You want to learn about video marketing? Well, you’ve found the perfect place for that. This extensive guide will show you all the main principles you need to know if you want your videos to promote your brand in the best possible way and reach the biggest possible audience.
And if you’re not using video marketing yet, you should definitely consider it because it’s a fantastic way to communicate with prospective customers and explain to them the advantages of your products and/or services. In fact, an overwhelming majority of businesses will tell you that videos improve your understanding of what you have to offer and improve your conversion rate.
But buyers like this format, too. It’s actually their favorite way of receiving messages from the brands they’re interested in. Therefore, if you have a business you want to grow, creating a video marketing strategy should be at the top of your priorities. Here’s what you need to know about it.
What Your Video Marketing Strategy Needs to Have
Every strategy requires planning. You can’t really do things on the fly in this case, and a clearly laid-out plan is a necessary prerequisite for success.
The first thing you have to define is your goals. What do you want to achieve, and who do you want to reach? The videos you create can vary quite a lot depending on that. It’s not the same if you’re looking for more followers on social media or want to increase sales. You simply won’t make the same video for those two purposes. But more on video types in just a moment.
After that, you need to set your budget because that will give you a framework within which you can work. You should also choose the platform on which you want to publish the video (YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, or multiple platforms – each can bring you different benefits) and define your target audience. The latter will further show you what kind of video you should be making.
Obviously, a script is pretty much a given, but you will also need to have your steps clearly laid out somewhere, so do that, too.
Depending on where and what you’re shooting, some costumes may be necessary, plus some locations may require permits for this sort of activity. Make sure your logistics are handled before you start making your video.
And always, always do your best to relay your message clearly and understandably.
Types of Videos
It would be really hard for us to enumerate every type of video one can make (at least a dozen come to mind pretty much right away), but we will go over those that are arguably the most popular ones, just to give you ideas of what you can do. And remember, not all videos fit your goal equally well.
Product Demos
You have your product, and you’re demonstrating what it can do and why people should buy it. Hence the name of this video type. For example, if you are showcasing your data scraping projects, be sure to feature the advantages of using your tool. By showing all the features, you are attempting to intrigue the viewer enough so that they can make a purchase. Therefore, you should expect questions and be there to answer them.
Tutorials
Think of tutorials as product demos on a whole new level because they actually show your product in action and how best to use it. They can also focus on a single problem that needs solving and show your audience how easy it is to resolve the issue. It’s a more in-depth approach than product demos, and because of the focus on a single problem, some other features may be left out.
Event Videos
If you’re organizing or participating in an event, an event video provides highlights from that same event or clips from previous similar events you’ve been a part of. You can generate quite a lot of hype this way, but it’s not necessarily informative about your product. It’s also possible to live stream events.
FAQ videos
Just what the name suggests – here, you answer all the most common questions people have about your product. It’s not so much a sales pitch as a customer support video, but it can nevertheless be precious because it helps new customers understand how your product operates and shows them you care about them.
Reviews
Reviews come from independent third parties who give their expert opinion on your product. These can be influencers or people who are leaders in their field. In any case, it’s important to let these people review your product, so you might even want to think about sending it to them for free, but keep in mind that there’s a chance they don’t like it, either.
Success stories and testimonials
Similar to reviews but focusing more on a single feature of your product and telling the world about the role it had to play in the client’s success. This is great to show people exactly how they can benefit from associating themselves with your brand, although some in-depth info about what you have to offer may be lacking.
Live streams
Live streams are a great tool to have if you’re launching a new product or have some other important thing to show to your followers. However, you can also live stream regularly to showcase your product or simply communicate with the community that has grown around it, taking the time to answer their questions and just hang out with them.
Vlogs
Video versions of traditional blogs. If you or any of your employees have a natural affinity for speaking in front of a camera, you can use that to vlog regularly about what’s going on with you. This way, you’re keeping people informed about the latest developments in your company and your plans for the future, which can help create a firm relationship.
How to Make a Video for a Website
There are many tools out there that you can use to edit raw footage or simply connect beautiful images into an intriguing video, and Animoto is a great example of that. And it’s straightforward to use, too. Here’s a short step-by-step guide on how to do it.
STEP 1: Choose a template
Animoto has templates for pretty much all kinds of videos imaginable, so all you have to do is choose the one that best fits your purpose. Behind the scenes, testimonials, teasers, videos that showcase your achievements, it’s all there.
