Marketers have been using videos for their campaigns for a long time but embedded them on their websites. That trend is changing rapidly because of social media.
Content creators are now focusing on platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube, and the highly popular Instagram. Another channel that’s capturing advertisers’ attention is Tik Tok.
The reason for this shift is that more people are watching clips than reading text posts. A survey reports that most consumers who purchased products first discovered the brand on video ads.
So, if you’re thinking of growing your business and sales, it’s time to move away from traditional methods and adopt new strategies based on these findings.
If you’re new to marketing, start by studying how to create a social media content strategy in 2021.
Here, we’re going to cover three tips to incorporate video into your strategy successfully.
Start With Your Goals
The starting point of any plan is to set goals. Decide what sort of results you want your videos to achieve. That’ll help you determine how much time and resources to allocate to the project.
Don’t be over-ambitious. Start with smaller goals and scale them as you progress. That way, you won’t be overwhelmed.
Next is to decide how to use your videos in each phase of the marketing funnel, which is the route you take your prospects through to being a customer:
- Brand awareness
- Consideration
- Conversion
- Loyalty
- Advocacy
Brand Awareness Stage
We cannot stress the importance of getting prospects to recognize your business. It’s the first and most crucial step towards converting them into customers. Take Nike, Amazon, and Mercedes Benz. These are a few of the brands that are known globally.
When people are familiar with your name, they’re more likely to buy your product than a competitor. Then, they’ll tell their friends. The bottom line, you’ll get more sales.
Your video should help people understand your business, including your goals, product, or service. It’s best to tell a story to get people to connect emotionally with it.
Consideration Stage
Once the prospect is aware of your brand, you should provide more information to lead them into the conversion phase. An excellent way to use videos here is to show customers’ clips using your product as social proof. Recorded testimonials are also perfect for persuasion purposes.
People relate to other individuals, so this method is better than a company ad explaining your merchandise’s benefits.
Conversion Stage
At this point, your potential customers are well-informed about your brand. You’ll need to lead them to a buying decision.
You should add videos to ads and landing and product pages. Studies show a high click-through rate on digital ads.
Loyalty Stage
Now that you have a new customer, you shouldn’t ignore them.
At this point, you’ve got to nurture the relationship to retain the individual’s loyalty. Research shows that you are 60-70% more likely to sell to existing consumers than a prospect.
One way to provide value to the customer is to send them a video explaining how to use the item they bought. Better still, add a “thank you” message.
Advocacy Stage
It’s time to take your customers to the next level of becoming brand advocates. Encourage consumers to share their reviews to their social circle and reward them for the gesture.
User-generated content is excellent as people trust other individuals. Video testimonials from satisfied users can encourage others to try your product or service.
Select the Types of Videos to Use
You’ve seen how to utilize videos at the various stages of your social media funnel. Now, let’s look at the different types of clips you can use and their benefits.
- Educational: These videos are excellent for creating brand awareness for new customers. They should be casual, how-to information relating to your merchandise. For instance, home cleaning tips if you’re selling household cleaners. Clips for existing customers should show them how to get the most out of the product they bought.
- Behind-the-scenes: Give your prospects and customers a sneak peek of your operations and introduce them to your staff. People love seeing the individuals in your company rather than a corporate video.
- Interviews: This is an opportunity to answer questions that are in the minds of your prospects indirectly. Interviewing guests makes the Q&A more authentic.
- Entertaining: These videos are great fun, and it shows the lighter side of your business. It’s a fantastic way to connect to your audience and make them feel part of your community.
- Testimonials: Besides having your customer share their feedback of your product, show them using it. Viewers will be able to see themselves in that position and be likely to buy the item.
Decide on Your Platforms
You have to know the formats of videos to use on different social media platforms. Each channel has its specifications.
If you’re beginning to use video, it’s best to start with the ones you know or already have people following you. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are excellent options as they have massive audiences.
The most critical information you’ll need to know relates to the duration and the dimensions. Every platform is different, and you don’t want your clip to stand out for the wrong reasons.
You’ll also want to choose channels with similar requirements so that it’s easier to repurpose your videos. For example, if you shoot for Instagram and use it on YouTube, there’ll be a black patch on either side of your recording because the display modes are different.
Video is Key to Your Marketing Strategy
The number of people watching videos and making buying decisions based on them is growing exponentially. Other marketers are taking advantage of this trend.
You can do the same and achieve your business goals.
