Using Video Content Marketing in Your Strategy

CopyPress

April 4, 2017 (Updated: March 2, 2020)

In 2017, video content will represent 74 percent of all internet traffic, a percentage that’s expected to grow to 80 percent by 2019. This figure is particularly important to marketers and small business owners. If you don’t think video content marketing is right for you or if you think your budget is too small to create video content, then you could be isolating close to 80 percent of your audience. Can you afford to run your business with only 20 percent of your normal customers? We didn’t think so.

Fortunately, creating video content marketing is not as hard as it seems. Discover a few ways you can include video content in your marketing strategy to start communicating with your audience through spoken word and visuals.

Create Affordable Video Content

Image via Flickr by jsawkins

With video content marketing, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on high-end camera equipment and create mini-movies that would make Steven Spielberg proud. In most cases, you already have the tools you need in the form of your smartphone and computer.

A video from Howl-O-Scream in Tampa, Florida, is an example of free and easy video content. The clip is obviously shot on a smartphone and runs for 10 seconds. This simple promotion features a production cast member who might have already been dressed up for rehearsal. Despite the production quality of the content, the video has close to 3,000 views and was much more effective than a simple text post, photo, or link to buy tickets.

Often, filming isn’t the aspect people worry about; it’s the editing that trips them up. However, editing can also be done in-house with a little practice. Windows Movie Maker and iMovie are free video editing tools that allow you to adjust your content, add images, overlay music, and insert text. You can easily learn how to use them by capturing some footage around your office and working with the software until you’re familiar with the editing process.

Know Your Video Options

While video content can be created inexpensively, not all companies want nonprofessional footage or edited smartphone videos. You’ll have times when you want something more professional for your company. Therefore, you should know what types of video options you can choose from when creating your videos.

Animated Video

Animated video has become increasingly popular for B2B companies over the past few years. This form of video content is ideal for breaking down complex ideas into simple concepts and explaining them through visualizations. For example, you might use animated videos to convey the following messages:

How does your product or service help the customer?
How does your company get results?
Why is your production process better than others?

These videos can work for a variety of industries, from community coffee shops explaining how they source their beans to tech giants highlighting their machine-learning software.

Live Video

While animated videos are ideal for conveying facts or explaining concepts, live video tends to have more of an emotional appeal. Often, video allows people to put a face to the name of the company and get to know the staff they will interact with if they use the company for its products or services. You can use live video for the following applications:

Behind-the-scenes footage of your factory, office, or store
Customer testimonials about your brand
Interviews with employees or management

Live video adds a human element to your brand and gives audiences a clear picture of who you are and what you do.

Text and Image Video

If you want to create a professional video with an emotional appeal but don’t want to do it live — or you don’t have the right equipment to get the results you want — consider combining images and written text to convey your message. When done correctly, these videos can be highly emotional or they can convey the necessary information to educate customers about your company.

Think about the American Humane Association promotional spots or adopt a tiger ads through the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). While these projects might get more advanced with video b-roll, it’s possible to create a similar video with text. Use a powerful image to capture your audience’s attention and offer information through a text overlay or by fading to a black screen.

Combine All Three

By understanding your video options, you can get creative and combine multiple media types. You might start with a few images with a text overlay and then cut to an interview with your CEO. Or you might start with a customer testimonial and then use animation to explain how you solved a problem. The more you test new ideas, the more likely you are to strike at the emotions of your audience.

Host Your Videos

Two schools of thought exist when creating video content marketing. You can create amazing content and share your videos on all of your marketing channels, or you can identify your marketing channels and create amazing content specifically for those audiences. A time and a place exists for both of these models; however, you might have occasions when you want to limit your sharing to a specific platform.

Blog Content

Video content on your blog isn’t limited by length. Marketers tend to place tutorials on their blogs or long-form interviews because they don’t have to worry about capturing an audience’s attention. The audience is already on the website and is looking forward to the content.

YouTube Sharing

YouTube is one of the most flexible video platforms. This platform is ideal for sharing content across multiple channels, especially when brands want to reach mass audiences. These videos tend to be more professional and edited than Facebook content.

Facebook

Facebook tends to be the most relaxed video platform. You can share videos from other sources, but Facebook video is typically impromptu and may be a low-budget production. Facebook Live, for example, continues to grow in popularity.

If you want to create digital content for your brand, but you worry about finding the correct resources, the CopyPress creatives are at your service. We’ll help you brainstorm options and figure out what digital marketing media works best for your goals.

Amanda Dodge

CopyPress writer