Marketing
Marketing
Each year, we read new stats about the effectiveness of videos for marketing purposes. But it seems like most brands stick to what they already know and use. There are so many useful ways to turn videos into super-effective brand awareness tools, it would be a shame not to try out something new.
We’ve compiled some excellent ways to turn videos into amazing brand awareness tools for your business. Let’s get started.
Much has been said about the effectiveness of social proof in marketing. In fact, a whopping 87% of all shoppers go online to research your brand and product before committing to buy from you.
Depending on what you sell, they will look at video reviews, customer testimonials, case studies, articles, and more. There is one thing in common with all of these: they are usually not very authentic and it’s extremely easy to fake them. In fact, you’ve probably read at least a few fake reviews yourself. According to research, 74% of all consumers have read a fake review in the last year.
However, video testimonials and reviews are much harder to fake. In return, they also take more work to execute properly, but they have incredible value.
To fully use the power of video, ask some of your best customers to stand in front of a camera, and record a video of themselves talking about your product or service. The more natural they sound – the better. That means no fancy production, no expensive cameras or editing, just a phone, and a customer talking about how you solved their pain point. You can use these video testimonials as a part of your home page, product or landing pages or literally anything that comes to mind.
In terms of pure return on investment, they are one of the most effective forms of video marketing materials.
Depending on what you sell, it can sometimes be really complex to explain to a customer what it really is. Maybe they know what proposal software is, but what is the value in it for them? Instead of taking them on lengthy product tours, you can create a short explainer video to convey the same idea in a fraction of the time.
While explainer videos have seen lots of use in SaaS as of late, they can be used for a variety of business applications. Even if you sell something as commonly known as lawn care, you can use the explainer video to differentiate yourself from your competition.
Tell a story of what you believe in, what makes you stand out, and what you do differently. Most of all, tell people why they should care. As Simon Sinek says, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Since a short explainer video is much more engaging and easier to consume than a full page of text, this is a great way to get your potential customers “hooked”.
This Intercom explainer video amassed over 400k views
Unlike the previous entry, this is one that you should not do on your own unless you have previous video filming/editing experience. To create a great explainer video, you need a script, an animator, someone to do the voiceover, someone who knows how to use video editing tools, and someone to put it all together. In other words, hire a pro and it will be money well spent.
Let’s face the facts: no one really likes ads. However, when they’re the right length and placed accordingly, they can actually be fun and engaging. One of the best ways to benefit from videos as paid ads are to use them as pre-rolls to a related video a potential customer is watching.
Pre-rolls are incredibly beneficial for branding for several reasons.
For starters, they are short and to the point, and usually no longer than 15 seconds. The chances of the viewer losing interest are small because, after all, they want to watch the real video they came for, which follows after the pre-roll. Additionally, YouTube and similar platforms allow super sophisticated retargeting, so you can rest assured that exactly the right people are watching your videos.
Think of pre-roll videos as a short version of your explainer. You have to tell what you do and what makes you different in as little as 15 seconds. While incredibly challenging, this is a great brand-building exercise because it makes you focus on the core values that matter for your company and brand.
Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of a company you admire? You’re not the only one. Chances are, your customers want to know who answers their social media posts, who develop the products they use and love, and how it all works out in an average day at your company.
You can shoot a video of what you do at the office and make a nice montage of the best moments to share with your audience. With the coronavirus pandemic making us all work remotely, you can still shoot some behind-the-scenes videos. Just grab some footage from each of your employees, patch it together and you have some superb content in record time.
If you want to build a brand, this is an excellent way to show your company values and culture and prove to your customers that real people are solving their problems every day. Think of it as an excellent way to show your “why” and look human in front of your customers.
Video can be an incredibly powerful tool if it’s used in the right way. Besides just making sales, videos can be used to tell stories that shaped your brand. Moreover, they can be used to transmit the values you believe in and the way you want to be perceived by your customers. The ideas in this article are not only simple and easy to use but you will also have a lot of fun along the way as you work on them.
Petra Odak
Petra Odak is a Chief Marketing Officer at Better Proposals, simple yet incredibly powerful proposal software tool that helps you send high-converting, web-based business proposals in minutes. She’s a solution-oriented marketing enthusiast with more than 5 years of experience in various fields of marketing and project management.