Chances are, you’ve grown up watching an alarming amount of television, watching reruns of your favourite cartoons and the occasional movie. In between everything you’ve seen, there was bound to be an advertisement or two. Online video marketing is the modern equivalent.
It could have been one of those corny direct response advertisements trying to sell you strange mops and stranger chemicals to wipe away last week’s “lasagna.” You’ve probably bought into a lot of it within a short amount of time of being exposed to it.
The power of audiovisual marketing has always been prominent in many businesses for over half a century now. Thanks to the leaps and bounds the Internet has made over the past couple of decades, diligent marketers are starting to tap into the massive marketing power of online video marketing.
Hopefully, in this article, we can help you learn a little more about online video marketing.
Why Should You Use Online Video Marketing?
There is not a problem with being sceptical about using online video marketing for your business, but looking at how other businesses use it to their advantage should inspire you. The biggest businesses in the world are using the online video market to promote a wide range of their services.
You may be confused about how you go out about starting your online video and who to hire, if you want to find out more check out our article on hiring a video marketing agency.
Seeing is Believing
It’s no secret that people like to be shown things rather than told, that’s why we go to YouTube if we have a problem. There are multiple videos of a step to step guide on how to tie a tie with millions of views.
As much as we probably don’t want to admit it, humans are lazy, we like to digest our information in the easiest way possible and with enough entertainment on the side to keep us involved. Think about the countless times you have seen an advertisement for a service or product, and subconsciously thought you needed it straight away.
Here to Stay
It wasn’t too long all of the top dogs in the industry used to scoff at the idea of online video marketing. People tend to take time to change from their stubborn ways and they like to keep a good thing “good.”
It wasn’t until a few innovative souls decided to pool their efforts into online video marketing and carved a niche for all to engage in. It’s no longer a hip new fad or the next big things. Video is and has always been, a well-established medium of captivating the masses and using their hunger for easily digestible information.
With the advent of the Internet and the fast-paced progress of technology, everyone has easy access to all sorts of video content right at their fingertips.
Mobile Marketing
Before smartphones were glued to our hands, online video marketing already had a strong foothold on personal and portable computers, already gathering steam and massive revenue from people’s idle scrolling and site hopping, be it on social media or simple blogs.
Everyone now has a mini-computer in their pockets, meaning it is even easier now to reach people. Most websites, blogs and social media are all mobile-friendly, meaning online video marketing has several places to reach audiences.
The majority of video content is found on YouTube, content creators are now able to use their videos as TV channels because they can put advertisements on, these can be found halfway through the video. Advertisements on YouTube videos are possible thanks to being able to monetize their videos.
Online Video Marketing for Mobile SEO
In the ever-growing world of online content creation and online video marketing getting your work to be seen can be tough.
Search engine optimisation is pivotal, getting your content to the top of search engines should be your main goal. Making it easier for Google to understand your content will go a long way in increasing traffic to what you’ve produced.
For a small business, trying to improve their SEO can be a daunting task as most of the big boys in the business have an established readership that will read whatever they produce. Using appropriate keywords along with attractive metadata, and adding high-quality video content, your blog or website will show in Google’s search engine result pages.
YouTube and Vimeo should be as high a priority as Google. Having a channel which produces engaging and educational content would go a long way in improving the brand awareness of your business, and in turn, increasing the sales of your product or service.
Be Careful with Online Video
The impact of online video marketing has on businesses and consumers alike is undeniably strong. But you should be wise to the clear benefits and deficiencies when it comes to video content to fully harness its full potential.
For starters, weigh up the pros and cons of whether or not you should convey your message in video form over standard text and image format. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Video content, when done properly, provokes immediate emotional response and engagement, offering the viewer a passive and enticing experience.
Bearing in mind that if your video fails to captivate its audience within the first few seconds with an interesting enough approach, the audience will simply stop watching it and move on. Some might even be put off entirely, meaning a loss of valuable potential leads.
With text and image formats, this is less of a problem.
People generally enjoy watching things as opposed to reading them. But, with text, you always have the option to skim through vast swathes of text to find the information the reader is looking for.
When approaching online video marketing, plan whether or not your idea, product, service or what have you should be conveyed through attractive video content or tried and true text format. It is tough to know whether what you’re offering is entertaining enough for online video marketing, always thinking would a consumer be entertained?
Tips and Tricks for Online Video Marketing
Now that you have seen how online video marketing can both be a blessing and sometimes a hindrance, it’s now time to move onto a few tips and tricks for online video marketing.
Don’t just be a ‘Salesman’
Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer, how would you feel if you watched a video advertisement just throwing the name of the product at you and why you should buy it. The consumer has to be emotionally invested, give them relevant information, tell them stories, just make sure it is genuine.
People are more likely to be interested if they can relate to what they’re watching. If you have a character in your video, make them feel they are a real person, don’t let them feel like a robot that is just reading off a script.
Appeal to their requirements in an organic fashion rather than forcing your message on them. It might seem like a risky approach given your newcomer nature, but don’t worry about potentially losing leads with this kind of process. It’ll pay off in the long run.
Entice them
It is pivotal to grab the interest of the consumer straight away in a video. You need to seduce them so much that they’re willing to continue to watch, people’s attention spans can be short, especially online.
Try not waffling at the start, lay out the clear benefits of purchasing this product or service. Ask the viewer questions, make them feel like they’re having a proper conversation.
Building connections with a viewer results in them researching your business further and checking out what you have to offer them.
It is very plausible that there are other options on the market, so be sure to offer what they’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to put a little humour in your video, making someone laugh releases positive emotions.
The Power of Social Media
Social media is a major part of any kind of marketing strategy, not just online video marketing. Social media is a free way to promote whatever you have to offer, so make use of it!
Using social media, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat is a great way to push your product or service to a larger audience than what might be on your blog or website. Think about the number of times you’ve seen the same video or post shared by your friends on Facebook, it’s time to make it your video!
A newcomer to the game is TikTok, being an application that is solely used for videos it is the perfect tool for any business wanting to use online video marketing. The longest video can be is 60 seconds, but having shorter videos is more likely to attract people. Working with TikTok influencers is a great way to advertise your product as they would have such a large audience.
Educate
Take advantage of the fact that a lot of people can be visual learners. The most important thing you could do when someone watches your video is to educate them. Thankfully, there are several ways to educate, you could show how to properly use the products, or you could provide them with a few tips and tricks on the product, kind of like this article.
Final Thoughts
After reading this article it’s pretty clear, the power of online video marketing. Missing out on this opportunity to grow your business would be a real shame. Although this article has made it seem that this will be a piece of cake, it may be difficult to grasp the concept of online video marketing straight away.
It is important to have a detailed plan on what kind of content you’re prepared to make. It would be helpful to continue to do more research into the topic as there is a wide range of things to consider.
