The Golden Rule of Video Marketing

Today, much of your consumers’ buying process takes place online – and most of that research takes place on Google and Youtube. And as our smartphones become smarter, mobile is replacing traditional desktops and laptops as the most common platform for access to the web. Video is the fastest-growing ad format in the marketplace, especially considering its significance in social media marketing and in SEO best-practices for Google search results. Video is, quite simply, the most engaging and versatile content format in your arsenal today.

But you already knew all of that, so you’ve decided to incorporate video into your content marketing strategy. If you’ve never managed a video project before, it can be difficult to know where to start. But I’m here to tell you that there is really only one rule to video marketing (and you can use this in other marketing arenas as well):

Demonstrate Value to your Customer.

Pretty simple, right? Let’s talk about some of the ways you can provide value with your next marketing video.

Know Your Audience 

You should invest the time to target your audience. Do you want to be talking to the C-Suite, or are your target customers product managers? Only you can decide who you want to hear your message. Then, craft your message to that specific audience. How does that provide value? Your contact list sees a video that feels like it was meant for them. In other words, your customer comes first! This is a Customer-centric business philosophy that is of utmost importance to marketers, sales people, and customer service providers.

Keep It Simple

The good ole’ KISS principle – applicable in nearly every facet of our lives, and video marketing is no exception. Here’s the scoop; watching a video is a time investment in a world where our time has become ever more valuable and scarce. Your audience is a group of very busy people, so value your audience’s time!  As well, our attention spans are growing shorter with our “plugged-in” lifestyles, so when it comes to your marketing video keep it short, concise, and entertaining. You only have a few seconds to capture your viewers’ attention and then hold it long enough for them to hear your message.

Relevance

Let’s have a chat about content. It’s not about a sales pitch anymore, alright? It’s about providing your audience with valuable information and/or solutions to problems. If a person is watching your video, chances are they were actively searching for information about your business or your products/services in the first place. A sales pitch right off the bat is not what that prospect needs; they need information that helps them make a decision. With that in mind, you know your customer and you know how you can provide valuable information and solutions to their problems. The content of your video should provide relevant information to your prospects and suggest a next step for them to take, which leads me to…

Strong Call to Action

Engage with your customers. Give your prospects a little nudge. Tell them what they should do next for more information. If your video has given them relevant information and they are interested in taking a closer look at your offering, where should they go to do that? This could be a phone number to contact a sales person. It could be a certain hashtag to use on Twitter or Instagram to find more information about your products. It could be a landing page with an information form, or it could simply be your website. The questions you should ask yourself are, “Where do I want to drive traffic and how can I engage with my prospects?”

Track Your Results

Now you may be thinking, “How does tracking my analytics provide value to my prospects?” Let’s think ahead for a minute. Sure, you’ve already been in touch with your prospects once in order to have any analytics to track. But you’re not done there, right? You’ll contact them again soon, and the data you receive from your analytics may be very helpful in how you contact your prospects next time! Maybe there’s a certain time of day that you should target to contact them. Maybe a certain demographic of your target prospects really liked your video, but didn’t like your whitepaper or infographics (or vice versa).  Use your analytics as a discovery tool to see how you can better provide useful, relevant information to your prospects.

Whether this is your first video project or you just needed a quick refresher, you’re now well-equipped to produce an effective marketing video that grabs attention, entertains and engages your prospects, and drives sales for your business. And don’t forget to have fun along the way!