Video content is everywhere. Whether you're scrolling through social media on your smartphone or browsing the web on your laptop, you'll see a video at some point. They're eye-catching, effective at conveying information quickly, and memorable.

It's no wonder nearly nine out of 10 businesses use video to promote their offerings. That's why you can't ignore video marketing if you want to stay competitive.

What Is Video Marketing?

Video marketing is a marketing strategy that involves using a video format to promote your product, service, or brand. Whether you want to boost brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales, video content can connect you with your target audience in a way that text can't.

In fact, viewers recall 95% of a message when it's conveyed through video compared to just 10% when it's delivered via text. That means potential customers are more likely to keep your business top-of-mind if you promote your products or services using video.

Why Is Video Marketing Important?

Video is a powerful tool that can boost message retention and help people remember your brand. Besides this massive benefit, here are more reasons why you should include video in your marketing strategy.

Increased Engagement

Is your social content with images or text receiving little or no engagement? Then, consider using videos to boost your engagement rates. Video content is easier to consume than text or still images, meaning audiences are more likely to engage with it.

That's why it's no surprise that social media posts with videos get 12 times more shares than text and image-based posts combined! 

Improved Search Engine Rankings

Dwell time, which refers to the time website visitors spend on a webpage before returning to the search results, may impact your search engine ranking. 

While Google doesn't explicitly state that dwell time is a ranking factor in its algorithm, there's a correlation between dwell times and search rankings. Why? If website visitors spend more time on your site, search engines will deem that your content is relevant and useful, which can boost your search engine ranking.

Incorporating video into your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can improve your site's online ranking, as visitors spend about 1.4X more time on web pages with video than without.

Higher Conversions

Videos can help turn prospects into customers, regardless of where they are along the customer journey. Whether you want to encourage potential customers to download a resource on your website or purchase a product, videos can boost conversions. 

In fact, 87% of customers have been convinced to make purchases after watching a brand's video.

Greater Trust

Video is an intimate storytelling medium that allows you to forge an emotional connection and build trust with your target audience. For instance, by using testimonial videos demonstrating how your product or service helped a client solve a problem, you can humanize your brand and build trust among potential customers.

Types of Video Content

There's no one-size-fits-all video that's suitable for every situation. Depending on your marketing goals, you may prefer one video type over another. 

Whether you want to educate customers about your offerings, attract high-quality leads, or increase sales, here are common types of marketing videos for different purposes.

Brand Videos

If you want to raise awareness about your brand, brand videos can prove helpful. These videos are typically part of larger video advertising campaigns, and they primarily create awareness about a brand's offerings, values, and mission.

Tutorials

Tutorials provide step-by-step instructions on how to use a product or service. If you provide a product or service that customers find challenging to use, providing them with tutorials can be beneficial. While tutorials aren't promotional, they can help you build trust and authority in your industry.

Explainer Videos

Another popular type of video for marketing is the explainer video. Explainer videos are similar to tutorials but primarily aim to show how a product or service works rather than how to perform a task.

Customer Testimonials

Customers are more likely to purchase your product or service if there's proof it has benefited other customers like them. Testimonial videos can allow you to let satisfied customers share their experiences using your products or services. This can influence people's purchase decisions and boost conversions.

Video Ads

Video ads explicitly promote a brand, product, or service. Incorporating video ads into your marketing strategy can be an excellent way to convert customers who are already interested in your product or service.

Social Videos

Social videos are short-form videos created specifically to drive engagement and captivate audiences on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Some popular social video types include Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

Social videos are incredibly versatile, making them suitable for various marketing objectives such as engaging audiences, building brand awareness, and driving website traffic.

How To Craft an Effective Video Marketing Strategy

You can't simply shoot, edit, and post your videos and expect them to drive results. To succeed with video content marketing, you must develop a video marketing strategy. Follow these steps to craft an effective strategy.

1. Define Clear Objectives

Before hitting the record button and shooting video content, consider your video marketing objectives. Some common objectives you may have include:

• Building brand awareness
• Educating customers
• Increasing sales
• Driving web traffic

Identifying your core objectives can help you narrow your focus and help you determine whether your videos should be entertaining, educational, inspirational, or promotional.

2. Identify Target Audiences

Your video content can't appeal to everyone. That's why it's essential to determine your target audience to get the most out of your video marketing efforts. With a thorough understanding of your target audience, you can establish audience preferences and tailor your videos accordingly.

Analyze your existing customers or conduct market research to understand your target audience's interests, demographics, and behaviors.

3. Choose Suitable Platforms for Distribution

Some marketers use a spray-and-pray approach when distributing their video content, hoping they reach as many viewers as possible. Don't do this. Instead, choose a distribution channel relevant to your marketing objectives and target audience.

For instance, if you want to create short videos on social media targeting millennials and Gen Z customers, TikTok and Instagram are undoubtedly the best platforms. On the other hand, YouTube may be better suited for your needs if you want to create long-form videos.

Essential Elements of Converting Videos 

Developing a video marketing strategy is just one part of the jigsaw puzzle. If you want to provide viewers with an immersive experience and turn them into customers, here are some essential elements your videos require:

• A clear message
• A captivating storyline that grabs people's attention
• Compelling visuals
• Clear sound
• A clear and concise call to action (CTA) aligned with your video's objective
• Captions that allow viewers to watch with or without sound

Create Videos That Convert

Good video content can help you achieve a variety of marketing goals. It's no wonder marketers consider video an integral part of their marketing strategy.

Of course, there's a caveat. Poor-quality videos can do more harm than good. If you create poor-quality videos with grainy footage, jarring edits, or muffled sound, you could lose potential customers and ruin your brand's reputation.

Want to avoid these issues and create professional videos that turn prospects into loyal customers? Contact us to learn more about our video marketing services.