Why Video Should Be THE Marketing Strategy, Not PART OF Your Marketing Strategy

Just a few short years ago, video was starting to gain traction as social media users and a select few brands were popping up as video innovators. Instead of static images on a website or on social media posts, we started to see the occasional video. It’s already difficult to imagine, but this was a surprise and a delight that stood out among what everyone else was doing, breaking through the noise that digital marketers were already creating.

From 2017 to 2019, video went through a lightning-speed transformation from marketing tactic to business strategy. This transformation sped up even more during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 when millions of people turned to their phones and devices while isolating at home, unable to do much else.

Video has become where the marketing magic is happening. This is where your prospects and customers spend a good portion of their time, and its popularity is growing exponentially.

Mobile video consumption increases by 100% every year.

It is now estimated that in 2021, the average person will spend 100 minutes each day watching online videos, up from 84 minutes in 2020. (According to Zenith’s Online Video Forecasts report.) Also, consider that 75 million Americans watch online videos every single day.

Video will account for 82% of all internet traffic by 2022.

If you aren’t incorporating video into your overall strategy to reach new consumers, you are likely falling behind.

85% of consumers want to see more video from brands in 2021.

Video should be not just one piece of your marketing strategy. It should be your entire marketing strategy!

So Why Video?

With the rise of video marketing, we came up with some good reasons why you shouldn’t be left in the dust. Or why you SHOULD be using video to boost your brand and grow your business.

Your customers and prospects are spending their time online, particularly watching videos. As the Internet’s reach continues to expand, and smartphones end up in the hands of more and more people, consumers will be more and more likely to get hooked on the magic of video. Today, Americans check their phones collectively 8 billion times a day! Almost 75 percent of the world population consumes video on their mobile devices.

Video is the medium that best connects people to people. People like buying from people, not brands. If they have confidence in you as a person, it increases their likelihood to buy from you. The human connection will always be stronger if someone can connect with you (virtually) face-to-face in a video compared to reading about you and your product or service or even seeing a static picture.

Videos are versatile and can be used across all your marketing platforms: embedded on your website, in your email marketing, on social, etc. It’s important to think ahead to the various ways your video footage can be used to create efficiencies of time and money. If executed properly, one video shoot can create enough footage to repurpose into multiple formats in multiple campaigns. Contrary to misconceptions about video marketing being expensive, this factor makes video a cost-effective way to market your product or service.

Video is easy for viewers to share with their networks. If a video is likable and relatable, it will be shared by viewers with their friends and colleagues. Although we would all love for a video to go viral, we can realistically aim for expanded reach as our audience will be more likely to share a video with their networks than an email or information on a website.

Video is a great way to highlight our happy customers, creating social proof for other prospects. Humans are highly motivated by social proof or testimonials. This is evidenced in how valuable 5-star ratings are to businesses in the online world. Video is a great way to highlight a happy client, increasing the likelihood that your happy client will rub off on others to create more happy clients.

Videos are a great way to demo, and thereby sell, your product or service. Watching a video provides a safe, low-risk way to check out something you’re considering buying, versus taking the next step of speaking to someone in sales. According to WYZOwl, 84% of people surveyed in a video marketing study said they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. This option will always draw the prospect closer to the purchasing stage before they feel the need to engage with a real person.

Video content ranks you higher on search engines. Consider that a website that incorporates video is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of a Google search. 53 TIMES! Google wants to provide value to its online users, and Google knows that its users want/need/love video content. This alone could be the most important reason to incorporate video into your business strategy.

8 Steps to Start Using Video to Market Your Product or Service

Now that you’re convinced it’s high time to embrace a video marketing strategy to increase sales, brand awareness and engagement, let’s go through a step-by-step list of how to start using video to make the magic happen.

1. Determine the Purpose of Your Video
Take into consideration your Dream Buyer Avatar (see earlier KYBREE blog post about how to develop your DBA). Who are you wanting to talk to and engage with? How will you break through the noise to connect with this audience enough to prompt action?

2. Write a Script
Be memorable, authentic, and clearly state your call to action (or CTA). Don’t be boring and purely informational. You do want to provide information that is desired by whoever is viewing your video but remember that the main goal is to engage with a human, so be yourself and talk like you’re talking to a good friend.

3. Determine the Tools that You Will Need
Download our Office Video Shoot Checklist below for two different scenarios of equipment needs/costs: Basic Setup & Pro Setup. It really IS possible for you to do this yourself if you have the time, passion, and a few key pieces of equipment.

4. Set Up Your Shoot for Success
The download available below will also give you some helpful tips on how to set up your shoot with the best lighting, camera angles and technical expertise. Put yourself in the best possible light to look and feel great!

5. Record Your Video
Time to push play and try out a few different versions of your messaging and delivery. We recommend using an inexpensive teleprompter for the best and most authentic results.

6. Edit Your Video
There are some great video editing software products available for all experience levels. We recommend:

• • iMovie (available only on Apple products) for beginners
  • Final Cut Pro for intermediate editors who are a bit more experienced
  • Adobe Premiere Pro for the most advanced editor experts

7. Upload the Video
Determine the best video hosting platform for your target audience. Start with one channel in mind then re-purpose and edit the video to suit other channels. Our recommendations are:

• • YouTube (most popular)
  • Dropbox (popular and very easy to use, but no integration capabilities)
  • Vimeo (ideal for a more professional presentation)
  • Wistia (for optimal video embedding and integration)

8. Optimize the Video Page
Now that you’ve invested time and money into creating your video, make sure people actually see it!

• • Follow basic SEO best practices to get you the best search results, and therefore ensure the most views possible.
  • Depending on how you’ve chosen to upload/host your video, we recommend including a call to action (CTA) to drive viewers to your site.
  • Promote your video on your social channels and in your email blasts; consider tapping into influencers to increase your reach to their networks/followers.
  • A/B Test your videos by measuring views, engagement (play rate), click-through rate, and conversion rate; then adjust your optimization on various platforms. Aim to improve your results with each iteration!

Where To Go from Here

The good news is that anyone with a smartphone and the desire, time, and passion for video can use this strategy by following the steps above. Also, note that consumers aren’t as discerning as you think they might be when it comes to the production quality of a video. In fact, the more sincere and real a video is, the more a viewer may connect and engage with your brand. And with the quality of video on most smartphones, you’re likely to end up with a quality finished product.

For those who don’t have the time, passion, or desire to engage in a video marketing strategy, consider partnering with KYBREE. We are a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in high-quality video strategy, creative development, production, and marketing execution. If you are interested in a free 30-minute consultation, sign up at this calendar link. We’d love to discuss your video marketing goals and ideas to determine the best way to help you become an expert video marketer.