Video Marketing Strategy in 2021: Your Complete Guide

We all know Apple as a smart brand with innovative technology and a simple approach. 

Right from the very beginning of the Apple era, they mastered the art of creating a lot of buzz for their innovations. Their advertisements are still taken as an example in 2020 for copywriting and other marketing guides. 

One such buzz created by Apple back in 1984 during the Super Bowl season is through an ad commercial when the new Macintosh computer was launched.

“On January 24th Apple Computer will introduce the Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984”. 

This was Apple’s first video commercial that was aired almost 4 decades ago.

This video commercial is talked about even today because instead of textually announcing that their Macintosh would be launched, they spun a story and created curiosity effortlessly.  

The video commercial won a lot of awards and was able to reach a wider audience of 90M people  and sold $3.5 million worth of Macintosh computers just after the advertisement ran, which would not have been possible if it was not a video.

Video has been a common language that everyone can understand. And with the increase in the consumption of video content, it’s something that brands cannot miss out on.

The effectiveness of video marketing has recently been going off the charts. If you are a business owner or a content creator trying to promote your brand and if you haven’t been using a video strategy yet, you are missing out on something.

Right from the video commercials to the keynote speeches, if Apple was able to scale from Macintosh to Mac with video marketing as one of its key marketing strategies, why can’t you?

But, before we jump into some video marketing strategies, let’s first understand what it means.

So, what is video marketing? 

Video marketing is a strategy that helps marketers to leverage videos to spread awareness, increase engagement, and drive sales by promoting them on multiple channels.

It can be a video commercial, or a post on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook & other social media platforms, or a live-stream to different platforms.

Today, tomorrow, or whenever, if you are looking for engagement in your content, video content is one of the most effective ways to go. 

While there are so many other marketing methods, why should you choose video marketing?

Video Marketing is one of the most beneficial ways you can grab and retain attention. Here are some reasons why it slightly has an edge over other mediums:

Personal touch - According to many marketers, reaching the audience with a video message performs way better than any other marketing effort. Video as a content format has the power to bridge and connect you with the audience on a personal level.

Source : Hubspot

Highest retention - When you create videos that are loved by your audience, there’s a higher chance for them to stay and watch the video till the end. In the same way, reports suggest that a good video promotion has the potential for the audience to retain the information even after they have watched it, thus leading to more conversions.

Increased CTR & Open rates - According to a study from Depositphotos, email subjects with the term ‘Video’ have 19% higher open rates compared to the normal email subject lines. By using a video in the email content, you can see a whopping 65% boost in click-through rates as well.

Easier to convey the message - The whole internet is filled with all the answers, information to every query you look out for but in the form of a text transcript which might sometimes be difficult for a person to understand. Whereas, a simple video can do the same task in a much simpler way.

Here’s why -

• Video is an attention grabber - Our eyes are attracted to moments. Naturally, when we come across any form of video content, we tend to pick up more attention while compared to a static post. This holds true with the Apple commercial we discussed in the beginning that was aired during the super bowl. It managed to grab the attention of the crowd effortlessly.
• Videos are engaging - The chances for video content to get more shares & likes is 1200% higher compared to other static images combined together.
• Videos drive traffic to your website - Landing pages with videos drive 157% more traffic compared to the ones without any video content.
• Videos help in brand recall -   A single minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. Therefore, videos provide you so much information that makes it easier to memorize than text within an image. 

The apple video commercial of 1984 is still talked about today - the concept, visuals, and the story. That’s the kind of lasting impact a video can create.

Different types of videos that you can use for your video marketing strategy

As we all know now, video is an attention grabber when compared to any other mediums of advertising or promoting. Each type of video has its own purpose and different sets of audiences. 

So, depending on your goals and your target audience, you can create one or more if the following types of videos:

1. Explainer Video - As the name suggests, Explainer Videos are short, to-the-point marketing videos demonstrating or explaining the product or service provided. These are perfect for landing pages & websites where your customers can find it helpful.
2. Product overview video - The product overview video is a very useful marketing material that will help your audience by making them understand why it’s worth purchasing the product, it’s top features, benefits, and more.
3. Company Culture Video - Every company needs an image & branding. In the same way, a company overview will be in the form of culture videos, BTS video snippets, a sneak peek into events and meeting rooms, and more will help you amp up your employer branding.
4. Customer testimonial - A video showcasing the client’s experience with your brand & product is called a customer testimonial. This type of testimonial helps in building the brand image, brand trust, credibility, and helps to convey the message to your target audience efficiently.
5. Biography or Documentary video - A short glimpse of how everything began or the history of your company can help the audience emotionally connect with the hurdles you overcame, how you solved them, where you are headed etc. 
6. Video montage - A series of images (moving or still) and clips of videos that are edited with transition effects & some background and put together as a single video is called a video montage. This will be ideal for creating product or event teaser videos.
7. Corporate video - A purely non-commercial video targeting a small set of audience. Examples of corporate videos can be a small presentation of their company looking out for investments, or showcase the new initiatives within the company, etc. 
8. Vlog - Vlog or video blog refers to a type of blog where the content is purely made in video format. Holding up a camera, pointing against a subject or yourself, and narrating it is called a vlog post. This is one of the most engaging forms of video & the most popular among the YouTubers.
9. Live streaming - Engaging with your audience or customers live on the internet helps with regular engagement & an opportunity to connect with your audience in real time.
10. Product Demos - An overview of the product in the form of a video showcasing its features, tips & tricks, FAQs, & more. Product demos are very popular and in fact, 54% of consumers want to see an overview of the product from the business they support.
11. Tutorials & How to - Tutorial video is a go-to instructional video giving an overview of the steps needed to complete a task.

