It’s no secret that video marketing is booming right now.

As of this year, 86% of businesses use video marketing, with 96% of them considering it a key part of their business strategy. If you haven’t yet considered using video to promote your business, you’re falling behind.

If you’re new to making this kind of content, though, getting started can be daunting – but it’s not as hard as it might seem. In this article, we’ll be outlining what makes video marketing so important in 2021, the different types of videos you can consider and how to ensure your video delivers the results you need.

Why is video marketing so important?

Reason 1: Videos spark a reaction

According to a study conducted by Brightcove, videos generate 1200% more shares on social media than text and images combined.

The reason behind this is that the combination of visuals, movement and sound is far more stimulating for our brains compared to a piece of text or a still image. By engaging more of our senses, video has the power to attract and retain attention – a powerful thing in this age of information overload.

Reason 2: They’re great for SEO

Put simply, Google loves video content. Regardless of what you search for, chances are there will be videos among the very top results. It may also come as a surprise to learn that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet, with an incredible 3 billion searches per month. This makes video also one of the best ways to boost your brand awareness.

Videos also keep people on your website for longer, which will help improve your search engine rankings – and if people enjoy your video, they’re twice as likely to share it than any other form of content.

Reason 3: They’re proven to boost conversions

According to Forbes, 90% of customers claim that videos play a key role in their purchasing decisions. This is echoed by a recent study conducted by Aberdeen Strategy and Research, which showed that using video as part of a marketing strategy boosts conversion rates by an average of 66%.

How to build the best video marketing strategy

While this is a great time to be getting into video marketing, it’s also important to note that the competition is stiff.

The popularity and effectiveness of video has led to a sharp increase in the number of companies embracing the medium. Apps like TikTok exclusively use video, while even the head of Instagram has now claimed that Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app as they lean further into video. Creating a video isn’t enough to make your business stand out – it needs to be right for your audience.

Step 1: Know your customers

Before you dive head first into the world of video marketing, you’ll need to do your research.

Finding out as much as you can about your target demographic will help you decide what kind of video content you’re going to make. Key considerations are age, gender, location, hobbies and viewing habits, as well as which apps or websites they tend to use the most.

You should have a clear image of the ideal customer your video will be addressing – keep in mind that no matter how many views your video gets, it will only ever be addressing one person at a time.

Another important consideration is what stage of the marketing funnel you’re hoping to target. Will your video be attracting new customers or are you targeting people who are already interested? The more you zone in on exactly who your video is for, and which objective you expect to achieve, the more effective your creative will become.

Step 2: Create content to suit your audience

The three most popular types of video you can create as part of your business strategy are social media content videos, advertising videos and explainer videos.

Classic advertising videos have a direct and immediate goal – namely, to get people to visit your website and make a purchase. These videos tend to be more polished and are generally shared with a target audience as paid ads on social media.

By contrast, content videos for social media are posted organically to your account. Rather than going for the hard sell, these videos engage with, entertain and inform your audience. By giving immediate value (with, for example, a ‘how to’ video or funny, shareable content) you can demonstrate that you’re an expert in your field or that you really ‘get’ your customers. These videos are great for building brand recognition, trust and community.

The third type of marketing video to consider is the explainer video. This is a more informative style of video that focuses on a specific product or service. They’re often found on landing pages, and are aimed at potential buyers, often walking them through the customer journey and addressing common questions.

Step 3: Measure the success of your video

As with all marketing strategies, measuring the success of your work is essential.

It’s important to establish early on what you want your video to achieve – whether that’s an increase in brand awareness, more visitors to your website or a boost in sales. While it may be tempting to measure the success of a video based on the number of views it gets, it’s far more important to gauge what impact it’s having on your business. This will help you decide what you’re going to try next.

Key Tips

If you’re ready to try out video marketing, here are our three take home tips:

Tip 1: Don’t blow your budget

When starting out, it can be tempting to throw everything you have at your video marketing strategy, but it’s best not to go overboard. It’s entirely possible to create an effective video marketing strategy on a smaller budget. This also leaves room for trying out different strategies to see which approach gets the best response.

Tip 2: Focus on telling a story

According to Psychology Today, emotions have a direct link to our actions as consumers. One of the best ways to make your video stand out is by telling a story that will resonate with your audience. Bringing out the human side to a brand through the use of humour, sadness or a relatable character is a powerful way of connecting with your audience.

Tip 3: Remember to use captions

This may seem like a minor detail, but it’s actually extremely important. Captions promote inclusivity and show that you’re considering your hearing-impaired customers. They’re often used more widely, too: people regularly scroll through social media with the sound off (for instance when in public spaces). With captions, they’ll still be able to enjoy your content and its message. Also include a transcript with the video, if you are hosting it on your website, so that search engines can index and better understand the content.

We hope this article has shown you why you should be using video in your marketing strategy. It was created by Mediareach Advertising, a leading London-based digital and social media marketing agency.