STEP 2: Upload everything
Whatever clips or images you’re going to use in this, you should upload them to the media library here. That way, they are ready to be used whenever you need them. Your logo should be here, too. However, there are plenty of stock images you can use, as well.
Oh, and don’t forget to choose the right aspect ratio for your video – Animoto will show you which ratios work best for each platform (YouTube, IGTV, Facebook).
STEP 3: Inserting media
Select the block in the timeline and simply drag and drop the file you need there, and it will become a part of your new video. Easy, right? You can add extra blocks with different layouts very easily too, so there’s plenty of options that help make your video unique. Blocks can also be repositioned (also dragging and dropping) if you’d like to change the video’s timeline.
STEP 4: Customizing a video
Here’s where you can get really creative. First, choose a theme. That will automatically apply a color palette, fonts, filters, and text transitions to your videos. You can change all of this yourself, obviously, and a good thing to do may be to watermark your logo so that it’s always there.
STEP 5: Add music
Animoto also has an extensive library of licensed songs you can use to play over your video. Isn’t everything better with a nice tune to go along with it? There are thousands of songs to choose from, so you really should be able to find something for yourself.
STEP 6: Preview and export
Before you finish, take one final look at the video, just to make sure everything is as you’ve envisioned it. Then click the export button to download the video or immediately upload it to Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. And that’s it – you’re done.
Obviously, Animoto is not the only video making tool out there. There are actually quite a few other products you may want to test. If you are struggling with video creation, here are some tips from experts in video production in St Louis:
– Use high-quality cameras
– Use good video editing software
– Don’t forget about audio quality
Other Useful Platforms
Apple iMovie
If you have an Apple device, you’ll love what this tool can help you do. Apple iMovie has a green-screen, a feature that allows you to take the characters in your footage and place them in any background you desire. Great filters, the ease of use… all of this is just a part of the reasons why this software is so popular.
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro has plenty of options but a very user-friendly interface. Here you can find support 360 VR and 4K as well as the option to adjust your colors carefully. You also get excellent titling options, so this is just a complete package for any video maker. You’ll love it. This is why it’s used by virtual reality production in Dubai.
Lumen5
Lumen5 is a tool that helps you create fun little videos that revolve around your blog posts. It’s excellent for getting traction on social networks and very easy to use. You can compose a video of many entertaining elements, add your text and get ready to share your creation with all your followers.
General Information about Video Editors
Just remember that you don’t necessarily have to pay for your video editing tool – many of them have a free version, so if you’re planning to produce videos on a regular basis, this may be the best solution for you.
On the other hand, if you plan on making many videos, you should at least be familiar with SEO and how it can help your video rank higher, so composing an SEO checklist will be one of the crucial steps for enhancing your online presence. Thumbnails, transcripts, descriptions, and titles… all of that has a role to play in boosting your video’s performance.
Finally, you may want to upload your video to something like YouTube or Vimeo first when you’re done creating it. That way, you save precious space on your server since you only have to embed a link to your page, not upload the whole video altogether.
How to Make Videos for Your Social Media Accounts
If you’re making a video for social media, things are slightly different, but you still have quite a vast selection of tools you can use. We will use Vidyou to show you how this can be done because this is an ideal tool to create engaging ads, especially if you have an e-commerce store. What’s amazing about this tool is that it automatizes ad creation for every item in your store’s inventory spreadsheet, which saves you a lot of time and boosts sales to unprecedented levels. Here’s how it works.
STEP 1: Connect your feed source
The basis of all of this is connecting your feed source. This can be in the shape of XML URL, Google Merchant Center, Facebook Product Catalogue, or even Google Sheets. This is what the tool will draw on to generate ads and to make a change whenever there’s anything new in your offer. It will also see what the product is called and transfer the image right into the ad. Convenient, isn’t it?
STEP 2: Choose a template and video size
There are plenty of templates to choose from, and the same goes for size. So, no matter where your ad will be viewed, you can be sure it will perfectly fit the platform.
STEP 3: Further customizing your XML feed
But not everything you need for a successful campaign is always in the XML feed. For example, your logo and an enticing call to action may be missing, but you can add that in the Configure tab of your new Vidyou ad. You will see the ad change on the right side of your screen as you input changes, so you can actually customize the whole thing quite a bit.
STEP 4: Add some music
Finally, you should add some music to your creation, too. You can upload something if you have the legal right to use it in a promotion, or you can check out the vast audio library Vidyou has prepared for you. Find the right piece and make your ad that much catchier.
