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For the longest time, video marketing was something that was only associated with the big companies and brands with a huge budget. But the times have changed and right now even the startups and entrepreneurs are starting to understand the reach of a video content and leveraging all the benefits that come with it. You can ask any digital marketer and the answer would be unanimous: video marketing is more than a passing trend. It is here to stay and for good reasons.

Some of the prime reasons why video marketing has gained such a massive popularity are because it does the threefold job of building a brand, generating leads, and gaining sales online. A survey of over 570 digital marketers done by Wyzowl stated that video is an essential part of the marketing strategy for 85% businesses and among the people 99% plan to continue using this strategy this year and the next. Also, YouTube released a recent stats mentioning that people spend over a billion hours on watching videos every single day. So, are you planning to join the bandwagon and set up a video marketing strategy? If yes, then take a look at this step by step guide to help you set up a strategy that actually works.

Step 1: Choosing Your Audience Right

Take a good stock at the people that you want to reach out to. How are you benefitting them? What do they look for online? What time they come online and how much time do they spend? This is the cornerstone of your video marketing strategy as it decides whom you will target and how you will communicate your brand’s message. If you are not sure about the audience, begin by profiling the target audience according to your ideal customer. Make sure that this target audience that you are selecting has an actual need of your product and you meet that need in a rather unique way.

Stemming from the earlier point of uniqueness, it is also time to take a good look at your competition. What makes them gain that loyal following and what makes you different when you are aiming for that same pool of followers? It’s time to do a thorough research: Google the facts, read the blogs present about your verticals, send out surveys, and engage in online communication in relevant forums.

After you know your audience, you will also understand where most of their time is spent online, be it Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. That is where you need to run the video content.

Step 2: Set Up and Nail the Video Goals

Yes, videos work but that does mean you make a movie out of it! The video must be short with a direct message. Each video that you post must come with only one goal and there is no need to try to attain multiple goals through one video. You will anyway create tons of such videos and publish them every week and thus, you will get plenty of opportunities to share your clever ideas and attain all of your goals.

The first thing to consider is the purpose of your video. Videos can be used for branding, promotion of specific sales, announcement of important news, and for generating leads, and so on. Once you are sure about the purpose of your video, you can create the content accordingly to get that message through effectively.

One of the clever strategies that you can try in this regard is to break down the months into categories. Start by the branding video to show your brand effectively to every customer out there and then move on to the sales videos. The next step is videos for special promotions or particular sales. You can pique the audience interest by launching a teaser video in between.

Step 3: Develop Your Branding Language

Even in the same vertical, two companies can never be alike. So, when setting up your strategy, start by writing down what you hope the viewer to think after this video gets over. Then, whenever you sit down for creating content make sure that you go back to this question and have a proper answer for it.

In terms of answering this crucial question, it will help if you are clear about the tone and the style of the company’s message. A good example of this is given by Mail Chimp. Every video that they create has a fun element to it but at the same time, they do not forget to add value. This is exactly what the customers remember and expect from the brand. Thus, there will be a continued element of fun and value in the video content that they create.

Take a look at the frontrunners in the market at present, including those outside your vertical. All of them have a language which makes them one of a kind. For some brand it is humanitarian, some are sporty, some others are fun and quirky, and so on. Thus, it is important to sit back and consider the branding language first.

Step 4: Go Ahead and Create That Content

All of the earlier steps have brought you up to this step where the preparation is done and you can finally go ahead and create your video content. In this step, your focus lies on creating the clearest possible content with the highest quality.

Besides the audience, you will also have to consider the platform where you will publish the video. Different platforms offer you different limitations and advantages of publishing a video. Consider the appearance and the feel of the video that you are about to publish. You need to ensure that it relates to the audience and to the message that you want to deliver.

In terms of videos, there is no particular thing that can be pinpointed as ‘it works.’ Different strategies work for different brands. You can always create a video that has only video without any sound if that is powerful enough to capture the attention of the audience. An animated video can work the best for a brand that is peppy and playful. The key lies in making sure that you capture the attention the audience in the first three seconds so that, they feel like they want to see and thus, know more about your brand.

Step 5: Write an Eye-Catching Caption for the Video

When watching the videos on social media, the viewer would usually read the text first in the video and then immediately go towards the caption. Sometimes they move towards the caption even before that video is complete. The caption that goes with a video on social media can actually make the difference between a viewer checking it out or scrolling down to other videos.Facebook recommends putting up a descriptive title for the video to make it searchable easily.

You will take some time but you will need to make a committed effort to master the art of giving a strong caption. The captions must come with a clear pitch and you can even put in some emojis if you feel that is appropriate for your brand. Give a strong call to action in the video and make sure that it initiates enough attention to motivate the audience to comment and share with their friends.

You can give the caption as a simple question or a statement but make sure whatever caption you give is authentic and not plagiarized from anywhere else. The netizens of today are savvy enough to smell plagiarism from a mile afar.

