Marketing teams have plenty of excuses for not investing in video marketing: we don't have the time, the in-house expertise, or the resources. We don't see the business value, we're perfectly happy with our marketing approach as it is, and so on.
These excuses can be perfectly understandable for certain brands. A two-person accounting operating with a pipeline of affluent customers probably doesn't need to post a video on YouTube. But other brands, particularly those that need to educate leads across the customer purchasing funnel — think solar, for example — may find value in video marketing.
With that in mind, we'd like to present video marketing for beginners, exploring the rudimentary basics so you and your team can decide if video marketing is worth pursuing.
The Business Value of Video Marketing
Let's first address the issue of business value. Research from Cisco indicates that by 2017, video will account for 69 percent of all consumer traffic on the Internet. In other words, if marketers need to "go to where the customers are," then they should be going to online video sites like YouTube and Vine. Not surprisingly, Nielsen reports that 64 percent of marketers expect video to "dominate" their strategy in the "near future."
OK, so marketers can begrudgingly admit that they may need to explore video marketing. But what about, you know, actually making the video?
Build or Buy?
In this case, marketers are faced with the classic "build or buy" decision. Most may find it's easier to simply outsource video production. Others may want to do it in-house. This latter camp shouldn't be deterred by their lack of production acumen. Technology has improved dramatically in recent years, and many small brands make perfectly acceptable videos using GoPro cameras — even their smart phones! — And editing them in programs like iMovie. Click here for helpful tutorial on how to create a video for under $100.
Remember the Fundamentals
Regardless of if you build or buy your video, make sure it's not too long — no longer than 90 seconds. Remember, in many cases customers will be viewing your video before their preferred video on sites like YouTube. Err on the side of brevity. Make sure your script is succinct, clear, and directed towards your buyer personas. Don't come across as overtly-salesy, but nonetheless end the some video with a call-to-action to help generate leads.
Research also suggests that when it comes to attracting viewers, more is more. That is, the most high-performing brands publish high volumes of content on a regular basis. A good metric to start with is roughly five to six videos per month.
Lastly, understand that your video marketing efforts do not exist in a vacuum. Videos should integrate with other marketing strategies, whether promoting an in-store sale or pushing viewers to your brand's Facebook page. To that end, Facebook and Twitter will be the most critical source of YouTube traffic; promote your videos on these sites religiously.
AdWords for Video: A Quick and Easy Way to Get Started
Now that you have your video, it's time to show it to the world. Fortunately, marketers have a simple and affordable option to gauge the quantifiable business value of video marketing in Google AdWords. Google AdWords for video lets you set your own budget and easily measure your ad's performance on YouTube. Better yet, Adwords for video employs demographic targeting so you can choose what kinds of customers see your ad.
See? That's not so bad, is it?
Actually, if your brand has experimented with video marketing, we'd love to hear from you. What techniques or strategies did we neglect to mention? Is video marketing becoming more important at your firm? How do you measure your video marketing ROI?
Video marketing, of course, is just one lead generation channel. To get the whole picture, download our Lead Generation eBook.
