The first thing I did this morning was scroll through my Instagram feed – it’s like a shot of espresso and gives my brain a visual jolt to get it going. In my feed was a sponsored Kickstarter video for a product called “Gravity,” a weighted blanket that claims to provide a more restful sleep by activating pressure points throughout the body, it was nicely executed, well timed and engaging. When I clicked through to the landing page, the campaign had raised over $4.4 million. Welcome to the new marketing power of video.
Online video content has skyrocketed, making up 80% of all Internet traffic in 2017. Video increases conversion and engagement rates more than any other content and is the #1 way to capture the attention of your market. Good video will keep your audiences happy and visitors to your site will stay longer all while giving your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) a big boost due to Google’s higher ranking of sites with deeper engagement. So whether you’re a small or large business, start-up or not-for-profit thinking about video, you’ll want to consider all the places your content will be, who your audience is and what you want them to learn and do after watching it.
1. The Testimonial Video:
Innovative businesses like Amazon and Yelp! have transformed testimonials into powerful marketing tools that build communities around products and experiences. Testimonial videos have that same ability to convert by delivering compelling and authentic messaging about your brand in a more dynamic way. Preparation is the key to a quality outcome so think about who you’ll be featuring in your video and why. Also important to consider are feelings and thoughts you want your audience to take away from watching. Draft a series of questions, some serious and maybe some fun, that really explore the who, what, where and why of your business’ unique selling proposition.
2. The Storytelling Video:
This approach is similar to a testimonial, but is more focused on the sharing of a personal and transformative story, providing deeper insight into a brand experience and eliciting an emotional response from the audience. This type of approach is particularly effective in the healthcare and educational sectors which face tough competition and rely on patient or student outcomes to differentiate their organizations and provide proof of excellence. As in the testimonial video approach, making this strategy work best for your brand requires preparation and the selection of the right subjects to help tell your story.
3. The “About Us” Video:
I think it’s fair to say that reading bios and LinkedIn profiles is not one of the more exciting online activities. The reality is, much of this writing starts to sound the same after a while. So think about producing a unique video which allows your audience to “meet” your team in a different way. Short introductions, interesting, fun facts, a day at your business, all help your message to break through the noise and differentiate your brand personality by engaging with your audience in a warm, fun, new and different way.
4. The Virtual Reality Video
VR (Virtual Reality) is fast becoming THE marketing industry buzzword for sectors like Real Estate where tenants and buyers are often only presented with computer generated renderings of lobbies, apartments and amenities while the property is being constructed. A VR video tour is next level marketing for companies who wish to immerse their audiences in a total brand experience anywhere they choose.
5. The Facebook Live Video
One of the newest and hottest trends to hit the social video world is Facebook Live (and IG stories) and allows users to engage with brands and businesses in real time. The many benefits and applications of the “Live” sessions feature are still being explored online, but consider a live Q&A, tour, event or demo. Be sure to add a description of your content and invite engagement from your audience often. Experimenting with new and different approaches will keep your audiences coming back for more and help spread the word.
Simply put, we’re living in a dynamic age of change and video is leading the way as the king of content and dramatically reshaping the marketing landscape for businesses of every type and scale. Get into it and you’ll be richly rewarded.
Please let me know how it goes and what you’d like to see in our next post: Jason@HarrisonRand.com