How To: Video Marketing

It’s no secret that video marketing has seen a huge surge in the past few years. In fact, it has quickly become the most effective and most talked about marketing strategy out there. However, integrating video effectively and competently is key to seeing success. Luckily, creating engaging videos doesn’t have to be difficult. Most smartphones are equipped with the right specs to pull off high-resolution video, so part of the battle is already taken care of. 

How to do video marketing to boost brand awareness:

Strategy

First, you will need a reason for your videos to exist. There’s no point in going to the trouble of creating video content that serves no purpose in your overall marketing strategy. Basically, creating video for the sake of having video is the wrong approach. Instead, take time to determine why video would improve your marketing efforts. 

Ask yourself a few questions to get started:

• Which of your current processes would benefit from video and how can you work video into those processes?
• Are you struggling with expanding your marketing reach? 
• Do you have trouble making personalized connections with prospects? 
• Can you add it to your social or email strategies? 
• Would your website benefit from a product overview video? 

After considering these questions, consider your marketing strategy as a whole and how video will fit into it. A strategy is the foundation of your marketing plan, and it should be the first step of your video marketing process as well.

Content

After you establish the why behind video marketing for your brand, you need to find the what of video marketing. What kind of video content are you going to produce?

Here are a handful of video content ideas for you to consider:

• Personalized messages – Personalized content is great for showing an emotional, personalized side to your brand. Using your best brand ambassadors, you can put a face to your brand that adds a great human touch to your marketing efforts.
• Demo videos – Demos are great for showing leads and prospective customers about how your service works. Having a couple of demo videos on hand to show any potential clients is a great way to showcase your product and seal the deal. 
• Brand videos – Brand videos are usually part of a larger marketing campaign, covering your product, your work, and anything else that people who are unfamiliar with your brand need to know. You would use these to target audiences and attract potential customers. Think of these videos as general overviews of who you are and what you do.
• How-to videos – How-to videos are different from demo videos in that they specifically look at how to answer questions on how to operate your service or product. These will specifically address any questions or issues that your customers might be facing.
• Testimonial videos – Testimonials are a great way to show that people love what you are doing. Finding a few loyal customers who are more than willing to sing your praises is a great way to assure potential customers that your service does work and that it makes people’s lives easier. 

Equipment

There is a large possibility that your biggest hurdle in producing video content is the equipment, especially if you are on a rigid budget. But no worries! There are so many ways to produce great video content without using the most expensive equipment. You may not be Steven Spielberg, but that doesn’t mean you should strive for a good-looking shot. You can create high-quality video content from your phone. Current models of most brands of smartphones are able to produce anywhere from 720p HD video at 30 fps (frames per second) to 4K video at 60 fps, depending on your device. You can buy an inexpensive tripod or a ring light for your phone online to ensure that your shot is properly lit. Just be sure to flip your phone on its side to film in landscape rather than portrait.

If you do have a budget to work with, that’s great! High-quality cameras don’t have to break the bank, so you should be able to get a camera that shoots a quality video for a decent price. If you want to really make things look professional, put that tripod to work and invest in a couple of microphones to really capture the audio.

Hiring Out

Some of us were not meant to produce video, and that’s okay. There are plenty of people available for hire who make a living producing great corporate video content. It won’t necessarily be cheap, but it would allow you to focus on what you are really good at, and that’s selling your product. The video guys are just there to help your vision come to life on the screen, so be clear about what you’re looking for. If you have a clear and concise vision of what you want before going into production, the shoot will be much more successful. 

Thinking about doing a bit of video marketing? We’ve got the video tools you need to get it done right from your computer or mobile device, and we’d love to show you how!