Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing
All brands need to implement a video marketing strategy. The importance of videos on every channel and platforms keep on changing over time. The use of video on social platforms has been in the rise. This video marketing guide will help you to create authentic videos that will take your brand to the next level.
Video marketing is becoming easier and cheaper each day. However, you may not know where to begin unless you have the right knowledge. This video marketing guide will make your work quite easy.
Why You Should Focus on Video Marketing
There has been a rise in the use of videos as a form of content marketing. Most online visitors prefer to watch videos over reading text. Currently, video is the leading form of content on the internet. Most people who watch videos remember the content for more extended periods. It can increase your conversion rate by 80%. The use of video marketing plays a critical role in helping buyers to make an informed decision. Therefore, you cannot avoid video marketing if you want to remain at the top of the game.
Types of Marketing Videos
The starting point in video marketing is determining the type of videos you would like to create. Therefore, this video marketing guide will be incomplete without this section. Some of them include;
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Demo Videos
These videos display how your products work. It can take your viewers on a software tour and how that can use it or put the physical product to test.
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Brand Videos
These videos are part of a larger advertisement campaign and showcase the mission, high-level vision, and the products and services of the company. Brand videos build awareness around the firm and attract and intrigue the target audience.
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Event Videos
Some of the events that businesses host include fundraise, round table discussion, and conference. You can release interesting presentations and interviews from the gathering.
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Expert Interviews
Capturing interviews with thought leaders and internal experts is a great way to build authority and trust with your target audience. Discuss with the influencers of your industry in front of your audience.
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How-to or Educational Videos
You can use instructional videos to teach your target audience a new thing or build the knowledge that they need to understand your business solutions.
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Explainer Videos
These videos will give your audience a better understanding as to whey they need your products or services.
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Animated Videos
These video formats are the best for concepts that are hard to grasp. Strong visuals are good at explaining abstract products or services.
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Customer Testimonial Videos and Case Studies
The process entails creating case study videos that feature your loyal and satisfied customers. It will help your prospects to know whether your products will solve their unique needs or not.
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Live Videos
These videos give viewers a behind-the-scenes and special look of your brand. Also, it draws higher engagement rates and longer streams. Live streaming events, presentations, and interviews will encourage the viewers to comment with questions.
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Augmented Reality (AR) Videos
The video style adds a digital layer to what you are viewing around the world. For instance, you could point the camera of your phone to your living room and AR will enable you to see the appearance of a couch in the space.
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Personalized Messages
Videos present a creative way of continuing your conversation or responding to someone through text or email. You can record yourself using Loom or Video and recap an important meeting or give personalized recommendations. The videos create a unique and delightful moment for your prospects and can motivate them to buy your products and services.
The Process of Creating Marketing Videos
1. Scripting the Video
You will do a lot of editing on your video and waste time if you skip this stage. The script contains a list of key points to include in your video. Remember to order them logically as this will guide the whole process. Writing a script is a crucial step in this video marketing guide.
2. Understand Your Cameras
Learning how to shoot a video should not be an overwhelming task. You can either shoot the videos with a Smartphone or prosumer and professional camera. Make sure you understand the manual settings on your camera before you begin the whole process. Some of them include the frame rate, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance and focus. You don’t want to produce poor quality videos because of lack of knowledge. In this video marketing guide, we stress quality because it helps in creating the best customer engagement.
3. Set Up a Studio
Apart from the camera, you will also need microphones, lights, and tripods among the other equipment. You have to choose the best audio and lighting equipment that you can find in the market. You can set up this studio in the office or outside depending on your preferences.
4. Prepare Your Talent
You should identify the most confident and experienced actors in your company. You want a team that will present your products to the target audience in the best way possible. This step is crucial in this video marketing guide as it will help in conversion. Take the time to understand the capabilities of your team members and choose the best.
5. Shoot for the Edit
Some people are good at video shooting while others do good in editing. Make sure you leave a buffer at the start and end of every clip. Record your scripts in short sections so that the editor can stitch them together in a meaningful manner. Remember to mark your good scripts so that the editor will not have a hard time identifying them.
6. Organize Footage
Organizing your files will save your project when it comes to video editing. It can be hard to work with multiple files especially when you have a cluttered desktop. Video files are large and, may affect the speed of your machine. Buy an external hard drive to save yourself from this trouble. Once you have organized footage, you will find it easy to proceed with the other sections in this video marketing guide.
7. Editing and Editing Tools
It can be confusing and overwhelming to edit a video unless you have the right skills. However, several free programs and the mobile app can help you edit your marketing videos. It is good to invest in a premium video editor as it produces better quality videos within a short period. An excellent starting point could be Apple iMovie or Adobe Premiere Pro.
8. Choose Music
Remember to include the music factor in your overall budget and plan. Most people concentrate on the footage and forget about this critical element in the video marketing guide. Music is a powerful tool as it can alter the tone and mood of your video. The kind of music you choose will create a difference between a professional project an amateur piece of work.
9. Recording Voice Over
Once you have your music and footage, you should now work on the voice overs. It is a separate narration in the video that you don’t speak by the speaker on-camera. It makes your content more fluid, emotional, and relatable. You have to find a location, prepare, test and listen, and relax.
10. Host Your Video
Hosting is the last step in this video marketing guide. You have to choose a platform where your target audience visits the most. Most people prefer to use YouTube but you can also go for Vimeo or Vidyard among others. The most important thing is to make sure that your users can interact with your video in the best way possible.
Lastly, don’t forget to track the performance of your marketing video after publishing. Several online tools can help you to achieve this objective. Some of the metrics include play rates, video completions, view count, social sharing and comments, completion rate, click through rate, conversion rate, time on page and the bounce rate. The video should add value to your brand by bringing in sales. This video marketing guide will make sure that you are getting the best from your video content.
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