5 Research-Backed Tips To Boost Your Video Marketing

5 tips on video marketing

The numbers are in and they tell a similar story. Video marketing is an absolute must for the modern marketer. Here are some research-driven tips to help you get the absolute most out of your digital video content.

Video Content Is Powerful

There are many reasons to invest in video content. 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every single day. On mobile alone, YouTube reaches more 18-49 years olds than any broadcast or cable TV Network.

YouTube infographic by DBI

People also watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube videos a day. This is more than Netflix and Facebook videos combined. And billions of people are watching both. Facebook alone generates over 8 billion video views per day.

Video is taking over and research shows that it can raise your conversion rates on landing pages, emails, and more.

People respond positively video, but you have to know how to employ it.

Types of Video Content

On the outside, video marketing can seem simple. You post and record videos that move customers through the various stages of the customer journey to achieve different goals.

YouTube is the second biggest search engine on earth, and you want in. Simple right?

However, this includes varied video content types. There is so much that you can do. You can create:

  • Product Demos
  • Tutorials
  • Vlogs
  • Expert Interviews
  • Customer Testimonials
  • Behind the scenes content
  • Explainer animations
  • Live webinars
  • Stories

What makes things even better is that video production is easier and more cost-effective than ever before. You can shoot videos that look professional from your smartphone. However, so can most other people. This is why you need a solid video marketing strategy.

Here are 5 research-based tips you can use to make your video content effective.

1. Focus On Narrative

This rule can be applied across all content marketing. You want to inspire or otherwise engage consumers, and not make them feel like they are being bogged down or manipulated by ads. Whether your content is written, audio, or visual, you want to strike this balance.

People are largely emotional decision-makers who respond well to relatable narratives. You want to add value to people’s lives with real advice or spark a strong emotional connection.

Research shows just how powerful storytelling can be. The majority of people prefer that brands incorporate stories into their marketing. In fact, they most want to hear stories about relatable people.

video marketing stats

While it is important to have content explaining in plain terms what your products or services are, video content should also have a strong emphasis on the narrative of your branding.

You want to create a story, not just push products, as audiences do not respond as well to that. Your audience is likely tired of being constantly bombarded by ads. Many people are even turned off by brands that make them feel that way. You can’t afford that kind of brand image.

2. The Ten Second Rule

Regardless of how good your video content is, it must have an instant hook. You need to engage audiences within the first 10 seconds.

Why? A famous study from Microsoft Corp claims that the average modern internet user has a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. While many have been quick to cite this as a tragic deficiency with smartphones to blame, others look at it as an evolution of the human attention span in the digital age.

People are so constantly swamped with content that we have become more selective and discerning in gauging what interests us or matters to us. We do this so quickly, that your video content has seconds to connect.

Here are some things you can open with to make video content that draws people in fast:

  • Prove value by showing the end result first
  • A captivating question
  • A problem and promised solution
  • A shocking fact
  • Use words like “imagine” or “what if”

It’s simple. If you can’t hook people in the first ten seconds your content will likely go unwatched.

3. Use Closed Captions in Video Marketing

Did you know that about 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound? Most people also watch videos without sound on Instagram and Twitter. This is because the mobile social media experience on traditional platforms is largely designed for no sound.

Since people are watching without sound, you should include closed captions. Even if your videos are stellar, if people are seeing them on silent with no captions, they will likely have no idea what’s going on in them. Captions will help you draw them in so you can boost engagement, click-throughs, and leads. They also enable people to understand your content regardless of the environment they are in.

Accessibility

Captions also make your content far more accessible. Over 5% of the world’s population, more than 460 million people, has hearing loss. Closed captions will allow them to enjoy and connect with your content and brand. They also play a critical part in search engine optimization (SEO).

Also, you can add captions in a range of languages. In an increasingly global market where most of the people in the world speak multiple languages, this can help your brand connect on a global scale.

4. Don’t Forget About SEO

Both paid and organic search engine marketing are a big part of any video marketing strategy. While a lot of text content like blog posts and case studies are tailor-made for getting high Google rankings, that doesn’t mean that you should forget about leveraging video content in this way.

People tend to forget a key thing about YouTube. That is, that it is actually a massive search engine. In fact, after Google, it is the largest search engine in the world. Of course, you want to optimize your content for both of the world’s largest search engines in order to skyrocket your ROI.

Here are some things you can do to take on YouTube SEO:

  • Choose a relevant title
  • Create an in-depth video description like the other top performing ones in your genre
  • Use all relevant tags
  • Add a keyword-rich transcript
  • Use closed captions

SEE ALSO: A Digital Branding Guide to Starting Out on YouTube

Text Is Key

You might have noticed that each of these pointers involves incorporating text into your video marketing. This is because Google cannot interpret video content in terms of ranking it for SEO. It only gauges on the terms of text.

Google also can extract short snippets of your video and display it in response to relevant search queries.

So, cleverly incorporating text in these ways means that your video content will rank higher in search engines like Google and YouTube.

To get the maximum SEO value for your video, don’t just post it on YouTube or social media. Be sure to host it on your own domain first.

5. End With A CTA

If a viewer watches an entire one of your ads, there is a good chance that they are interested in what you offer. It is important to take advantage of that immediate interest with a strong call to action instead of letting it pass by.

When they are freshly intrigued is the perfect time to guide them to take some beneficial action. This could be browsing your offerings, subscribing, starting a free trial, or something else.

Always end your video marketing content with a CTA that makes it clear what actions interested viewers can take next. For example, this can appear as end screen annotations on a YouTube video inviting viewers to subscribe.

A Note On CTA Placement

However, your call to action doesn’t always have to be at the end. According to a study by KISSmetrics, adding a single CTA in a video generates as much as 380% more clicks than one on the sidebar of the same page. Use your best judgment and put CTAs wherever appropriate.

SEE ALSO: The Top 5 Ways to Create High Converting CTA Buttons

Final Thoughts

When it comes to video marketing, there are many ways to approach it. From emotional narrative-based content to entertainment and educational, there are many avenues to take and many ways you can use the content that you create.

Across the board, it is no secret that video content boosts conversions.

Conversion rate statistics

Ultimately, you want to establish yourself as an important resource with a wide sphere of influence. So, whatever you create, don’t be shy about sharing it!

Are you already utilizing video marketing for your brand? Or do you plan to soon? Comment below…

Written by
Juntae DeLane

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