Video has significantly been one of the breakout trends in the marketing world in the last decade. In fact, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, holding steady from last year. And despite the pandemic impacting video marketing plans, the disruption appears to be reduced compared to last year as people adjust to the ‘new norm’.
According to this 2022 research conducted by Wyzowl:
- Video remains a key priority for marketers with usage and spend both, overall, increasing in 2021, and plans to increase again in the next 12 months as depicted on Illustration 1.1.
- People are watching more video online than ever before, and has doubled the amount of online video watched since 2018.
- Marketers feel more confident about the ROI offered by video as it continues to strongly influence traffic, leads, sales, and audience understanding, which may be attributed to better understanding of how to use video and quantify its impact.
- 86% of video marketers say video has been effective for generating leads, up another 2% from 2021 and up 5% since 2019 (see Illustration 1.3).
Has video marketing reached a saturation point?
By looking at these numbers, you may be left feeling that may be so. However, there still seems to be plenty of opportunities for marketers to explore video.
As illustrated below, people continue to watch more video as it suggests that the number of videos watched per week, per person, has almost doubled since 2018.
And as for where they watch it? Unsurprisingly, YouTube is the most widely-used platform among video marketers. This does not mean the lesser-used video platforms do not reap results for video marketers. By the end of the day, choosing which platform to advertise on will have to depend on what purpose the video will be used for.
Learn how much money you need to get started with YouTube ads
Why should it matter to you?
As people are spending more and more time at home–working remotely–the demand for and consumption of video has skyrocketed. That said, video as a marketing tool is ‘the’ inevitable. With nine out of ten people wanting to see more videos from brands in 2021, video is an excellent tool for online lead generation and brand awareness.
As Video is universally popular among both marketers and their audiences, it’s no surprise that it is set to continue its’ success into the future–helping businesses achieve a plethora of important goals (see Illustrations 2.1 & 2.2).
81% of marketers reporting increased sales with video marketing in 2022
By now, you should be convinced that video marketing really is the way forward–which brings us to our next point.
How do you create a video marketing strategy?
Just like you wouldn’t create a commercial and buy airtime without researching and strategizing, you shouldn’t create an ad without first doing the research and a plan.
Remember: your video marketing strategy is what guides your budget, timelines, production processes, metrics, and more. That being said, writing it down and finalizing it SHOULD be the very first step!
Let’s start with:
Goals. Goals. Goals.
You may be tempted to address every stage of your marketing funnel altogether–BUT, deciding which stage is the most important is critical.
- Awareness: this stage is usually where a challenge is defined, and your audience recognizes they have a problem. That being said, your video at this stage should be about how to attract and introduce your product/brand to a new audience.
- Consideration: at this point, your viewer is now considering how your service/product could solve the problem they’re faced with. At this stage, they are most likely conducting research, asking for recommendations, watching product reviews, and trying to find cost-effective solutions.
- Decision: this is the part where your prospect will want proof of customer satisfaction, and prove why your product or service should be chosen over your competition.
Considering the above, here’s a simple way to decide the type of video you may create. If attracting new customers is your main goal, then an awareness video may be your best bet. If you’re addressing customers who are close to closing the sale, then you will want to create a video that addresses exactly that.
Simply put: setting your goals and identifying the funnel stage you want to focus on will help you create an effective call to action to your content.
Setting your target audience
Here’s the thing: if you create a video without a specific audience in mind, it’s much more likely to be a failure–because…well, those who are meant to watch it won’t, and those who do watch it WILL NOT CONVERT.
So, how do you identify your target audience? By creating a buyer persona.
By mapping a buyer persona, you’ll know exactly who you want your video to reach to buy your product/service. To do this, you can start by establishing:
- Who your product or service is for;
- What video is going to be used for; and
- Where your target audience hangs out (this will inform how you distribute your video).
Another sure-fire way for your ad to reach the ‘right’ people is by targeting who have already shown a particular interest in topics linked to your business. You may also consider targeting people who actively search for products and services like yours.
By the end of this exercise, not only will you know who your target audience is–you’ll also know exactly how you can reach them.
Where to post?
Every known social media platform has its own unique form of video. Because Facebook has been around much longer than others, it offers various types of videos unlike newer ones like Snapchat and TikTok—which heavily relies on one format.
If you’ve never used video on any platform, begin with the ones where you already have audiences established. According to Statista and data collected in February 2019, audiences on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat spend around half of their time on the network watching videos. Choosing any of these three to begin your video marketing would be a good first step.
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