Photo of hands focusing on video marketing concept
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People often say that video content is taking over, but the truth is that it already has. Users want to see videos more than any other type of content, and video is projected to take up more than 80 percent of internet traffic this year alone.
Content marketers need to be on top of video trends if they hope to stay competitive. The industry has begun to take notice of the full power of video, but the platform of video continues to change and evolve. It’s not enough any longer just to use video to market your product; you need to be using video the right way to speak to the right people.
If you’re a marketer, you’re probably already using video to some extent — but are you on the cutting edge of the medium? The landscape is changing, and your strategies should shift along with it. Here’s how:
1. Simple Tools
While it may be your first instinct to produce your video content using expensive, professional-grade tools, that kind of financial commitment just isn’t as necessary as it used to be. Some basic sound equipment and a new iPhone can produce video that’s nearly indistinguishable from professional setups.
When it comes to the full process of video creation, affordable tools are more readily available than ever. Platforms like Powtoon offer a full stack of features that work for corporations — Powtoon is used by 96 percent of Fortune 500 companies — as well as smaller players. Find the platform that works for your business model before giving it a go. The right tool can help level the playing field between you and your larger competitors.
2. Performance Video
With the internet fully asserting its position as the most popular platform for watching video, marketers need to be willing to embrace the web’s potential for interactivity and personalization. Performance video is video that can dynamically change based on who’s watching it. Sounds impossible? It’s proving to be one of the most valuable video marketing strategies in use today.
Performance video can be informed by user data and subsequently alter its message or format in order to appeal directly to anyone watching. Everything from length to content to color palette can affect user engagement, so performance video has become a necessary tool in maximizing follow-throughs. Every marketer’s dream is the ability to alter a pitch based on the individual hearing it, and performance video is about as close as it gets right now.
3. Storytelling
Storytelling isn’t exactly the bleeding edge of marketing, but it remains a woefully neglected part of video advertising. What are you more likely to respond to: an emotionless pitch for something or a compelling narrative that also shows the value of a product? Pathos is just about the oldest trick in the book for appealing to people, so incorporating it in your video content is a no-brainer.
While any story at all is likely to catch viewers’ attention, it helps to have something that fundamentally makes sense for your brand. Use storytelling to highlight the usefulness of your product or showcase how it can improve the lives of those who buy it — customers will respond. The same principles that continue to draw audiences to movie theaters can draw new clients to your brand.
4. SEO Focus
Videos don’t directly turn into sales — people don’t watch videos, only to end the viewing already owning your product. Videos are simply part of the larger process of pitching and acquisition, albeit an increasingly powerful one. By thinking about videos as part of a larger network of sales tools, it becomes easier to see how they can be useful for boosting other goals like SEO. Content has long been a critical part of SEO, and video is no exception.
If your videos contain strong branding and memorable catchphrases, how do you think viewers will respond? They’ll start to search for those phrases and inevitably click on your product or website. By pairing your video content with your SEO strategy, you can make a compelling case to prospective customers while boosting your search ranking in the process.
Marketers need to always be at the forefront of effective trends. If you want to be the one to stand out in the crowded advertising landscape, your content needs to be compelling as well as innovative. Using video may be trendy, but using it the right way is profitable.