In the age of omni-channel communications and a diverse number of social networks, your customers are inundated with information all day...every day. They work with many brands and are targeted by many others. How do you keep top of mind with your customer,
deliver valuable information, or attract new customers without being lost in the digital overload? Video marketing could be just what you need to cut through the digital noise and capture customer attention.
Videos have been on the rise in
recent years and they are not just for YouTube anymore. YouTube, the granddaddy of video hosting with over 1 Billion users, reports that mobile video consumption rises 100% per year. Video as a marketing tactic is a powerful way to deliver a message that is not only professional and attention grabbing –
but, importantly, more memorable for your brand. According to Online Publishers Association, 80% of users recall a video they viewed in the past 30 days.
Are you convinced? Well, you should be! Now you need to think about how to implement.
Adding Video to Your Marketing Plan
So, how do you add video to your marketing strategy? We've outlined a few key ways you can incorporate video on various communication platforms and how to make the best use of video to tell your company's story.
Online ads - According to Rhythm and Insights, combining video with a full page ad boosts engagement by 22%.
Emails - According to a report published by Forrester, including video in an email leads to a whopping 200-300% increase in click-through rate.
Social Network Viral Clips - Designed to be shared through social networks – usually short, brand clips. What is important here is: Short + Emotional = Views + Shares.
The goal of video marketing is to boost engagement with your company – whether that is selling opportunities with customers, converting prospects, or just a fun ad to attract and engage. Video ads may be your initial foray into video for your SMB,
however, there are many different ways video can help expand your business. And, video goes a long way toward ensuring an optimal overall customer experience. Think about adding:
Explainer or educational videos - Video storytelling is the perfect medium for explainer or educational videos where you want your customers to see a procedure or understand a complicated process.
Corporate videos - Thought leadership is very important for a company to build brand. Corporate videos can also be used to share and reinforce company culture, or give your audience access to your organization, or visuals to a new product launch.
Technical animations - Illustrating a complex topic or technical solution your company offers can be done through animations or whiteboard videos.
Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, Oh My
Now that you've decided to add video to your company's marketing arsenal, you need to plan your approach to the format. Not all videos are created equally and, depending on what you're aiming for, bigger is
not always better. But you don't need to fear the growing list of video social media platforms. What you do need to do is understand each platform, since they do differ and one-size-fits-all does not apply here.
Over the last year or so, there
has been a lot of movement in the video space: Vine being acquired by Twitter and then their 6-second loops being "discontinued," Meerkat's live streaming service owned by YouTube bowing out, and Facebook acquiring Instagram and moving to a heavy video
format to bolster ad revenue. The main contenders in the space are:
Platform
Video
Production
User Stat
YouTube®
Direct video upload to YouTube. And, it's the 2nd largest search engine owned by Google.
Highly shareable video. Known for music and entertainment, but marketing content as well such as public relations, press releases, jounalist content and customer testimonials.
The videos may range in quality, but this is where you will find major brands placing commercials, so you can bring your A game.
In an average month, 8 out of 10 people between 18-49 years old watch YouTube.
Snapchat®
Snapchat has a video app and released Spectacles in 2016 – video in glasses.
Snapchat videos only last 10 seconds. Their stories feature lets you stitch a series of snaps together and are available for 24 hours.
Spectacles shares video directly into the app.
Casual – modern, raw, life. Based on the portrait design, YouTube videos won't work on Snapchat.
Facebook owned, Instagram Stories – live video streaming
Videos were recently introduced – starting at 15 seconds – now available up to 60 seconds. They also offer stories similar to Snapchat and live video streaming.
Snapchat's spectacle videos can also be shared
to Instagram.
You may want to think about format, multiple video lengths, and types of messaging for each one of the platforms above. You'll need to ask yourself questions to help the video direction. Who is the target? Are you looking to produce fun and
viral branded videos or commercial videos? Short or long? Casual and raw versus professional and slick? Consider if you have a following on one channel, or if you want to enter a new channel with your video strategy. Where do your SMB's customers interact
today?
It's all about gaining views, engagement and conversion, and how easily your SMB can produce video content. It should not be your whole marketing budget but, as a hot trend for 2017, it should be considered. Video is only getting easier
with time to produce and some options just need your creativity. Its popularity as a medium within these social platforms and embedded within marketing campaigns and online articles is spreading so don't miss the boat – pick up your smart phone
and start recording!
---
Ascentium Capital understands small business. If you need equipment or technology to call "Action!" on your video marketing strategy, we can help with affordable financing optionstailored to suit your business. Learn more about the benefits of business financing in this short video:
Contact us today for a no-obligation quote on business financing, leasing or loans!
Ascentium Capital provides links to YouTube and other websites merely and strictly for your convenience. The site is operated or controlled by a third party that is unaffiliated with Ascentium. The privacy policies and security at the linked website may differ from Ascentium's privacy and security policies and procedures. You should consult privacy disclosures at the linked website for further information.
