The Importance of Marketing Videos

Image Source: FreeImages‍ Video is the fastest-growing and most dynamic social media trend of 2018. It’s also the perfect opportunity for marketers, who can use video to boost their brand's visibility with users who are more inclined to watch videos on social media than read text posts. Whether you’re a B2B company or an ecommerce business, video works for all kinds of businesses. Video marketing is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to instantly engage audiences, as well as its potential to go viral. Whether it be on Facebook, Instagram or another platform, there are a variety of ways in which you can use video marketing to boost your brand and drive sales. In this blog post, we’ll cover some of the proven benefits of using video marketing (with examples from real companies doing it well), how and where you should post videos for optimal exposure, and tips for producing great video content. Video Marketing Is Becoming Incredibly Popular Video marketing has been around for decades, but it’s only recently that it’s become incredibly popular. It’s no surprise that brands are turning to video to promote themselves on social media, particularly Facebook, where users watch more than 100 million hours of video per day on average. According to a survey by Wistia, video is shared six times more often than other types of content, and 90% of marketers say that video marketing has had a positive impact on their business. On top of this, a report from Visible Measures found that the average internet user watches as much as 87 videos per week. Perhaps most importantly, video marketing also has a high return on investment. Produce Great Content As with any form of content marketing, it’s important that the video you produce is high quality. In order to engage your audience and build trust, your video must be professionally shot and edited. This applies to B2B and B2C companies alike – while B2C companies might show their products in action and offer solutions to common problems, B2B companies should focus on their core value proposition and how they can benefit their target audience. Now that you know some of the benefits of using video marketing, let’s talk about where you should post your video for optimal exposure. First, we’ll take a look at Facebook, where video is king and where many brands are hosting weekly video content. Show Consumers Behind-the-Scenes Footage Behind-the-scenes footage can be incredibly effective during an advertisement or product launch. For example, let’s say your brand has developed a new product. Instead of simply telling the world about it, why not show viewers how it was developed? Getting this kind of behind-the-scenes look at your brand can greatly increase trust and make your customers more likely to purchase your products. For example, let’s take a look at the launch of the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo wanted to introduce their product correctly, so they gave their customers a behind-the-scenes look at the product launch. In the video, viewers can watch as Mario walks the red carpet and gets interviewed by a reporter. B2B Companies Can Use Videos to Educate Customers While B2B companies can certainly create brand awareness videos, they also have the opportunity to create educational videos that educate customers about their products or services. By creating educational videos, B2B companies can greatly increase their value to customers. For example, if your business sells products for construction companies, you could create a video that educates customers about the materials used in your products. Let’s look at The Home Depot, one of the world’s biggest home improvement stores. The Home Depot created a video series that talks about the best practices when building a deck. They also offer tips and tricks for building a deck and even recommend specific tools that can make the process easier. B2C Companies Can Use Videos to Create Brand Awareness If your company is in the B2C field, there are a number of ways that you can use video to create brand awareness. For example, you could create a product overview video that shows customers exactly what they would get if they purchased one of your products. Alternatively, you could produce an “explainer video” that explains your product or service and how it benefits customers. Let’s take a look at how Gillette, a major shaving company, created an explainer video that increased brand awareness. In the video, Gillette explains how important the flexibility and comfort of their razors are. They even go as far as to compare the razors to a car, highlighting the different features of each and how they can benefit the customer. Showcasing Product Features and Benefits As previously mentioned, B2B companies can also use video to showcase the features and benefits of their products. This is particularly effective when targeting an audience that is familiar with your industry. For example, let’s say you’re in the construction business and you sell concrete mixers. In your video, you could explain the different features of your concrete mixers, such as a sturdy design and large capacity. Let’s take a look at GROB, a company that specializes in concrete mixers. In their product video, they explain the various features of their concrete mixers and how these features can benefit the customer. For example, they explain that their concrete mixers have a tilting structure that allows easy unloading (something customers would likely be very interested in). Bottom line There are a variety of ways in which you can use video marketing to boost your brand and drive sales. Video marketing is incredibly effective, and it’s becoming increasingly popular. In order to succeed with video marketing, you must produce high-quality videos and clearly outline your product or service benefits.