Now that we have seen the different types of Video Marketing, let’s discuss the different platforms to promote your videos - 

The best platforms to promote your videos 

Video Marketing doesn’t end at producing different types of videos. The success of it depends on creating the right content and promoting it on the right platforms where the ideal audience of your videos are present. 

For example, posting a prank video on LinkedIn or a job post on Instagram is never gonna work out. Every platform has its own set of audience where you can promote specific content that is suitable on a particular platform.

In fact,  a report from Cisco mentions that by the end of 2020, 75% of the global traffic will be driven from mobile video traffic sources from different platforms. So, Video marketing is inevitably going to be the best medium for promotions. Now, let’s see the top 5 video marketing platforms where you can promote your video content - 

1. YouTube - When you think of online videos, the only thing that comes to mind is YouTube. With over 500 hours of video upload every minute, YouTube is inevitably the best place to promote your videos. 
2. Facebook - Over 500 million daily Facebook users are consuming over 100 million hours of video content everyday. Therefore, Facebook is the right place for engagement. This social media platform has the most active engagement users thereby if you want to get something viral, this is the place. 
3. Instagram - We all know Instagram is an influencers’ playground. With the recent TikTok ban in many countries, many have shifted to Instagram reels which is the closest alternative to the banned app right now. Not to forget IGTV & Stories which have good engagement rates. The swipe up feature on Instagram Stories also lets you drive Instagram traffic to your website.    
4. Snapchat - This app is one of the most popular apps across the world and with over 191 million daily active users, Snapchat has been one of the untapped platforms for businesses.
5. Daily Motion - This is the second-largest video sharing website in the world right behind YouTube. Daily Motion has a unique set of audience in a specific set of countries. So, if you need a niche country targeted promotion, then Daily Motion is the way. 

The list doesn’t end here. There are a lot more other platforms such as Vimeo, Twitch, periscope, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other live streaming platforms that can be utilized for your video marketing efforts. 

What makes a perfect video campaign? 

For a beginner who is just getting started with video marketing, there are certain ways to measure the success of your video. 

Certain metrics like video watch time, shares, comments, likes, link clicks, and more help in weighing the success of your video marketing efforts.

The two biggest metrics would be:

• Whether or not the video went viral.
• And the second is how many conversions the video brings in. 

But to achieve this,  there should be a solid plan & structure. This will ensure that targets & goals are achieved. Below are some best practices that can be followed to create engaging, converting, compelling & actionable videos. 

Let the video be story-focused, not sales focused.

The internet is filled with lots of promotional videos on the internet. Some are too salesy, some are annoying. Try to convey the message in a form of a story and do not emphasize on selling.

Prove your audience the power of your product/tool/service and showcase the main solution for the problem your audience is looking for. That’s the key to success. 

Empathize with the audience, address their pain points, and make the video more relatable.  

Encyclopedia’s advert is one such which doesn’t push you to sell but towards the end has a brilliant story :

The shorter the video, the better it works

If you have ever uploaded a video on YouTube, you can always see the retention rate always drops drastically as the video goes. So, the key to a successful video campaign is to keep it short and simple.

Some presume that short commercials do not provide value, but it’s not true. Just because the video is short, it doesn’t mean that it cannot convey the value. Finding out the one selling point will get the real value.

Here’s a Pepsi ad that makes a strong point of being better than the rival with this 30-second video ad:

Be unique & use humor

Everyone has their own problem and are not always happy or smiling. What if your advert or video puts a smile on your audiences’ face? 

A change is always good, but when it changes you emotionally, it stays in your head for a long time.

Many brands have started adopting a humorous advert approach and once such advert is this

Optimize for SEO

Irrespective of how we make the video, we should not forget the most important thing i.e. the Search Engine Optimization. Video SEO is pretty simple & straight forward where we have to follow basic checklists like attractive titles & thumbnails which itself is a deciding factor for many users whether to watch the video or not.

Similarly, a tidy description with all the required information, timestamps for different chapters in your video, etc will always be an SEO signal for google. If you own a website with a similar topic, embedding the video adds more value & drives more social traffic to your video.

Educate your audience

We all have learned something from YouTube. Be it a complex topic like astrophysics or  home organization - it has it all!

According to Inc, 65% of the video consuming internet users are visual learners.Educational or how-to videos are one of the most powerful video formats that almost every Big 4 company uses.

Not only is it simple to produce but also acts as social proof  a psychological factor where everyone likes to follow the action of the masses. 

Conclusion

The Apples of the world have been utilizing the power videos to elevate their reach. 

Be it a brand or company, everyone needs a Video marketing strategy. Even a person who sells their services on Fiverr as a gig has their own video to make it more appealing.  The necessity for Video Marketing has skyrocketed whereas traditional marketing plunged down the line especially due to the high consumption of video media over any other form of media.

But many think making videos isn’t a simple or accessible task. It is believed that making a video takes lots of time and effort to produce right from reaching out to agencies to getting the resources to manage the whole process. 

But ever since Video content has become mainstream cross-content around all the platforms, it has become accessible to everyone with online video making tools such as Animaker that literally doesn’t need any experience to use. 

So, why are you waiting? Explore Video marketing and start creating videos that increase your engagements, driving traffic to your website & increase your sales!