Step 6: Run the Campaign for Your Brand

The recent Facebook changes might have led people to freak out but the wise marketers understand that it is high time to move away from organic content to campaigns. The present scenario is the actual proof that compared to images a video ad campaign is more likely to draw in the customers. According to Theresa Shepard, from Shepherd & Schaller Sporting Goods, the financial gain is what makes the video campaigns win over anything else. For the brand, Shepard noted that there was more than 50% rise in store visits after they started their video ad campaigns.

So, get down to it and start learning as much as you can about running the video ads. With the conversion optimizer feature, Facebook at present seems like the best place to learn the workings of these ads. The conversion optimizer feature ensures that the videos get seen by the target audience who is most likely to feel interested in the brand and thus, provide you with the sales lead that you are hoping to achieve.

Lastly, keep in mind that the truth lies in the numbers. Thus, you will have to go through the whole process of analytics and use suitable tools like Funnel Dash, needls, and Ad Espresso to help you in that job. You will need to track everything right from your sales, reach, and clicks as the final part of your strategy.

Digital marketing strategies go through multiple changes year after. In 2018, the marketing strategy has been revitalized with the latest video marketing
trends. If you ignore any of the key development areas, you are actually refusing innovation and choosing to be blocked. In 2017, 74% of the internet traffic belonged to the videos, which proves that video marketing is now crucial to dominating this highly competitive market. It is the premier digital marketing tactic for most global brands.

While newsletters, blogs, and landing pages are still prevalent, videos are more interactive and appealing to users. If a good, picture or infographic is worth a few thousand words, good video crosses millions. Consumers appreciate video marketing content more because it stems from highly engaging content spurring shares and conversations.

Video Marketing Facts in 2018

• 82% of users prefer live video over other social media posts
• Video content fetches 12 times more shares than images and text combined
• Temporary video content, such as Instagram Stories and Snapchat, have a narrower reach but greater urgency, which leads to a higher rate of engagement.

Let’s agree that we cannot think beyond Facebook and YouTube videos when it comes to video marketing. However, travel marketers also prefer Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Yes, you got that right!

Acquired by Microsoft, LinkedIn has received many changes and videos were introduced in 2017 to increase business opportunities. Therefore, if you are targeting B2B, MC&IT suppliers, or business travelers, LinkedIn is your space.

The State of Video Marketing in 2018

Content Marketing would be Increasingly Original and Personal

• Research shows that 61% of customers rely more on businesses inclined to create individualized and custom content. Hence, it is highly likely that users would choose the same company for all future purchases.
• With this trend catching up, 88% of content marketing professionals are willing to add personalization elements into the video marketing plan.

Live Videos on Social Media Network to Become More Important

• 82% of consumers agreed during a survey that they prefer live video over any other social media posts
• Viewers retain 95% of the message when they see a video, whereas they retain only 10% when they see it in text form. Hence, marketers, as well as brands, should seriously consider including more video content to their social media strategy and content strategy.

Social Media Advertising Cost to Rising due to Increasing Demand

• The number of advertisers across all social media channels is expected to increase rapidly. As a result, the cost of social media advertisements would also increase. In 2017, Facebook alone witnessed 74% growth.

Short-lived Videos to become more popular

• Temporary and short-lived video content such as Instagram stories to become more popular in 2018 and beyond. As these videos have a narrower reach but greater urgency, it offers an exceptional rate of engagement.
• Judging by the massive amount of online traffic in today’s time, user engagement is more important than its reach.

Mobile Optimization to be the Norm for Content & Video Marketing

• Users prefer to use the mobile platform for digital media engagement. It is a fact that desktops are no longer in use as much as it used to be. People prefer to have things on the go and always on-demand. As a result, 69% digital media engagement happens across mobile platforms.

More Scope for Bite-Sized Video Content

• The basis of acquiring your customers’ trust and developing long-lasting relationships is through useful, prompt, and one-touch access to all the information needed.
• Square video format shall dominate over the horizontal video format.
• Square videos are likely to achieve 30% to 35% more reach, which is likely to touch 50% in the following years.
• Square videos offer 80% engagement rate, which is predictably going to increase slightly in 2018.
• Captioning and letter boxing would remain the best way to turn video square.

Facebook Video Marketing Trends in 2018

• Businesses to use Facebook Creator App as the one-stop-shop for all kinds of help.
• The app allows users to create original videos, go live with exclusive features, and connect with their Facebook community
• It would also trigger entrepreneurs and brands to do live broadcasts and share more and more stories.
• Community management tools and personalization features add valuable bonuses used for managing community and creating better video content.

YouTube Video Marketing

• YouTube TV to offer a big opportunity for advertisers having an improved reach. The new TV app enables live TV streaming on Android TV devices.
• YouTube mobile sharing option would force marketers to create more engaging content. Viewers would be able to share videos with family and friends directly on YouTube.
• Not only can they share videos but also chat about them, reply with a new video, invite other users to the conversation, and much more.
• Businesses to collaborate with creators to boost brand value.
• Vertical video ads to be popular on full-screen without those hideous black bars.
• Digital companies to start their own dedicated Vlogging-style YouTube channel.

While Facebook and YouTube would remain the key video marketing channels, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn are developing rapidly.