Video marketing has been around for decades, but in today’s e-commerce boom, it’s more important than ever. Video has become the gold standard of content, whether short form by way of Instagram and TikTok or long-form by way of YouTube. Video is arguably the most versatile form of content, not only for its reusability but because of the different types of video you can create; from tutorials to testimonials, advertisements to animations, the options are endless. Whether your brand’s marketing objective is to promote, entertain, inform, or interact, video helps you do so in a captivating and engaging way. In this article, we outline the top three (3) tips for implementing and executing an effective video marketing strategy.
Not-So-Secret Video Marketing Tips
With the abundance of information now available at our fingertips, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have an effective video marketing strategy in place, or at the very least, an understanding of how to do so. In other words, there’s no secret tip or tactic. All it takes is some research and planning. What you’ll begin to understand is that video isn’t about directly selling your product or service. Instead, it’s about captivating your audience, harnessing word-of-mouth, and boosting brand awareness. The best videos start when you think about your customer and what would appeal to them and bring them value. Here are our 3 video marketing tips:
1. Focus on Storytelling, Not Selling
Today’s digital consumer is one that appreciates authenticity, transparency, and relatability. In other words, they see right through sales tactics and marketing tricks. It’s crucial to create a video that first provides value and captures honest emotions from your audience. To do so, focus on storytelling rather than selling. Your audience is and has been tired of the relentless push towards consumerism, so much so that they’ll likely bar you from their feed if they feel like they’re being bombarded with traditional ads. To avoid this from happening, allow your brand to speak for itself, and instead focus on creating high-quality, relatable, real, and authentic content (preferably in video form). Always consider what you can provide of value. Here are some ideas to help create valuable content that consumers will want to see:
- Tutorials and how-tos (see: eyeshadow tutorial from Sephora)
- Demos and presentations (see: short Bissell vacuum demo)
- Testimonials and product reviews from real people (see: a review of Parallel Apparel)
- Unboxing videos (see: iPad Air video)
- Q&A videos (see: Naturium skincare)
As an example, this video below shows the effectiveness of storytelling.
2. Hook Your Audience in Less Than 9 Seconds
Today, we all have extremely short attention spans. In fact, research says it’s currently just below 9 seconds – which is less than a goldfish’s. This means it’s crucial to capture someone’s attention within the first couple of seconds of any video. How do you accomplish this? While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to answering this question, below are some tips.
- Make a bold statement (an interesting fact or statistic works well)
- Ask the audience an engaging question (followed up by the answer)
- Immediately share what’s in it for them
- Create a sense of wonder and curiosity
- Include a real person rather than logos and copy (people love people!)
As an example, this video below checks off a few of the boxes above.
While these aren’t all the ways to hook your audience immediately, they’re some of the most effective.
3. Optimize Your Video for SEO
As a marketing professional, you should have some understanding of SEO (search engine optimization), both in the context of video or any other type of marketing content for that matter. By definition, SEO is simply the process of improving your positioning in search engine results by optimizing your content. Check out our post on how to harness video for SEO, and make sure you’re doing the following:
- Create a relevant, keyword-optimized title
- Write a meta description comprised of keywords and relevant information
- Add long-tailed, relevant video tags
- Include a transcript (a copy version of what’s said in your video that lets search engines decode what it’s about)
By doing so, you can improve your chances of ranking your video atop the search engine results. More views equals more traffic, and more traffic equates to more sales.
Video Marketing With StoryTap
If your brand hasn’t yet incorporated video into your regular content strategy, now is the time to start. If you’re not sure where to start, we can help. StoryTap’s video platform lets brands easily produce and share authentic experiences from real customers and employees at scale. Using our technology, you can greatly increase the volume of compelling and highly searchable video content your organization produces—all without the high production costs. And by doing so, you can improve brand awareness, connect with more customers and prospects, and boost bottom-line results. All videos include metadata and human-verified transcripts for SEO and are fully controlled by you and free to share across multiple channels (including social media). Book a demo with our team at StoryTap to learn more.
Looking for more information about video marketing? Download our eBook: Video Marketing 101
