Right now, the average marketer probably shrugs her shoulders when asked about their video marketing strategies. While most marketers acknowledge the importance of video – and might even post videos regularly – the objective isn’t always clear.
The importance of video cannot be denied. The truth is, those who watch online videos spend more than a third of their time doing so. Almost eight in ten businesses are now using video as a marketing tool. Eighty-one percent of people are making a purchase after watching a video that promotes a brand.
If you find creating great marketing videos time-consuming, you may consider using some handy software such as VideoCreator.
So, what is the best way to launch a video marketing campaign that brings in more engagement and results?
Follow these steps:
1. Establish campaign goals and understand your audience
Research is the key to all successful marketing campaigns – who do you want to reach? Are they more likely to engage with certain types of content, and on which channels? When you pay to have your video content played on non-relevant websites, there’s little point in making great video content.
The most important question to ask is what are the goals of your video marketing campaign? Is your goal to drive awareness, sales, or traffic? If you want to take advantage of video’s ability to connect with your shopper, make sure that you convey your message and tone in just the right way. Before launching your video, spend time gathering consumer insight since this is what will inform what kind of videos you will produce and how much money you will spend on making them.
2. Stay on brand, and make sure your video message is clear
A video might seem like a departure from other types of marketing, or a way to test out a new brand, but it’s important for your viewers – even if they’re confused by the content – to know they’re watching videos that speak to them.
Study data from McKinsey and Company show companies that consistently brand themselves are 20% more successful. Your YouTube or social media videos should, for instance, link to your website or landing page, with clear, cohesive messaging and creative across every channel. When users see different videos in email and Facebook communications, it is not a consistent reflection of your brand and can hurt rather than help.
3. Ensure your video budget makes sense
Marketers often think investing a ton of money in a video project will automatically make it a big success. If you spend too little on an expansive campaign, your brand will appear low-quality and may hurt your image.
Make sure your campaign goals are in mind when producing the video content. Also, be sure your budget is being used wisely. A video production might not be necessary if you are trying to appeal to more millennials or Gen Z shoppers.
Use social media channels like Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram instead to create short videos, or repurpose user-generated content. A captivating story a la Hollywood could keep your brand top of mind (celebrities optional).
You don’t have to hire big celebrities for your videos to use influencers. Consider using experts or YouTube stars that have access to the audience you want to reach but are well equipped to represent your company to stay within your budget. Investigate their social media profiles and reputation, as well as make sure that the topics they cover on their own platforms don’t undermine your company or products.
4. Focus on each channel and optimize your videos
For your campaigns to get the most engagement, make sure your videos are optimized for the channel on which they are launched. Keep the videos brief, upload them directly to the channel, and add captions. You should wait two weeks after launching a new video before tweaking it and refining your audience.
You want to find the right balance between a fine-tuned campaign targeting strategy – from interests to keywords to devices – and not overtargeting so you are able to easily track which campaign is performing best. Learn how to optimize your Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter video ads in our blog post on How to Optimize Your Video Ads.
5. Repeat the test
You should run A/B tests on display ads to discover what works and what doesn’t. There could be something wrong with the creative but not the messaging, or perhaps you’re using the wrong time of day or channels in your campaign. There could be a problem with your video length or aspect ratio. To determine the right timing and content for your campaigns, test them again and again until you find the right one.
A campaign’s success can be measured in five different ways:
a. Engagement rate
The engagement rate measures the number of interactions with your video. When someone watched the video, how much time did they spend watching it? What did they watch? Did they watch it all or leave early, or were they merely skipping over? Your video length should give you an idea of how well your message, creative, and length are integrated.
b. View count
Videos are viewed by different people in different ways, so the view counts vary. A video view takes 30 seconds on YouTube, but only 3 seconds on Facebook. In other words, understanding how viewers interact with your videos across different channels means you can Figure out how much engagement your video really gets, and plan future campaigns and content accordingly.
c. Play rate
Visitor numbers that clicked play to watch the video. A video ad’s performance on specific websites and social media feeds gives you an insight into how effective the advertising campaign is. The New York Times doesn’t play it much, but Slate plays it a lot. Knowing your audience gives you a sense of who they are. Your Play Rate can also be influenced by the thumbnail, the copy, or the video size.
d. Social Sharing
This is a measure of how often your video has been shared via social media. Having a lot of shares means your content is resonating with people, since they won’t bother to share content they’re not interested in.
e. Comments/feedback
A campaign should pay attention to this, even if it may seem like a relic from the past. Take into account whether viewers are leaving positive or negative comments about your videos on your social media channels. In the end, when someone watches your video and comments on it, whether or not they are a customer, they become more familiar with the brand and could ultimately become customers.
6. Don’t forget about Connected TV ads (CTV)
More and more people are streaming TV content on their devices. It is a great idea to reach them on the platforms they use most frequently. The IAB reported that 60% of advertisers plan to shift their TV budgets to CTV and OTT in 2021.1 As you plan your video marketing campaign, consider whether building awareness with CTV ads makes sense.
