Video marketing: are you doing it right?

It’s the most effective marketing tool available.  Video marketing; are you doing it right?

Why is video king? Put simply, it has higher engagement and conversion rates than any other form of content. Hubspot predicted that adding a video to a landing page of a website makes it capable of increasing conversion rates by 80%. Mentioning the word ‘video’ in your email subject line is estimated to increase the open rate by 19% (Hubspot).

Getting started: Must-have, affordable video equipment

In order to get started with creating eye-catching video content, here’s what you’ll need to get creating:

• Smartphone – Both iPhone and Android are producing better cameras on their phones year on year. Using your phone, paired with a Steadicam rig like the DJI Osmo, lenses and microphones that are available, it’s easier than ever to create excellent quality marketing videos.
• DSLR – Many videographers can be overheard comparing the specs of their brand new expensive cameras but the truth is, you can shoot stunning footage on models from 10 years ago. 4K has become a buzzword when it comes camera sales material but trust us when we say that 1080p is more than good enough. Some examples of affordable (under £1000) DSLR’s for shooting video in 1080p are; Canon 600D, Nikon 1576 D5600 and the Canon 70D.
• Low-Light Cameras – These cameras are specifically designed with sensors to help the camera process more information without the need for expensive lighting. This means both a reduction in lighting costs, but also means that you won’t need to learn the complexities of getting the lighting right which takes a lot of practice. Panasonic have produced a great, cost-effective low-light camera solution; the Panasonic Lumix GH4 which is going for under £1000 online.

How long should my videos be?

Considering the length of your content is crucial in the planning process for any shoot. This will vary depending on the platform that the content is being created for. A general rule of thumb is to aim to keep content under 2 minutes and Vidyard reported in 2019 that 73% of business videos are two minutes or shorter. But again, this will vary depending on where the video is being embedded.

Instagram: 30 seconds, when it comes to video ads and Instagram Stories ads you should aim to convey your key message within the first 15 seconds of the video. For Instagram Live videos you should shoot for at least 10 minutes, but longer is better when it comes to live streaming.

Facebook: Your in- feed videos should be up to 90 seconds long and no shorter than 24 seconds long. For your Facebook ads, you should include the key message in the first five to 10 seconds to retain your audience’s attention. Much like Instagram Live, ensure that your Facebook Live videos don’t fall below 10 minutes.

LinkedIn: These should be a minimum of 30 seconds and 5 minutes, maxing out at 10 minutes for more educational pieces. For LinkedIn ads, your videos should be kept right down to 15 seconds.

Twitter: Both regular post and ad content on Twitter should be between 20 and 45 seconds long.

YouTube: Two minutes or less with ads running much shorter at 15-20 seconds (pre-roll) and even six seconds (bumper ads).

Website: Homepage videos should be no longer than 60 seconds and no less than 30 seconds.

Editing your content to these timelines is no longer an expensive ordeal, either. We are often asked about cheap video editing tools, here are some of the best free video editing tools available:

• Blender
• iMovie
• Magisto
• Lightworks
• DaVinci Resolve

Using video to raise brand awareness

According to a report published by Ofcom, the average internet user will spend 31 minutes a day watching video advertisements. When you consider this with a report published by Online Publishers Association that states 80% of users will recall a video ad that they have viewed in the past 30 days, it is clear to see the scope that video marketing offers for raising brand awareness.

Many of you have probably seen targeted adverts for systems like Wix, Asana and Squarespace pop up in your YouTube ads and these are excellent examples of how video content can be used to show your clients exactly what your brand is and how you add value to their business. The Wix advert below is a prime example of how this brand is answering their target audiences query of “How do I build a website?” with the answer “with Wix of course!” (not that we particularly agree with that statement!).

Educational marketing videos

“How-to videos earn the most attention of any content category on YouTube, even more than music clips or gaming.”- Think with Google

Many brands use videos to serve as a cost-effective means to educate customers on their products and services.

So, instead of overtly shouting “Buy my products!” to customers, you are instead inviting them to listen to a one or two-minute presentation about the value of your product. Sage Appliances regularly do how-to videos with experts showing customers how to make the best use of their products. Below is an example of a Sage barista showing the audience how to use the Sage Barista Pro™ coffee machine.

Another example of this is when HubSpot collaborated with influencer Seth Godin, author of ‘This is Marketing’, to create an interview piece aimed at educating businesses on “How to reach your audience”.

This is a mutually beneficial piece of content as both brands are positioned as online marketing professionals meaning that they are tapping into one another’s online audiences with this piece of content.

Growing your social media audience

Many believe that growing a social media audience is a one-way street. They believe that posting lots of content out regularly will get followers and then these followers will automatically convert into leads and then sales. Generally speaking, this is not the case.

In reality, growing a social media audience and generating leads from this audience is achieved by making a consistent effort to talk to your prospects and fellow business owners on your industry’s most active social media channels and also provide them with useful content.

How does video come into this? As a business owner, you can use video to talk directly to your audience. This could be via a weekly or monthly live Q&A session where your followers can ask you or a guest questions via a chat feature like on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Alternatively, you can post a poll early in the week to ask your users what they want to see in your next video and then go ahead and make a video based around their feedback.

Furthermore, live Q & A video sessions can allow you to promote your brand. If your product is the solution to the question, you can prompt the attendees to click the link in your bio or in the live chat to learn more.

Boosting your Search Engine Optimisation with video

According to Hubspot, 65% of executives that were polled said that they would click through to a company web page after viewing their branded video content.

Now, this is important because click-through rates impact your websites ranking in Google enormously. The more clicks that your domain receives from search results, the more authentic Google sees your website as being and therefore pushes it higher up the search engine results pages (SERPS).

Google also analyses video content better now than ever before. The search engine categorises the frames in a video and the text within the subtitles meaning that it can now catalogue the relevant keywords that are in a video.

Are you ready to start using videos in your marketing strategy?

There could not be a better time to start using videos in your marketing strategy. Well-crafted video content has been proven to boost reach, improve SEO and generate quantifiable sales for businesses across the globe. If you would like to learn more about video marketing and how to do it right then get in touch in the first instance with Rachael.

Joe Stapleton, videographer & Rachael Dines, Director of Shake It Up Creative