reasons:
Authenticity and trust. Video marketing on the Internet is created by ordinary people, not marketers, which looks natural and «speaks» in the language of your potential customers.
Attraction. UGC looks fresh and original against the traditional background of commercials. It reflects real experience and emotions that help attract consumers' attention in a highly competitive world.
Audience Expansion. Since UGC videos are often distributed through social networks, they create a «snowball» effect, attracting new potential customers. UGC shares content with their friends and followers, expanding its reach.
Cost savings. Producing content is often expensive for the brand, but not if you use UGC. Unlike traditional commercials, these videos are created by users at home, mainly on an inexpensive personal smartphone. In addition, the UGC market is now growing, and many
professionals write to brands, offering video marketing—the price, in this case, will be symbolic.
Demonstration of the product in action. User-generated content has one major advantage - it does not just advertise the product but shows it in real-world use. So the viewer immediately understands the functionality and strengths of the product or service.
The First Two Seconds are the Most Important
They determine whether your video will keep the viewer's attention. In our saturated world of content, the decision to watch or scroll through the video on the tape appears to the viewer instantly—within the first two seconds. Suppose you don't get the user interested in this short window. In that case, the probability that the viewer will stop viewing is very high.In addition, the video's first seconds help form an impression of the product as a whole.
Continuing viewing opens the possibility for further in-depth interaction with the brand. In other words, viewers can subconsciously transfer their impressions from your video to the whole company. Social media algorithms work on the same principle. Suppose viewers continue viewing and do not scroll through the video after the first few seconds. In that case, the platforms will help distribute it.
How do I make your video cling to the user and keep him browsing?
There are several ways:
- Use hooks - intriguing phrases that cause vivid emotions; for example, «you will never believe...» «the main secret of our team...» «Here's what you didn't know about our brand...» ;
- Create intrigue and promise to reveal it at the end of the video; for example, start the video with the phrase «a place where you can try the only wheat coffee in Ukraine - the address will be shown at the end of the video»;
- Show the most dynamic clip of the video in the first two seconds as a teaser.
- Video marketing in legal business, e-commerce, education, and other niches serves one purpose. Your task is to keep the viewer intrigued until the end of the clip. Remember this when writing the script and editing the video.
Build confidence
- Share your company's goals and principles. Naturalness and transparency are the keys to building trust with modern audiences. More and more brands depart from traditional advertising formats «at a distance» from the user, making the choice in favor of open and honest communication about the most intimate. Share your company's goals and ambitions for the next year, and tell us about your mission and the values that every team member knows.
- Introduce your team to the audience. Introducing your staff to the audience humanizes your brand and inspires confidence. Even if your team consists of several people, this powerful move can significantly affect viewers' loyalty to your brand. To make video marketing on the Internet even more effective, mention in the videos the unique skills and key features of each member of the team.
- Show me how a typical day goes in an office or a warehouse. Focus on the fun events that happen with the team, and you will contribute to customer loyalty. Or just talk about the aspects of the work, and you will increase confidence in your product.
- Tell us why you chose this company name and your way of creating your brand. The story that stands behind your company's name, brand, and identity can be an exciting audience. No matter how you came up with a brand at the beginning - it was a thoughtful and symbolic way or someone's random decision in a joke - a story about it can significantly increase the degree of engagement in the brand and become a great product of its video marketing.
Demonstrate the Product
- Create guides for your products and services. This idea will be particularly effective if you sell multi-stage products unfamiliar to the classical layman. Create short video guides using visual effects, dynamic editing, and humor. Focus on the simplicity of the narrative—remember that you know your product backward and forward, and the user sees it for the first time.
- Make themed video collections of products. Bestsellers are the most popular products that buy together, do not live up to expectations, and position favorites of a certain group of buyers - all this can be fascinatingly told.
- Demonstrate innovative ways to use your products. Such videos can have both a practical and purely humorous purpose. Encourage users to write in comments about their ideas for using the product to further stimulate the promotion of the video.
- Show the product package and its other nuances. Move away from the standard idea of showing the product itself and show the audience what else is around it. Sometimes, well-designed packaging can promote a product better than advertising it - use it for the business's good.
- Show pets to your employees. This is a simple but highly effective strategy: a study by the American company Newswhip showed that using pets in social network brands increases viewership by almost 295% compared to other videos.
- Release motivational videos related to your niche. Use popular quotes, inspirational phrases, and personal success and failure stories against the background of your product video. This will ensure that the clip moves quickly and makes a positive contribution to your statistics.
- Share life hacks associated with your product or service. They mustn't be obvious and useful—your video will gain many views. The video should show the process of using a Life Hack, complete it with audio instruction or text hints, show a before-and-after, and add some hooks for effectiveness.
- Use the «boosters,» but do it with care. Black humor, scandals, and pranks best promote the video. Don't take it too literally, because that could hurt your business reputation. Add «activity boosters» rarely but accurately to promote your videos.
Accelerate Sales
- Release a digest of current stocks, novelties, and sales leaders. In the stream of content that social networks generate, even your most dedicated followers may not always be able to keep track of updates. Regularly remind your audience of the key news that stimulates sales: the benefits they can get, new product arrivals, and the most popular positions.
- Create a promotional code for users of a particular social network. This will improve sales (because who does not like discounts?) and, in parallel, track where your traffic comes from. In addition, themed promotional codes have another bonus—they allow customers to feel special and are more likely to choose your brand among competitors.
- Make trend videos. Use the most popular music, actual jokes, and thematic sketches. To get popular ideas for your videos, analyze your TikTok feed and adapt those with the maximum number of views.
- Ask for audience opinion. Questions to the audience have a great effect—they allow you to delay looking at your product, thinking about it, and associating with yourself. And this, as you know, is half done before the decision to buy. Ask subscribers what color of the product is more successful, what new taste is worth trying, and what to improve in the product or service. This way, you not only get new customers but also hear the target audience's opinions.
FAQ
1. What are the different types of videos that can be used in video marketing?
Various types of videos can be used in video marketing, including brand videos, FAQs, and instructional videos. These videos can be tailored to different marketing funnel stages and serve various purposes.
2. How effective is video marketing in influencing consumer behavior?
Video marketing is highly effective in influencing consumer behavior. Studies have shown that viewers retain 95% of a message when obtained via video, and 84% of people say they have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand's video. Additionally, 87% of people feel they can decide to purchase or not purchase faster when shopping or browsing on YouTube.
3. How can FAQ videos be used in video marketing?
FAQ videos can be a valuable tool in video marketing. They can answer common questions asked by prospective customers and provide information about products or services. FAQ videos can be placed on FAQ pages, the homepage, features pages, or pricing pages, or even used at the top of the marketing funnel to attract an audience by answering broader questions.
4. How can video marketing help reduce support calls?
Video marketing has been found to reduce the number of support calls businesses receive. According to a survey, 43% of video marketers reported that video has reduced the number of support calls they've received. By providing informative and engaging videos that address common questions and concerns, businesses can proactively address customer queries and reduce the need for direct support.
5. What are some tips for creating engaging video content for social media?
Creating engaging video content for social media requires careful planning and execution. Some tips for creating engaging video content include:
- Grabbing the viewer's attention in the video's first 8-10 seconds.
- Keeping the content concise and focused, especially for FAQ videos where viewers are likely scanning for quick answers.
- Experimenting with new content and tracking the performance of videos to identify what resonates with the audience.
- Using eye-catching visuals and compelling storytelling techniques to make the videos more engaging.
