Video marketing in the past has been seen as a luxury form of advertising that only the big brands with big budgets can afford, but in 2016, with mobile at the forefront and unlimited data; that mode of thinking is dead. Accounting for a staggering 50% of mobile web traffic, people have become obsessed with videos of all shapes and sizes, from cats, to memes or 6 seconds of hilarity to 3 hour long podcasts – everyone is drawn to video. In terms of drawing in and holding onto consumer attention – video marketing is the leader, and yet, it’s staggering how little businesses are honing in on this and utilising it to its full potential.
In 2016, we tend to lose focus. We want value, authenticity and quality content. Gimmicks, large amounts of text and hoopla are thrown out as quickly as Myspace fell off the face of the universe. We don’t have time for it and it doesn’t appeal to us. Videos make memorable impressions, and impressions that are memorable tend to stick around.
Food for thought: Think of video advertising like going to the movies or reading a book. Sure, a book can be in depth, paint a picture in your mind and be a great way to take up a bunch of your time, but if that same book was showing at the movies or streamable from your computer – which one would you choose? One takes tens of hours to finish, the other takes 2 and ultimately, the information we consume is the same. Time is the most valuable and precious commodity out there.
Forbes Fun Fact: 59% of executives would rather watch video than read text.
Why use Video Marketing?
- Increases trust in your brand
- A welcome change for your audience
- Builds a pure, organic relationship with your audience
- Using “video” in the subject line increases open rates by 19%
- Increase time spent on your website by 2 minutes in comparison to sites without video content
- Increases search ranking by 53 times! (Forrester)
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Video is persuasive:
The human brain requires a distinct emotional input to make decisions and it’s clear that there’s not technology out there better than video at conveying emotion. Video’s tap into the human brain’s visual and auditory systems which go hand in hand in influencing someone’s choices and actions. Every cue we see – whether it be body language, tone, music, imagery or facial expression – is relayed to our brain.
Video improves email marketing campaigns:
Despite every year being declared dead – email marketing continues to stand the test of time in being one of the most effective marketing techniques available. Adding video to these campaigns can double the effectiveness, as video increases email click through rates by 200-300%, which leads to your campaign getting the highest return on investment possible.
Stat Attack: Studies show that over 80% of people say they are more likely to buy a product after watching a video about it.
“When it comes to creating content online, it’s often better to think about how you can maintain relationships, not just try to sell to people.” (Oliver Neely)
As a bigger and better brother to regular video advertising, in 2016 the use of live video is the beginning of web 3.0. A number of different platforms have come to fruition in the form of Periscope, YouTube live streaming, Meerkat, ZapStream and most importantly, Facebook Live. Live video’s take video advertising to the next level, with live engagement, feedback and an instant human to human interaction that can only be mirrored if you were to stand in your audience’s home, office or their train to work and spoke face to face. These live platforms have helped tech savvy businesses that have implemented this type of marketing in a substantial way.
Periscope, for example, is all about the people. From live engagement and feedback, the community itself is the way Periscope can be leveraged for business and in particular, through Twitter its usage has boosted significantly. It will take time, and over time the community you build will be as loyal as your best friend. Offer value, develop relationships, inform and then, when you begin to sell or promote something – it will be well received. Get in quick, this is an incredible way to stand out from the crowd before all marketers start using the platform. As far as human to human interaction and connection goes – there is no comparison online.
Things to remember: Video on mobile takes up the entire screen, so you’re guaranteed to have the viewer’s full attention!
How to get started
Facebook live
To start live streaming, just
- Hit update status
- Tap on the Live Video icon, which looks like a man with a halo.
- Users can add a description of what’s about to happen as well as select the audience to which they want to share before hitting the ‘Go live’ button.
Youtube Live streaming
To get started,
- Setup a live streaming YouTube account,
- Have it verified using a phone a number, and keep it in good standing.
- Once an account is setup, the user will be provided with a link that can be used to publicly host streams.
Periscope
After creating an account,
- using your Twitter account or your mobile phone number,
- users can start a live broadcasting immediately.
- For iOS users, open the Broadcast Tab by tapping the Camera icon at the bottom center of the app.
- For Android users, tap the red Camera icon
Meerkat
After downloading the app,
- create an account by using your mobile phone number.
- You will then have a choice to connect your Facebook and/or Twitter account which makes it easier to connect with people you know or follow you.
- Whenever a user broadcasts, a link will be posted on Twitter.
- The Meerkat home screen has two buttons: Schedule and Stream.
- Above the buttons is a blank box where users can add a description of what’s happening.
Zapstream
- After downloading the app,
- create an account by either using your Facebook or Twitter account or enter your mobile phone number.
- just tap the Zap icon to start streaming. Swipe right or left to access editing features that can stretch or squish the broadcast image, along with image filters and a tool to change the pitch of one’s voice.
Watch out for more platforms to come as they become more popular!
My pick of the platforms and how to get started
Periscope
The live video platform developed by twitter, where guests relevant to your target market or influencers of your market can sit down and embark on a live periscope chat that is relayed to your social media audience.
Leverage Periscope to create a number of different pieces of content, come up with one or two blog topics for the week, write down bullet points and any research that you might want to reference – then get on Periscope and speak your blog content to your audience! AS simple as that.
This method kills two birds with one stone, as when you send your video for transcription, you are automatically creating countless amounts of blog content. By producing video content, certain portions of what you say and share to the public are “shareable moments,” these small moments are then ideal items for visual content, graphics or even Facebook posts. There’s countless ways you can create multiple pieces of content from producing it on Periscope.
Use the feedback people give you on Periscope comments and then you’ll be able to cover the missing links in the blog posts you end up publishing.
The Social proof = Hearts flowing down the side of your scope.
Periscope is Twitter, and it’s crucial you have just as strong a following on Twitter to make your scoping successful. In most cases, about half of your audience will watch live through periscope and the other half will end up watching via the link you post on Twitter – this can show a considerable increase in viewership.
To track your viewership and analytics – there are number of different platforms you can use. A great free tool for this is Fullscope.tv.
Guide to get started on Periscope:
- Keep your Periscopes short, sweet, and actionable
- 20 to 30 minute scopes from start to finish,
- Includes delivering content plus a Q&A at the end.
- Scope daily Monday through Friday, usually at a standard time, so loyal followers can expect when to scope
Tips and Tricks
Get The Tools For The Job
Use your smartphone, get some cheap lighting options and use a video editor to add a professional touch to your videos.
Keep your videos short
We all have a short attention span, so keep in mind that people are far more likely to click a video that’s 2 minutes long than one that’s 30. They’ll also be far more likely to watch the whole thing.
Link back to your website
It’s crucial that you have links to your website on your video, the primary goal of the video is to get your visitors to take action from it and without links, you won’t be able to. Sites like bit.ly are a great way of shortening the URL for social sites.
Make your video valuable
Whether you are looking to teach, entertain or inform, its vital that you are providing your viewers with some form of value – don’t just make promotional videos otherwise you’ll lose interest quickly.
Show your personality
Be passionate about your business, what makes you different and let the viewer get to know you.
The true beauty of live video advertising is that it’s all available from the palm of your hand. You can create, distribute and even use analytics tools all from your mobile. It’s 2016, we live in a world where accessibility is endless, people have choice, but very little time and a short attention span.
Keep your video content authentic, build relationships with your viewers, produce content that you would like to watch yourself, show your personality and most importantly be true to your business.
So get started today and play around with Facebook Live, Periscope and the other platforms before the next marketing craze takes over!
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