According to 2016 data from Statista Research, “The global penetration for online video viewing ranged from 81-93 percent for Internet users aged 16-54 years old.” Let those numbers sink in for a moment. Over 80 percent of Internet users are watching online video. That’s a heck of a lot of eyeballs you could be attracting to your business if you were using video.
According to Cisco’s Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, “75 percent of mobile traffic will be video by 2020.” Three-quarters of all mobile traffic will be video.
Building your business’ reputation and boosting revenues is all made possible through video outreach.
But where do you begin when you’re just starting to dip your toes into video marketing? How do you know which factors will supercharge your video ROI and which components are critical for a stellar video marketing strategy? In reviewing the video marketing landscape there are a collection of 10 truths you need to know. Understanding the potential of video, and discovering ways to use video to grow your company, will allow you to stand out from competitors who are still relying on text-based marketing for audience outreach.
If you are a brand builder with the drive and determination to double-down on video marketing in 2017, following are 10 truths you need to know to totally rock your video strategy.
• While long-form text-based content is awesome for SEO, don’t assume long-form content works best for video. When’s the last time you sat through a long video that wasn’t a performance by your favorite singer/band? Probably quite a while ago. Short-form video is likely to garner more views (especially from younger audiences) and might even be shared more on social media. Think 10-15 seconds or less and you’ll have hit the sweet spot for video engagement. You don’t need to worry about creating long-winded videos needing extensive editing; create mini-moments using tools like Instagram’s Boomerang, Coub or Anthem. Sure you can create longer videos when needed, but don’t presume that video marketing equals full-length video content.
• Just as you shouldn’t assume long-form video is necessary for audience engagement, don’t think pre-recorded video is your only option. Livestreamed video is extremely popular. From Periscope and Facebook Live to YouTube Live and Livestream today’s video marketer has an array of awesome tools at their disposal. You can even livestream from your Snapchat Spectacles. Livestreaming can be used for anything from behind-the-scenes broadcasts at your company to sneak peaks of soon-to-be-released products. As with any other type of video outreach, be sure to have a well-honed livestreaming strategy. Know the types of video content you want to stream, who will be responsible for creating your livestreams, and where your content will be shared/repurposed.
• Where you use your video content matters. Creating a video and uploading it to YouTube won’t cut it nowadays. Have you tried to find fresh content on YouTube lately? Talk about content overload. For maximum video marketing ROI, you need to post your video content in multiple locations. Embed videos within blog posts on your own site, pin videos to Pinterest, add your video content to StumbleUpon, and share your new videos on your business’ LinkedIn profile, Facebook, and Twitter. The more touch points you create, the better your chances are of seeing increased video return on investment.
• Video marketing + email marketing is a match made in conversion heaven. Sharing your videos online is not your only option. While social sharing sites are fabulous, you’ll enjoy even more success if you use your video content in your email outreach. Embed video content in your email newsletters on a consistent basis and watch your open rates climb. Your email subscribers will come to expect awesome video content from your brand and will look forward the missives you send. Mention your embedded video content when you promote your email newsletters on social media and you’re likely to see your subscriber list grow too. Once you realize just how many ways you can use video content, you’ll understand why this form of visual content marketing is exploding in popularity
• SEO is crucial for video marketing success. It’s not enough to create engaging video content; you need to optimize your content for success. Make sure your target keyword phrase is in your video’s title and in your video’s description. Use relevant tags to help your videos be found. Links to the appropriate page on your business’s website should be added to your video’s description (don’t just send visitors to your homepage). The more you optimize your videos for search engine discovery (don’t forget voice searchers), the better your content will perform. Make all that effort really count.
• If you want to increase sales this year, product/service videos are essential. Regardless of whether you are in B2C or B2B sales, video has a massive impact on your conversion rates. Both consumers and business decision-makers are far more likely to make a purchasing decision after viewing product/service videos from your company. Add video to your product pages and enjoy increased conversion rates (your increased time-on-site rate is awesome for SEO too).
• Video is terrific for audience recall. Blog posts come and go; video sticks in a consumer’s mind. The more engaging your video content, the more likely your videos will be remembered. From your title overlays to your background music, each element of your videos is another opportunity to be memorable.
• Regardless of where video content is hosted, make sure embed codes are offered to your audience. Native advertising is exploding in popularity; if you allow others to embed your video content, the reach of your brand messaging is extended. Make sure your videos are watermarked with your company logo for an added boost of brand awareness.
• Don’t forget to repurpose your video content into multiple formats. Create a Slideshare presentation, build a blog post around your latest video, or offer polls on social media based upon your videos. Create a series of video snippets and images with text based on the content. The more ways you repurpose video, the better your return on investment. Make repurposing part of your content marketing strategy; detail in advance the numerous ways you plan to re-use your videos.
• Load time is absolutely critical for increased video ROI. Make sure your video is compressed for speed and in a format that will load quickly regardless of a viewer’s device. With ready-to-use livestreaming platforms you needn’t worry about compression rates, but any embedded video content should always be optimized for speed/load times.
Most of all… have fun! Relax and enjoy expressing yourself this way.
The sooner you go all-in on video outreach, the sooner you’ll start reaping the rewards. Combined with other customer acquisition strategies like social media marketing and SEO, video marketing offers the trifecta of audience engagement. Consumers can understand your brand and what you have to offer, putting them in a better position to make a purchasing decision.
It’s time to stop procrastinating when it comes to video creation. The rewards are just too good to ignore. Also, know there are businesses out there who specialize in videos and can help.
Andrea Kalli at http://www.virtualassist.net/ has been supporting businesses with marketing since 2005, and in 2014 dedicated her focus to putting video as the forefront of her services.