Techblog
Four tips to optimise video marketing
Director and producer Neal Moore explains how every business, no matter how big or small, can find success with video marketing.
In 2016, 6 billion hours worth of video are watched monthly by over a billion users on YouTube, and over 100 million hours of video are watched on Facebook everyday.
For businesses, video is increasingly incorporated into their marketing campaigns. But not all businesses have the budget for agencies to create videos, and most videos created are simply not effective.
Here are four tips on how you can optimise video as part of your digital marketing strategy.
Know who you are and tell your story
Whatever it is you’re producing, you’re likely not the first. So how do you stand out from the throngs of videos out there?
Firstly, you must know what your brand stands for, what is its personality?
Secondly, remember that no one will read or watch a boring explanation of how, for example, your Tofu-making process is more eco-friendly than your competitors.
If you already know your brand’s identity very well, then incorporate creativity into showing it. Tell the story of a process rather than narrate the process. Make the Tofu-making process a visual-extravaganza or a simple, honest, and informative one.
Know who you are and show it well. Charm your audience with your brand's personality in your video content and they will return the favour by becoming customers.
In this video by bourbon brand Wild Turkey, they approached telling their story in an unpretentious, charming, and straightforward way, albeit with someone famous telling it.
Know your audience inside out
This shouldn’t be a problem if you understand your own brand identity inside out, i.e. what is your brand's persona and what message you want that persona to convey in a particular video. So why should you know your audience?
This is so that you can ask the important questions –
- What’s the objective of this video?
- Who is the content for?
- What are their current media consumption habits?
- Where do you distribute the content?
Let's assume you are a mining company. What’s the objective of your video content? To prove your mining process doesn’t harm the environment, or that your company has conservation efforts elsewhere and thus portray the desired brand image? Thinking about the objective will help you to figure out what is the message of your video.
Once you have figured out your objective and message, think about who you want the message to be conveyed to. Since a mining company is also mainly a B2B one, is your content for office executives only? But you might have a larger presence among mainstream media due to, say, the environmental footprints you might leave behind. As such, the audience of your content extends to the general public who might be concerned with the environment.
By grasping this concept clearly, you can then identify how to reach out to them. Facebook? YouTube? TV?
Your content must have value
It’s a must. Think about what you’re giving in the content that makes people want to watch it. There are millions of other videos on the Internet, why should anyone watch yours?
Are you telling a great story that moves? Are you providing entertainment? Is your video so bizarre that people are curious? Does it reward the audience with information or with insider rewards like discounts?
People will share videos that have value, because it gives them social credibility. They want to share the good stuff they think are worth watching.
Giving your content value is where creativity comes in.
Quality is not equivalent to Production Value
This is especially true for smaller companies without the budget. It’s a misconception that a good video takes weeks to create and costs a huge amount.
Nevertheless, knowing your own brand identity, your audience, and providing value is still a must. Take the example from Joe Wicks, founder of Body Coach TV on YouTube. His videos have almost zero production value but are informative and useful, and helped him to earn over 1 million pounds per month.
In summary:
- Understanding who your brand is and what it stands for is the foundation of a great video.
- Knowing who your audience is leads you to the important questions about objective and the appropriate distribution channel.
- Bringing value of any kind is a must, be it entertainment, education or rewards. Creativity is the bridge that connects value and hitting your objective.
- A great video doesn't need to have a high production value. As long as you understand and act upon the above guidelines, you can create an effective video regardless of the budget.