The rise of video

Within the past year we’ve seen Facebook introduce video ads, Twitter launch video autoplay, and the rise live streaming video through Periscope. Unsurprisingly, these opportunities for video have been met with a rise in marketing spend on video. Most importantly, video isn’t simply trendy, it delivers measurable results for businesses. 

In 2016, video is a must-have marketing tactic for thousands of companies in Canada, big and small. The same is happening south of us where 96% of B2B companies plan to leverage video in their marketing efforts in 2016 for building brand awareness, generating leads and attracting online engagement, according to a US-based study by the Web Video Marketing Council.  

How can you ensure your video will garner great results? Don’t just jump right into production. Start with your marketing strategy, be focused and specific, and finish with measurement. Here’s how:

Review your marketing strategy

Spend time reviewing your company’s core competencies, market differentiators, key messages and competitive advantages. Ensure the message of the video clearly communicates the value you offer customers.

Define your intended audience

Different people need different things. Before you write your script, define who you are talking to in the video and think about what aspects of your product are most important to them. This can be done quickly and will result in a clear, effective message. Remember, the tone of writing, messaging, and positioning of your product should be different for each target audience, so avoid trying to develop a video with a general message for all potential customers—the results won’t be nearly as good because the video is unlikely to work well for anyone.

Be specific

After watching the video you want potential buyers to know how your solution will solve their problem. Specifying the way(s) your solution will address their needs will increase conversions. If you have more than one product, either select the one that has the largest benefit to customers or make multiple videos because jamming too many messages into a video will complicate and confuse people. If possible test the script with customers and potential buyers before you make the video.

Set goals and measure success

Don’t forget to establish the overall goals and specific success metrics for the campaign, such as ROI, leads and conversion goals. Understanding video performance will help you produce more successful video campaigns in future.

Video facts and figures

(via HighQ) 

• 65% of video viewers watch more than ¾ of the video

• 80%+ of senior executives watch more online video now than they did a year ago

• 59% of senior executives would chose video over text if both were available to them on the same page

• 81% of people feature video on their corporate website

• 19%: The increase in open rates when video is in the email subject line

• 2 mins+: The increase in dwell time on a website with video