First we advised you to get a website then we told you about social media and now we are saying that your business should be using online video marketing. Why?
Is video marketing really that important?
With over 1 billion unique users every month from around the world, YouTube is the second the biggest search in the world and is also owned by Google.
The figures are mind-boggling. Over 4 billion hour of video are watched each month on YouTube.
To break it down even further and to emphasize just how popular YouTube is let us explain it another way; every day 500 years of YouTube videos are watched on social media sites and over 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every minute.
To show you what this means for businesses consider the case study of Red Bull. It holds the record for the most watched brand YouTube channel of all time. Its videos have received a total of almost 550 million views and the channel has attracted a total of over 1.5 million subscribers.
There is no getting away from it; video marketing is becoming more and more important as your next marketing tool.
However you may be thinking, “those figures are all very well and good but my business will never be as a big as a global brand like Red Bull. How will my small business benefit?”
What Your Business Stands to Gain by Using Online Video Marketing
Your customers are spending their time watching online videos: According to TechCrunch by the end of 2013, 90% of all web traffic will be video. And global consumer and media insights company Neilsen released figures that in the US alone, over 13 million Americans watched about 3 hours of video on their mobile phones each month. That information combined with the figures at the start of this article should be a huge motivation for you to at least consider using online marketing for your business.
Your competition is already using and benefiting from online marketing videos:
More and more companies are realising what a fantastic marketing opportunity this is and are using videos as part of their marketing strategies. In fact 81% of all senior marketing executives are using online marketing videos. That is up 11% from just a couple of years ago.
If you don’t use video marketing your company will miss out: Let me ask you a question. If your customer was looking for a particular product or service to purchase where is the first place that they will go? In most cases it will be Google, or any of the other search engines. You already know that if your site cannot be found in the search engines you will miss out on the sale and it will go to somebody else, your competitor. As YouTube is the second biggest search engine, if your company does not have a presence on there, again you will miss out.
Video is easy to search: Try this as an experiment. Search for a product or service on Google and see how many results come back that are video related. When it comes to searching on Google 70% of the top 100 searches are videos. Consumers these days are very savvy. They are searching for information on products and services and they are ready to buy when they find out what they want. YouTube is easy to search and if your business can be found then you will attract many more customers.
Consumers find videos educational, entertaining, and inspiring: Over 60% of consumers spend at least 2 minutes watching a video about a product they are thinking of buying. Video is excellent for marketing because it engages the potential customer. It makes selling your product or service so much easier as it grabs their attention and they will be able to quickly decide that they want to buy it. Combined with reviews and demonstrations of your product you will have them reaching for their credit card within minutes.
Your customer is just a click away from buying: More than 34% of shoppers looking to buy a particular product or service will purchase after watching an online marketing video compared to just 16% after watching a TV ad. When you watch a TV ad you can’t buy it right there and then no matter how good the ad is. You have to go to the store or visit the web site or make a phone call. When an online marketing video is done correctly the visitor can instantly make their purchase even while watching the video and that is why the conversion rate is so high.
Perhaps now you can see why online marketing is such a powerful marketing strategy for your business.
What an Online Marketing Video Can Do for Your Business
A video is a powerful tool that allows you to introduce your company to millions of potential new customers and show you in a positive light. You have full control of how you want to present your business on much smaller budget than traditional advertising.
When creating your online video focus on how you can show your customers that you are an expert in your field. This is so much easier to do than having to rely on them reading the information on your website. Your video will establish you as an expert and show that you know what you are talking about. This will build trust and confidence in your client and help them to decide to buy from you rather than your competitor.
Online marketing videos will help hugely with your ranking in the search engines. Nowadays videos are more than fifty times more likely to be on the first page of a search engine. Here’s why:
1. There is less competition with video compared to text only content. There are literally millions of text pages competing for the top search engine ranking. In comparison there are only thousands of video pages competing for the same space so your business has a far greater of chance of getting the pole positions.
2. Videos are ranked far more quickly than text content. It takes hours for video content to listed in the search engines compared to weeks for text content. This gives you even more power as the content your clients will see will be current and bang up to date.
3. Videos go viral. It is much more likely for people on social media sites to share a video then text. This is especially true if you put together a really good video.
Considering how much of a difference video marketing would make to your business, it is affordable and requires only a webcam/or video device, a microphone and a good script to enjoy the benefits.
Online marketing videos are the hottest tool business owners have at their fingertips. In todays environment a video is far more likely to lead to a sale than even the best sales page on a website. It is too good an opportunity to pass by.
Not Sure What to Include in Your Videos?
Okay, so you are convinced that video marketing is a good idea but what if you don’t have a clue what to include in your videos. Here are some suggestions to get those create:
Educate your viewers about your products or services: Tell them all about the features and benefits of your product or service. Show them how your product or service can provide a solution to the problem that they have. Let them know exactly what it is that they will receive when they receive their purchase.
It is vital that you explain why your product is such a good investment. You have to give a good reason why your product is the better than other similar products. Remember, marketing is a competition and as with any competition you have to show that you are the best.