STEP 5: Preview and publish
Finally, check everything one more time, primarily to make sure your XML feed is working correctly, and then generate the video, share it, and download it. Congratulations, you’re online store is about to receive a major boost when it comes to traffic.
Other Useful Tools
Just like before, though, the product we’re using to explain these steps is not the only option you have. Not by a long shot. Here are a few other tools you can certainly consider:
Videolinq
With this great tool, you can stream live on more than 20 different platforms, collect detailed metrics, and even use closed captions on your live videos. Of course, adding subtitles is also possible. Videolinq is an excellent tool to help you reach many people by being present on multiple networks at the same time.
Switchboard
Switchboard is another tool that allows you to stream on several platforms simultaneously, but this one allows you to organize yourself well via workflows. It’s a great thing to have if you have a whole team of people working on your stream or your video. You can also capture and edit videos very easily.
Splitstream
Splitstream offers access to 35 streaming platforms, which is hugely impressive. Thanks to that, you can expand your reach up to ten times, and you only need to complete three simple steps to do it. Seems like a good deal, right? You can also choose which features you want to use, reflecting on the price you need to pay, which seems really fair to the customers.
General Information
There are plenty of options here too, but the main thing to consider is how much streaming you’re looking to do. That can impact your decision quite profoundly. There are also great tools for creating ads that online store owners will love, making your life easier and increasing your conversion rate with one of these.
And when you’re creating videos for social networks, always include a clear call to action that is easy to spot and tells your prospective customer exactly what to do. You’d be surprised how much more effective this makes your video.
Finally, keep analyzing the performance of your videos. This will help you hone in on what works best with your audience, so you will be able to better and better returns from your creations.
Best Educational Materials on Video Marketing
Just like with all other aspects of digital marketing, it’s important to stay on top of things because the field is constantly evolving. Education is vital in that respect because you have to keep growing if you want to be successful. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to help you expand your knowledge and become a video marketing expert.
First, you may want to check out some Udemy video marketing courses which cover many different aspects of creating an engaging video. HubSpot has a bunch of free e-books and other resources you can use to gain a better insight into all of this, and YouTube’s official blog can also help you with some incredibly useful tips.
There is a huge community of people out there who are looking for ways to make their videos stick and reach a big audience. A short search should provide you with plenty of other educational resources. Maybe you find a blog, maybe you find a YouTube channel dedicated to this subject, but the important thing is to always keep looking for ways to improve yourself.
Video Marketing FAQs
If all of those paragraphs above are a bit too much for you, here are answers to some of the most common questions people usually have when they first encounter the term video marketing.
1. Why should I use video marketing?
Like we said at the beginning of this article, it’s an extremely efficient way to reach out to potential clients. Simply, people respond better to that than to written ads because they get to see for themselves how a product works. The fact that the video marketing industry alone is worth about 150 billion dollars today proves that this approach is correct.
2. How exactly does video marketing help me?
In a multitude of ways. First of all, people will understand what you’re offering better, but they will also stay longer on your website if you have videos there. That’s huge for your SEO. Also, tutorial or FAQ videos can greatly reduce the need for a big customer support operation. Your website traffic also goes up.
3. Where should I put my videos?
Wherever you can.Your website, your blog, your social media account… All these things can benefit from you posting videos there. You may also want to research what kind of videos are best for each individual platform and then create your videos in accordance with that.
4. Is video marketing expensive?
It really doesn’t have to be. There are plenty of free tools you can use to create great videos and a whole lot of free educational materials you can use to learn everything you need to know to get started. However, there are powerful tools that bring your production to a whole new level, so once you’re ready, you should maybe think about investing in that.
5. How should I start with video marketing?
Make a plan. Define who you want to target and what your goals are. Then decide what kind of videos you want to make. Setting things up like that allows you to monitor the performance of your videos and gives you the ability to react quickly if you see that the content you’re creating is not meeting your expectations.
Conclusion
Over the last few years, video marketing has become an essential part of any decent digital marketing strategy. It is, in and of itself, a huge industry worth billions of dollars.
However, this doesn’t need to scare you. You can create great videos quite easily with many different tools out there and edit them for the best possible results. The number of people you can reach that way is quite staggering.
There are many variables to keep in mind, so informing yourself first and making a sound plan is of extreme importance. Only once you have things on paper should you start making actual videos because that way, you will best achieve your goals.
Fortunately, there are so many free tools and materials out there that can help you out that anyone can make a great video literally. In just a few clicks, you can get started, and a whole world of opportunities will open up in front of you. Hopefully, this article has been of some use to you in that respect, too.