By Katie Mientka
To call video a “marketing trend” does not do this medium justice. Eighty-five percent of the US population watches online video, and one-third of our online time is spent viewing everything from viral hits to branded content. A strong video marketing strategy is a must as consumers spend more time engaging with video and retain most of the information. How do you leverage video to drive business results?
5 Tips for Effective Brand Videos
1. Define and Know Your Target Audience
Here’s the truth: not everyone wants or needs what you have to offer. If you market to the masses, you’re going to inevitably waste time, money, and resources. But when you zero in on a target audience, you ensure that your message hits the right people at the right times, and in the right places.
To that end, consider what channels your target audience is using to consume video, what types of questions, challenges, or needs they have, and what type of language and style will speak to them. If you understand your audience, video marketing is, if not easy, then much more manageable.
Think of it like this: you have something exciting to share. How will you tell your best friend? Your partner? Your family? Your neighbor? You have different methods for each of these audiences, right? It’s the same with your prospects and customers. They need to hear the message in a way that resonates with them.
2. Brand Your Videos
When you watch a Nike ad, you know it’s Nike. The visuals, the impactful voiceovers, the swoop, the sweat. They are a master of branding – and you can be too, albeit without the help of LeBron James or Venus Williams!
Familiarity and recognizability builds trust, so creating consistency in your digital assets is essential. Ask yourself: what branding element should we include in our videos so our viewers recognize it as ours? It could be as simple as including your logo in the upper right corner each time, a distinctive piece of music, or a branded intro or outro.
3. Tell Your Story
Think back to the last presentation you were at or the last industry article you read. Do you – off the top of your head – remember the statistics mentioned? The specific data or numbers? It’s ok if you don’t; it just means you’re human! Within a week, about 90% of any given pitch or presentation has disappeared from our brains.
But you remember when the presenter or writer shared a funny story or an inspiring anecdote. Why is that? Because story is as ingrained in us as running from lions. This is how we’ve connected and communicated for time immemorial.
You can tell your brand story to create an emotional connection with your audience, to explain complex topics, to highlight trends, to show processes, to inspire. And they will retain and remember.
4. Include Social Proof
Social proof is essentially word of mouth – one of the most effective marketing strategies of all time. Peer input is a major influencer on decision-making; in fact, 84% of consumers trust peer recommendations the most. Share customer stories and testimonials in your videos. Likes, comments, and shares are another form of social proof – so promote those videos!
5. Optimize Your Videos
No matter how great your videos are, people can’t watch what they can’t find. Optimize your content to improve your performance in Google results – and YouTube, which is the second largest search engine in the world. A few best practices:
- Include your target keywords in the title and the written description
- Titles should be less than 60 characters; keep it short and snappy
- Include a link back to your website
- Choose a branded, visually appealing thumbnail
- Make sure your video is viewable on mobile devices
- Cross-promote videos (use your platforms to point people to your website and vice versa)
Are you making the most of your brand videos? Haven’s team of experts can help you develop and implement an effective strategy – without all the frustration and headaches. The reality is that consumers love video: we’ll ensure they love your story too.
