7 Secrets of a Successful Video Marketing Campaign

Everyone says that video marketing is an essential part of marketing your business, but have you ever wondered what separates a good video from a great one? A video that simply entertains from one that results in people buying your products or services?

Luckily for business owners, there are some things you can do to maximise the quality of your video marketing and get your message across effectively.

Here are 7 secrets of a successful video marketing campaign.

Do not sell, tell a story

Most people hate being sold to, but they love a good story. In your video content, do not talk about what you have achieved in an attempt to make yourself look good. Instead, focus on what you can do for the customer. What benefits does your product or service bring? How can it solve a problem in their life or alleviate pain?

The story you tell should also elicit some emotion in the viewer. Something that will motivate them to buy from you. Note that the emotions need not always be positive – the customer probably associates negative emotions with their problem anyway. Your job is to tell a story in such a way that you empathise with their plight but resolve to make them feel better once they buy your offering.

If you want to learn more about visual storytelling, check out our blog Why Visual Storytelling is Your Way To Success.

Create a hook

It is a well-known fact that people now have attention spans resembling those of goldfish.

Therefore, a hook is essential. In video marketing, a hook is something interesting that happens in the first few seconds or previews what is coming up in the video.

A hook’s primary function is to attract – and then hopefully keep – the attention of a potential customer. Your hook could be identifying a problem and then promising a solution.

You could also lead with an image likely to surprise or shock or with a large quote or block of text. Text is particularly suitable if you know your ideal customer likes to watch videos on mute.

Upload an interesting thumbnail

Your video thumbnail is the gateway to your content. Customers are bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands of thumbnails daily. Your thumbnail image needs to first stand out from the crowd but then also tell the viewer what they can expect from your video.

An effective thumbnail should be:

• But not misleading or viewed as clickbait. A good title serves as an accurate representation of the content in the video.
• Use font and imagery that is simple, clear and easy to see and understand.
• Correctly coloured. Use bright and contrasting colour to attraction attention and make the thumbnail pop.
• Use an icon, image or logo that clearly identifies the video as belonging to your organisation. This increases brand awareness, reach and discourages plagiarism.

Don’t forget to download your Free Instagram Feed Video Thumbnail Worksheet.

Target the relevant audience

A little bit of market research goes a long, long way. Who is your target audience? Look through your sales data or come up with an ideal, theoretical buyer – otherwise known as a customer avatar.

A customer avatar details such things as age, gender, values, interests and beliefs. These ultra-specific details can then be used to run a targeted ad campaign.

Facebook is a popular platform to advertise to a highly specific demographic. But depending on where your ideal customer hangs out, other platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube generally have the similar capabilities.

Quality, quality, quality!

In video marketing, quality is everything. While people love consuming video, this is no reason to skimp on quality. In fact, it is the very popularity of video content that makes potential customers more discerning about quality.

In a study of 1,000 adult internet users, Verizon Digital Media Services found that over 85% of viewers expect TV-like quality every time they watch a video.

In other words, low quality video receives less engagement. High quality video, on the other hand, increases brand awareness, ad performance and leaves an impression on your viewer long after they have finished watching. This increases the odds of your customers remembering your offering the next time they need to make a purchase.

Do not forget subtitles

It is crucial to have the capacity to tell your story with and without sound. Facebook receives over 8 billion views per day and shows videos on mute by default. As a result, 85% of videos on the platform are watched without sound.

While other platforms may differ slightly, creating a story that can be told well without sound is crucial to your marketing efforts.

Use subtitles. They should not resemble the same plain text subtitles your grandparents watch their favourite shows with. Video marketing subtitles can occupy any part of the frame in a variety of colours, fonts and styles. They can also be used to highlight important facts and maintain the viewer’s attention throughout the video.

Include a call to action

Just as the hook is important in drawing your viewer in, a call to action (CTA) is important in telling them what you want them to do next.

Encouraging a potential customer to share, like or comment on your video is one example of an affective to call to action. You might also offer them a chance to sign up to a mailing list or, if they are watching a series, to continue on to the next video.

Where is the best point to mention your CTA? Research suggests that while 95.9% of marketers are placing it near the end of the video, the position with the highest conversion rate is somewhere near the middle. Of course, not all video content is created equal. Experiment with different placements and see what works for you.

Conclusion

To stand in out in a sea of video content, business owners must first understand their target audience. From this they can design attractive video content according to specific platforms, using a hook and attractive thumbnail to really speak to the needs of a potential customer.

Businesses must also have a good understanding of selling through story to the point where the customer is motivated to take action, sound or no sound.

With this specific information at hand, video marketing is a great way of entertaining potential customers and engaging them with your brand.