The global pandemic showed us that the modern audience relies on video content. This is obvious with the meteoric rise of TikTok, Instagram Live and other platforms for video content.
Apart from the entertainment factor, videos are informative and digestible for audiences of all ages. Video content can also convey more visual data than written content over the same amount of time.
As a result, companies like YouTube have more than two billion unique monthly viewers, and the algorithm of these video platforms streamlines the users’ recommendations based on viewing history.
So, investing in video content is a highly-recommended business decision for any company looking to attract more users. But before going into promotional video production, you need to first understand the benefits of video marketing and the necessary steps in video content creation.
According to Adelie Studios, businesses gain more exposure and traffic from video content than banner ads and email newsletters. At the same time, users can also more quickly consume information about the company and product. In addition, promotional videos can combine entertainment and authenticity factors needed to increase traffic.
Today, the possibilities available with video content are limitless. So, let’s go through some of the main reasons why your business needs a video promotional campaign.
According to CISCO, video consumption will represent over 80 percent of internet traffic by the end of 2021. This increase in consumption correlates to the invention of devices with high-definition cameras and faster internet connectivity.
When an internet user sees a funny or interesting video, they often share this content on their timeline or with friends. Soon enough, the video might go viral reaching a larger audience and bringing more brand exposure for your product.
Conversely, Hubspot claims that users are not so keen on reading written content. Even if they find an article interesting, they are less likely to repost or share it.
Since video accounts for most of the internet traffic, this makes it an effective marketing medium. Promotional ads with videos also gain more views than standard banners and native ads.
YouTube TV has recorded an increased viewership of over 39 percent in the past 15 months. TikTok also drives a lot of traffic, with users spending an average of 500 minutes on the site monthly. With these figures in mind, investing in video marketing has the potential to increase your sales.
In the modern world, internet users have a very short attention span. Consumers crave concise, fun and digestible content.
Why read a 2,000-word post if you can watch a short video clip and come away with the same information? In addition, well-crafted video content conveys more direct messages than written content, and users can relate to the emotions and visual cues from the video, which are often absent in text. And most importantly, watching a clip stimulates our visual perception sensors. As a result, information from video clips is retained longer.
Consumers are more likely to sit through entertaining video ads because they are informative and entertaining. Likewise, statistics from Hubspot show that websites with video ads draw twice the amount of traffic as banner ads.
Moreover, the recommendation algorithm on social media platforms suggests videos to users based on their activity. So, your ads will generate more leads and conversions because they are delivered to your target audience. Also, people don’t mind less-polished video production quality if they can gain useful tips from the content, but a poorly written article or tutorial will turn off any potential customer from your product.
Recent Google SEO recommendations prioritize informative video content. Since Google owns YouTube, the ranking algorithm is similar. Your business can only benefit from the endorsement of the largest search engines in the world. Facebook has also updated its video-ranking criteria to include loyalty, duration and originality.
Websites with video content have a 50-percent chance of climbing up the rankings. You can also link your tutorial or intro video on YouTube to your website for more traffic and lead generation.
So, optimize your videos for SEO on YouTube and Google by adding keywords in detailed video descriptions and other metadata. And most importantly, create video content that users will actually enjoy watching.
Research has shown that over 40 percent of internet users shop online from their mobile devices and most of these online shoppers are inclined to make a purchase after watching a video advertisement. So, your business should capitalize on this growing user interest by providing top-notch video content as part of your website or marketing campaign.
Most importantly, don’t rely solely on high-definition videos with large memory capacities. These high-res videos often take longer to load, and they slow down websites. So, optimize your videos for mobile to ensure a smooth viewing experience.
Facebook and other social media platforms provide detailed user insights on every piece of content you upload. Businesses can monitor the key performance metrics of their content to understand the best marketing practices to adopt. Today, you can even track the average viewing time and the most viewed part of the video, as well as monitor the demographics of the audience and their interests.
In essence, these insights provide marketers with a clearer objective and target audience. And as a result, the conversion rates and site traffic will also increase significantly.
Creating a video follows a series of intricate production steps aimed at captivating the viewer’s attention. Your video must convey a message and entertain at the same time. You also need to choose the right video genre: educational, behind the scenes or descriptive.
Regardless of your choice of content direction, here are some video production basics to take your brand awareness to another realm.
- Focus on a specific audience. Reach out to the audience you want to target and find out their interests. The demographics of your viewers will guide your content creation decisions. According to Forbes, young people value laidback and fun content, while older users prefer informative and serious content.
- Choose a direction. With a better understanding of your audience, you can choose a direction for your video. Introductory videos can be used to discuss the brand’s message and how-to videos can provide specific information about products. In essence, you should choose the video content creation strategy that best suits your company’s objectives.
- Choose the right tools. With today’s emphasis on authenticity and the easy availability of high-quality phone cameras, you probably do not need a professional film crew for your promotional video content. You can shoot a high-converting video ad—one that attracts many customers to your company website—with your iPhone. Moreover, the App Store contains thousands of choices of video editing software to quickly edit and polish your video if needed. So, use the right tools for the shooting and editing process.
- Find a charismatic performer. Companies with a significant budget can hire a professional video model to add some pep to the narration. Alternatively, small businesses can star their most charismatic staffer in the video. Delivering a clear-cut message to your audience is all that matters.
- Provide value. Whether you deliver short product videos or long-form tutorials, your content should provide ultimate value to the viewer.
- Edit for impact. Instead of uploading hour-long videos that nobody will watch, focus on the most useful parts of the message. Remove filler content from the video and concentrate on the most valuable clips.
- Optimize for SEO. Optimization starts with video production. The output video file should be optimized for the web before you upload it. Choose the perfect resolutions and formats according to the platform you choose. Don’t forget to include product-relevant keywords in the description and metadata.
- Share your content. Once your video is ready, start your video marketing campaign. Use clips from the video for ads on YouTube, for example. Upload teasers on your Instagram stories or IGTV. And most importantly, embed these videos on your website and share the link in posts.
Video content is the present and future of content creation. Every company can stay relevant by adopting and following a video production strategy that fits its needs.
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Amanda Dudley is a writer with a Ph.D. in history from Stanford. Currently, Dudley lectures students on American History and assists them with their schoolwork at all academic levels. She also works for a college essay writing service as a part-time writer.
