The use of video as a formidable marketing tool is growing in leaps and bounds. According to Hubspot, 78% of people watch videos online every week, while 55% watch an online video every day. A Google survey showed that six out of every 10 people prefer watching online videos over television.
So, tapping into the online video advertising arena has the potential to leapfrog your return on investment. Here’s all you need to know about using videos to promote your business.
Why use video advertisements
Video is a powerful advertising tool for many reasons, including:
Improves brand awareness
When you take a sales course, you learn the importance of brand visibility to grab more customers. Videos offer the opportunity to increase brand awareness and sell your products to a wider range of people.
Unlike other forms of advertising, like written content, videos allow your business to use audio, text, and image in one go, which is usually more appealing and makes it easier for content to strike a chord with prospects.
Plus, studies have shown that storytelling using visual and auditory channels helps boost memory, so people are more likely to remember your brand.
More captivating
People don’t often have the chance to read long blogs or connect with other forms of advertising, like watching TV, when they’re busy or on the go. Online video ads provide an easier solution to give loads of information in a short time. The brevity of a video can help to quickly captivate audiences, leading to more sales.
Which types of videos can you use for advertising?
While there are typically several options for videos you can use, here are some options that help best with marketing.
Brand awareness videos
An important takeaway from marketing courses is the importance of establishing a strong brand so that your customers can identify with you. Videos about your brand allow customers to take a peek into your company.
Once buyers feel that they know who your brand is and what you stand for, they’re more likely to warm up to your products or services.
For instance, you can tell your company’s success stories, your vision, and your objectives to cement brand awareness.
Testimonial videos
Customers often resonate with the authentic stories that other buyers have to tell about their experiences with what you sell. You can create a video to showcase testimonials from happy customers. Videos presented as case studies with detailed statistics is one great option utilized by many brands.
Your customers are more likely to grasp how your offering can solve their pain points when the message comes from people they can identify with.
Augmented and virtual reality
Using specialized tools like Google Cardboard, you can allow customers to experience what you have to offer through augmented reality, 360° videos, or virtual reality.
For example, you can use 360° video to allow your customers to see a snippet of a location as if they were there in person, which can help push sales higher. Since technology is advancing all the time, you may need to invest in a course to brush up your knowledge on the technical aspects.
Live streams
Live videos on social media sites can help draw in more engagement and create a buzz around your products. Research by Forrester found that people watch a live stream 10 to 20 times longer than they watch on-demand clips.
Expert interviews
Experts present your business in the best light to your customers. You can make videos of experts and thought leaders in your industry discussing different issues. The video content doesn’t necessarily need to be about your product or service, but you can use the opportunity to make your business visible. For example, using branded tablecloths on the tables that the experts will use for their talk.
How do you create advertising videos?
The success of a video often comes down to how well you plan and present that video. Here’s how you can create a video for advertising.
- Plan and script the video. Decide on the purpose of the video and how you will measure its success; for example, will you focus on views or sales? Knowing your measurement metrics will help you set clear, measurable goals that will make it easier to evaluate your success.
- Prepare your equipment/hire a professional. Get your hands on some high-quality equipment. When shooting videos, if you’re working to a tight budget, some smartphones can hold their own. If you’re going down the animated route, consider hiring a credible animator to bring your vision to life. It might also help to consider taking video creation courses to pull your ideas together.
- Create and edit the video. The quality of your final output can either make your video a hit or cast the video into oblivion. That’s why it’s important to pull your resources together and avoid rushing. When you take the time to get it right in the editing process, you can make the final product as polished as possible. Consider running the final video by the whole team to get different opinions on the end product, and make changes until you get it right.
- Showcase your video on online platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Use a detailed buyer’s persona to choose the channel most likely to reach your potential buyers. If you show the video to the wrong target market, it will likely go unnoticed, which will be a waste of resources.
- Measure the video’s success. If the video is a hit, keep going. If it missed the mark, re-strategize and start from scratch, if you need to. It helps to keep an open mind and be flexible with your strategies. Plus, when you start seeing positive returns, keep your finger on the pulse of current trends and topical issues. When you stay in the know, it will help you to improve the content and reach of your videos.
Getting a handle on video advertising
Video advertising has the potential to catapult your sales. It’s important to understand the types of videos to produce for your audience. Then, share your videos via different channels like your blog or social media. With some trial and error, you can land on the sweet spot and create videos that hook and retain customers.