Do product reviews: Product reviews are extremely popular and statistics show that most people check out reviews before taking the plunge and making a purchase. Highlight one of your products or services that would interest your market and do an in-depth review of all it’s features, benefits, pros and cons. Explain who will benefit from the product or service and those who won’t. After all there is no such thing as a product that is absolutely perfect for everybody. However, if you have a similar product or upgraded service that would suit somebody better, tell them about it and then do another video for that and so on. Not only will you get extra sales but you could also increase your revenue as some people might opt for the alternative or more expensive upgraded offer instead.
Grow your potential customer list: This is a great tip that will serve you well over the months and years ahead and will help you to create a very loyal customer base. Create a video that encourages prospects to give you their name and email by giving them something in return. This could be a downloadable report, a weekly newsletter or a discount coupon.
Determine what you think your prospects would find useful and design the giveaway around it. This is a proven marketing strategy that will result in a huge mailing list of potential customers who are interested in what you have to offer.
Tell a story: This is a great way to get people to relate to you. Weave in lessons that your viewers can take away from it. You can talk about a past event that shaped the person you have become today. You could talk about why you decided to enter into the business you are in, perhaps it was because you had a specific need and you spotted a gap in the market. Whatever it is, your viewers will find it interesting and it will help them to relate to you and feel that they know you better. This nurtures customer loyalty.
Expose the myths in your industry: Every industry and market has its own myths and misconceptions. You can debunk some of these myths and offer real life examples which expose them for what they are. You will educate your viewers and help them to see the facts. For example if you are in the skin care business and have products that treat acne, one myth that you may want to put right is that squeezing the spots helps to get rid of them. You can explain how instead of getting rid of the spots this can cause scarring and further infection and then provide a better solution for your viewer.
Ask questions and then answer them: No doubt you get asked the same questions over and over again about your product or service. Why not create a video for each question and then provide the answer. This would be an extremely popular feature of your site and will be excellent for the search engines who will send everybody who asks the same question to your website.
You could even ask your viewers to ask a question that they have about your product or service and then answer them in your next video. This is a perfect way to engage with your customers and start a discussion with them.
Feature Case Studies: Most people love real life case studies and especially if they can see the before and after pictures as a result of using your products or services. You could even read out testimonials from some of your happy customers.
Create a video tutorial: This is an excellent way to create video content that will be searched for regularly in the search engines and attract more visitors to your website. Many viewers love step-by-step tutorials and they are so easy to create because nobody knows your product or service better than you.
Show how to use the product: A marketing video should sell your vision while also showing the viewer how they can use the product. If you can show your viewers not only how to use it but how the product will benefit them you will significantly increase your sales.
Respond to your customers with video: You won’t be the only one who will create a tutorial or review video about the products or services that you promote.
YouTube is full of these kinds of videos from consumers who want to share their comments with the world. So if a consumer does take the time to create a video about your product or service to either praise it, highlight certain features or even to criticize it you have an excellent opportunity to interact and engage with that customer in conversation. You can thank them, expand on what they have highlighted or even change their mind.
Remember that this conversation could potentially be watched by millions of people and they will be very impressed with how you handle the matter and you will win many more fans and customers.
Create a video series: A single video is fine but if you create a number of them on the same or related topic then you are going to bring back a lot of viewers who want to see your next video in the series. Plan each video to connect with the previous video. This is going to translate into more views, more likes and more sales for you.
So Are You Ready to Make A Successful Marketing Video?
If so, then these 5 tips will set you off on the right path.
Define who your target audience is: Before you decide what you want to say and what you want your video to look like you need to know who your audience is so that you can target them with your video. Think about the age of your target audience, their income bracket and other factors such as their sex. Knowing who your market is will help you to create a much better video that will be well received by the people you want to reach.
Set just one goal for your video: Many beginners make the mistake of determining their target audience and then create numerous goals that they want the one video to achieve.
Ideally your video will be short and have just one goal to achieve. So choose exactly what it is that you would like your video to do. Do you want to review your product, give a tutorial or demonstrate one of the features of it? You decide what the goal is and stick to it.
Turn another successful format into a video: If you already have content that has been successful, perhaps it was a blog post or a written tutorial on your site, take it and turn it into a working script for a video. Practise by reading it out aloud. Make small adjustments and re-tune it so that the words flow naturally when spoken out loud. Share it with friends and family first to get their feedback and then when you are fully satisfied start creating your video.
Press record: It is easy to record a video. All you need is a webcam. In fact you can even use an iPhone or other mobile device. Don’t over think it. You really don’t need a huge product suite consisting of professional lighting and equipment to make a successful online marketing video.
It’s time to share your video: Once you have created your video you will want to share it on your website, blog or social media site such as YouTube. Get it out there and take note of the feedback. Find out what people like and dislike about your video. You will improve with every video that you make.
That is all there is to it. It is not as daunting as you think. In very little time and with hardly any equipment you too can be making successful marketing videos that will attract thousands of visitors and extra customers.
As you know we are a professional online marketing company and we have lots of advice and tips to share with you that will have a huge impact on your business. Why not give us a call and see how we can help to take advantage of this marketing revolution.
