3 Simple Steps to Successful Video Marketing

By creating an emotional connection with your audience that inspires them to take action. Video is key to making that happen.

Studies show that video is 50 times more likely to get a higher organic ranking than plain text results. But to achieve success, you need more than a hastily cobbled-together video introducing fantastical features and promising the moon and stars. 

It’s time to bury the snake oil salesman under your petunias. Video storytelling must be authentic, speak to your audiences’ needs and reach them when they need it most.

Here are three steps to achieving just that.

Step 1: Choose the right video

Video has huge potential to attract and engage your audience. But you need to ask yourself, which kind of video content do you need? The right video depends on what you’re trying to achieve, where in the funnel it sits and your goals for the campaign.

Here’s a few ideas:

• Brand intro videos define your brand to prospective clients who may not be familiar with your business. They typically are about half a minute to a minute and can live on the homepage or be pinned on social media.

• Product explainer or demo videos help current and existing customers understand how your product or service works. According to studies, 96% of people watch explainer videos to learn more about what a product can do for them, with 88% convinced to purchase after watching.

• ‘How to’ videos show your audience how to use or access certain features of your product. The search term, ‘How to guide,’ is also a popular long-tail keyword with a 3-5% higher click-through rate, meaning your video is easy to find and likely to generate more hits. These can help promote your services by considering a specific challenge, feature or query and showcasing the tangible benefits your solution can offer. 

• Event videos are a popular tool to drum up excitement and leads when your team attends a well-known industry event. But instead of an event wrap-up that nobody is interested in, why not drum up excitement by interviewing key people at the event? Things to discuss could include critical challenges your industry is facing, upcoming innovations and what all of this means for the viewer.

• Webinars or roundtables use independent voices or peers in your customers’ community to lend authority to your brand by discussing a hot-button topic or asking thought-provoking questions. One example of this is Omnico, who got top theme park experts to discuss how the pandemic transformed the attractions industry. 

• Case study videos help your brand build credibility by discussing a real-life example of your product or service in action. They can be a great way to showcase the difference being made to real people on the ground. 82% of consumers read online customer reviews as part of their purchase decision.

Step 2: Create an amplification strategy

You’ve decided on the video type best suited to telling your story and have a storyboard in place, now the next step is creating your amplification strategy. Ask yourself:

• Who are you promoting your video to?
• Is the video gated? 
• What’s your user journey and what’s the next step after they view your video?
• How will you measure success? Perhaps by impressions, leads generated or another metric?
• Most importantly: How will the video help support your marketing objectives?

Video has the potential to play a strong part in your campaigns, but only if you’re able to get the most out of it. Here are some tips:

• Create multiple videos: So, you have your main video. But when it comes to amplifying that content, you need to consider multiple channels. Why not create 15 second teasers for social media, or drive clicks to the video hosted on your website via newsletters?
  
  This helps capture interest through smaller, digestible chunks of content, rather than relying on the main content to generate its own attention. 

• Plan where your viewer goes next. So a prospect watched your video all the way through. Now what? Think about what you want them to do next, whether it’s downloading an eBook or booking a demo – and direct them there with a clear CTA.

• Democratise the video. If you want more bang for your buck, create a video that also works for more than just your marketing campaign – like your customer success teams, sales or even for employee onboarding. It not only keeps your brand story consistent across teams but also lets you maximise the potential reach of your video.

Step 3: Measure your success

How will you know the video was successful? It depends on what your starting KPIs were: 

• If you want to boost engagement, analysing statistics such as play rate, shares, likes, comments, shares and CTR are key. 

• But if generating leads is the goal, consider creating a landing page for the video, potentially gated, and have a clear form that encourages viewers to leave their details.

Most of all, you’d need to work closely with your sales team to understand how many video leads converted into sales. This means you can replicate video content that’s been successful and improve those that didn’t achieve the goals.

Build it and they will come

While these tips might seem daunting, the worst thing you can do is nothing. If you take the above tips into account, there’s no reason why your video can’t be engaging, exciting and, perhaps most importantly, lead generating. Focus on the strength of your story and why you’re creating it. Your audience will thank you.