Build a video marketing strategy that engages today’s consumers

Did you know that 50% of millennials and Generation Z users say that they “couldn’t live” without video in their lives?

Over the past year, people have become addicted to video content. 
68% of consumers say the pandemic has impacted the amount of video content they’ve watched online, with 96% saying it has increased.

Brands are quickly catching on to this trend and adding video to their digital marketing strategy. 

That said, it’s not enough to tack video on to a brand’s digital marketing plan and hope for the best. Companies should take a holistic approach to video content and marketing. Everyone within the business needs to play a vital role in producing and measuring it.

Related: Generation Z characteristics: What businesses should know about these consumers

Since consumers are watching more video content, businesses need to meet them where they are.

According to a study by HubSpot, 54% of consumers surveyed want to see more video content from businesses, especially on YouTube and Facebook—two of the most popular channels for watching videos online.

Marketers see excellent results when using videos, especially on social media. According to Animoto’s research

• 91% of marketers are satisfied with the ROI of video marketing on social media
• 93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media

Major companies are leveraging videos to increase their reach and boost their overall digital marketing strategy.

A couple of years back, Starbucks launched Starbucks Stories, a content website focused on video storytelling. It was a huge success. 

Bank of America is a big fan of creating tutorial videos for its audience. Their video, ‘What’s the Cost of Buying a New Car vs. Used Car?’ was a big hit with their audience, garnering over 3.8 million views. Another video, ‘What Are the True Costs of Car Ownership?’ got a whopping 1.1 million views. 

With video production and consumption at an all-time high, brands need to find ways to engage their audience. 

One way to keep viewers hooked? Experiment with different types of videos.

Whether the goal is to educate audiences or entertain them, brands can create all kinds of different marketing videos.

According to Google, the number of “how to” searches has gone up by 70% every year on YouTube. People are increasingly using Google and YouTube to learn new things, so brands need to give their audience what they’re looking for. 

Create educational content if your goal is to engage with your audience and establish your brand’s authority. Examples of educational videos include:

How-to videos: How-to videos are tutorials that walk viewers through the steps to perform a specific action. 

Sephora believes in regularly creating educational video content for its audience. Their live Facebook video on ‘Beauty we’re loving’ was all about answering viewers’ questions and spotlighting products they were promoting. It got a ton of engagement—over 256k views and lots of comments.

Explainer videos: Explainer videos are short videos that explain how your product or service works. 

AllTrails’ animated explainer video is a great example. This 2D animated video encapsulates the brand and explains what AllTrails is all about. It got over 50k views and a lot of raving comments.

Company culture videos give your brand a human touch. There are several different types of company culture videos that businesses can invest in.

Event videos: These videos work great if you’re trying to create buzz around your upcoming event and instill a sense of FOMO in your audience. They usually show snippets from the event, highlight significant guests and offer a sense of the event’s overall atmosphere.

A great example is Microsoft’s Future Now 2019 event promo video. 

Employee and work-culture videos: Employee and work-culture videos are excellent ways to show your audience what your company does. They showcase who you are and what you stand for. Are you a fun company? How happy are your employees? Do they like working at your company? 

Basecamp produced a super fun video where employees did a blind coffee taste test. It’s an excellent example of a work culture video done well.

Video is the top content type used by marketers to sell products and services. This aligns with consumer sentiment, with 55% of consumers using videos for purchase decisions while in-store. 

Product demos: Product demo videos are excellent at demonstrating how your product or service works. Airtable’s demo video uses animation to explain to users how they can use the application via web and mobile.

Product-launch videos: Launch videos dive into the features of the new product or service the brand is launching.

Ikea is a pioneer in creating unique and eye-catching product launch videos for their new collections. Here’s an amazing one from one of their recent launches.

Another excellent product launch video is Ikea’s collaboration with LEGO.

Regular use of testimonials can help you generate 62% more revenue from every customer each time they visit your site. And according to Wyzowl’s
State of Video Marketing 2021 report, 79% of customers would rather watch a video than read text.

Pairing customer testimonials with a video element is an excellent way to engage your audience and convince them to purchase your product or service.

Phelps’s testimonial video for YumYumVideos is both engaging and aesthetically pleasing. It convinces viewers to invest in YumYumVideos and inspires urgency to act now.

Cisco estimates that by next year, a staggering 82% of all created content will be video. Research by Google states that “In times of uncertainty, digital video can be a wellspring of positivity.” Thus, video content will increase because people are using it as a mental escape.

So, while you know that creating a video strategy is critical for the success of your business, how do you build one that works for your brand and reaps high rewards?

What do you want to achieve with video? What are your overall business goals? Are you looking for more signups? An increase in followers and engagement? More leads?

Create SMART goals and tie them to your business vision and overall business goals:

• Specific - Your goal should be clear. Instead of “increase leads,” try “increase leads by 25% by the end of Q1.”
• Measurable - You should be able to easily measure the success of your goals.
• Attainable - Keep your goals realistic and within reach.
• Relevant - Keep them relevant to your general business goals, too. Make sure you can tie them in to your business vision.
• Time-bound - Lastly, set a clear deadline and strive to meet your goals on schedule. 

The next step is aligning your goals with the different types of video content. Depending on your business goals and the type of message you want to communicate to your audience, you can create the following videos:

Snackable videos: Short and fun video content like GIFs, time-lapse videos and slideshows are an excellent choice if you’re looking to increase your social media followers and engagement.

Live sessions: Conducting live sessions on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube is a great way to gather data about your audience, engage with them in real-time and increase leads, signups and purchases. 

Longer video campaigns: Longer video campaigns on YouTube and Facebook are effective ways to increase brand awareness.

With more consumers preferring short, shareable content, soaring production budgets are no longer a priority or a necessity. These days, even brands on shoestring budgets can create interesting, high-converting video content.

When setting a budget for your video marketing plan, consider the following factors:

• Will you hire professional actors or use people within your organization?
• Will you need top-of-the-line video equipment or equipment that’s easily available (i.e., a good iPhone or an employee’s DSLR)?
• Are you going to create an expensive set or use an outdoor/indoor space that’s easily accessible? 
• Are you going to hire a professional video production crew and video editors or shoot the video yourself?

If you’re thinking of creating videos without spending too much money, you can:

• Use employees as actors.
• Shoot the video with your mobile device or a DSLR.
• Use one of the many available editing apps to edit your video or hire a freelance editor.
• Choose a set that’s easily accessible and doesn’t cost money—public spaces that allow you to shoot videos work great. Similarly, a room in your office can also serve the purpose.

Decide what your budget is, then determine what options to explore. 

Building an effective video strategy is an ongoing process. Creating a great video is just the first step. Then it’s time to measure and test the results. Conduct A/B tests and review your website and social media analytics. Which of your campaigns is reaping the best results and which are falling short of your goals? 

Focus more time and money on videos that are working for your brand and bringing you closer to your marketing goals, and discard any that aren’t. 

Keep testing, tweaking and repeating the process until you have a robust video marketing strategy.