You may be skeptical about today’s blog. In fact, trying to answer all of your video marketing questions can seem like a stretch. However, we did our best in providing you with some key answers to your video marketing questions that will help create a successful video marketing campaign and strategy.
QUESTIONS ABOUT VIDEO MARKETING
What is video marketing
Video marketing can be defined as using video to promote your product or service to boost your brand’s message, and to engage with your existing & potential audience. Video marketing requires strategy, resources, and ultimately purpose. The key to video marketing purpose is answering your audience’s pain points through this compelling format. For further insight, here’s a quick explainer on what video marketing is all about.
Why should my company produce a video?
Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the web behind Google? More video content is uploaded to the web in 1 single month, than TV has created in 3 decades. More people are engaging with video on the web than ever before. The bottom line: If you want to maximize business exposure and increase your lead capture, video will certainly help you do that.
Producing video for your brand can:
- Improve SEO
- Provide an enhanced user experience
- Increase engagement
- Improve retention rates
- Improve click through rates on email campaigns
- Increase overall customer conversion
What does the production process look like?
Your production process will vary depending on who will produce the video, what type of video you are producing, and how fast you will need the final cut. However, there is a logical progression to video production. Here is a sample of progression . . .
- Inspiration
- Research
- Planning
- Personas
- What pain points are being addressed?
- What type of video is it?
- Budget
- Script
- Hosting
- Distribution
- Asset Planning
- Copywriting
How do I setup a video marketing campaign?
Setting up a video marketing campaign is based on the needs of your business. Meaning, what are you looking to achieve by implementing this strategy into your marketing. Consider the following steps to creating a successful video marketing campaign:
- Establish your main goal. Create one goal that you want your campaign to accomplish; whether that’s to increase your sales by 5% or to increase your social media presence on both Facebook and Twitter. Target your focus by being as specific as possible in order to clearly set out a plan for the long run.
- Create an action item to achieve this goal. For example, if you want to increase your social presence, one action would be to host weekly live video sessions within your Facebook group or business page. Determining a set number of action items will prepare you for what you and your team are committing to—allowing you to avoid potential guesswork down the road.
- Plan out your content. What topics do you plan on discussing in your videos? And who are you specifically addressing in your videos? Center your video around a specific topic and make sure it addresses the needs and pain points of your audience. The more focused you are on what your content is about and who it is for, the more effective you will be in creating a more streamlined process for your video marketing.
What kind of videos should I create?
There’s a variety of videos you can create out there. From educational animated videos to entertaining webinars, the beauty about video marketing is that it is not a static medium. And because it’s not static, this also means that your process doesn’t have to be either.
What kinds of videos match my brand’s message?
Meet with your team and comb through your old content to see what types of content would benefit from this visual format.
Gauge what kinds of videos your audience may be interested in by sharing other people’s videos on your social media.
That way, before you start the creation process, you’re assured in your research that the content you’re creating is relevant to your audience. But at the end of the day, you won’t know until you try.
How long does it take to create a video?
Your video may take a long time to create depending on what kind of video you create. For example, a live stream or webinar is a live video process that takes as long as the session is live versus a full production video which includes a video shoot, editing time, and a review process. That’s why deciding on what kind of video you want to create is very important.
Your time and budget are extremely important. So, if you know you have limited time, create videos that take less production. As long as the quality of your message holds true, you’re not losing out.
How long should my video be?
Your video may end up running long depending on what you’re discussing in your video, the time you need to address the major pain points, provide solutions to them, and present a strong call-to-action in response. The key tip though is that if you can provide quality information that’s relevant to your audience, length shouldn’t matter.
What if I don’t like my video?
If the final video is not what you expected, salvage the best way that you can. Take specific video clips and share them on your social media. Use the audio for multimedia blog posts. Because it visually didn’t turn out the way you wanted, this doesn’t mean your video is not usable.
Content comes in many forms; we tend to think of written content when the term is used, but the reality is, video and image content can be more useful when it comes to influencing search and social results.—Debra Mastaler
Questions about Video Distribution
What is video distribution?
Video distribution is getting your video out there to your audience through social platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, etc. You can also use other forms of content to distribute your videos. For example, you can create multimedia content by incorporating video into your email marketing or even in your blog posts. The goal is to get your video out there to as many people as you can within your specific audience.
Why should I distribute my video outside of my website?
Your videos depend heavily on distribution, because just hosting it on your website is not enough. Yes, using video does allow you to tell a lot of information in a small amount of time. Yes, using video does boost your search results. But if your video is not shareable or doesn’t exist outside of your website, you’ll have to work a lot harder to show up in search than if you used social media as a key tool to your distribution.
Where should I host my videos?
Host your videos both on your website and on social media. Create a balance between hosting on social video sites like YouTube and Facebook and hosting videos on your website with Wistia, Vidyard and Brightcove. You don’t have to choose just one. If you have the time, see which host works best for you and your business right now and start with that. Then if you need additional services, you can transition into the process later after you’ve got your feet in the video marketing door.
Once my video is live, how long do I have to distribute it effectively?
The first 48 hours is a key time frame for you to distribute your video to your various social platforms as best as you can. This is not a call-to-action to spam your audience. You should try to find unique ways to get your video out to them beyond sharing just the direct video link. Create teaser videos on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Try timing the release of your videos with your blog post schedule. You can embed your video into your blog post or include the link so that your audience can look into it further.
General Questions about Video Marketing
What if my team and I don’t have the time or resources to use video in our current marketing strategy?
That’s perfectly understandable. But, don’t let lack of resources or time get you down when wanting to create video. In fact, check out this key video tip from Amy Schmittauer that can pep anyone up about wanting to start using video marketing for their business—especially if they have limited resources or time:
It’s not what you upload, it’s the strategy with which you upload.—Will Keenan
What if I have a question that you don’t have listed here?
If you have questions you would like to see featured in our weekly FAQ Friday, please submit them in the comments below, mention us @DirectImages on Twitter, or submit your questions HERE. Until next FAQ Friday, keep your communication lines open. Don’t know the answer—just ASK.
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