Video marketing continues to be a major way companies reach consumers. It’s not surprising. We enjoy visual content. If you want an effective video marketing strategy, you want to ensure your videos are engaging and speak to your target audience. Here are 10 tips for creating an effective video marketing strategy, along with examples of how brands have put them to use.
Audience First
Your audience is everything when it comes to an effective strategy. Know who you want to target – their age, their general demographics, their interests, and even their gender. Knowing these things will help you create content with a tone and style that will appeal to your audience.
Choose the Right Length
How long should your video be? That depends.
Ads
If you’re creating an ad, target the length for your audience and how ads are presented. The sweet spot for length tends to be between 10 seconds (preferred by younger generations) and 30 seconds (preferred by older generations). Remember that many platforms allow users to skip ads after a few seconds, so you have limited time to capture attention and put important information in front of your audience. BuildDirect took this to heart with a super short and to the point video ad for YouTube.
Video Content
For video content, optimize based on the platform. For video shorts (popular on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and increasingly YouTube) aim for videos between 30 and 60 seconds, as this maximizes engagement. Longer content does well on YouTube (7-15 minutes), but you don’t have to make them that long. The popular mobile game Merge Mansion has a channel dedicated to its ad videos (if they’re enticing enough you might even have them go viral with theories).
Use Social Media
Social media continues to dominate the internet. In some places, sites like Facebook are interchangeable with the internet in the way that Google has become synonymous with searching. Make sure that you share your video content, including ads, on social media platforms to help increase engagement. Companies like PlayStation regularly share their ads on Twitter to help generate buzz.
Influence Is Key
Develop a strategy to work with influencers and content creators whose audiences match your target demographics. Influencer marketing is a huge way to build brand awareness and draw in loyal consumers. This is why brands from Squarespace to Raycon sponsor YouTube videos and more and more brands have teamed up with Instagram and TikTok creators.
Survey Your Audience
Audience research is still one of your most important tools. Reach out to your audience with brief surveys to see what they’re interested in seeing. Ford and Taco Bell are both kings of surveys, with customer satisfaction surveys and surveys that offer incentives for consumers to complete. When you survey, ask your audience what kinds of videos they enjoy.
Utilize Multiple Platforms and Focus on the Strongest Ones
With more social media platforms available and staying popular, it’s important to spread out your presence. If you’re on YouTube, create short versions of your videos you can also share on TikTok. If you post on Facebook, create short versions of your posts you can share to Twitter. By utilizing multiple platforms, you ensure you reach a wider audience. However, remember to optimize your content for the platforms that already bring you the most traffic.
Use Videos in Email and on your Landing Pages
If you’re using email marketing campaigns, be sure to include videos in your emails. You’ll increase your click rates, as people are more likely to watch videos than click other links. Ensure that your landing pages for your promotional activities also have videos people can watch, helping to ensure they don’t bounce away.
Use Live Videos
Live videos are a good way to engage with your audience and build your brand. They are also a great opportunity to work with influencers, who can demonstrate your products and services in live videos you sponsor.
Create Instagram Stories
Instagram stories are a popular way to reach out to audiences with your brand and services. When you create new video content or ads, include them in your story so that Instagram followers see them and engage with them.
Utilize Custom Music and Sounds
Don’t let your videos just be images and talking. Use music and sound to make your content more engaging. You can pay licensing fees for popular music to use in your ads and videos. Sites like YouTube also feature audio libraries with royalty-free music and sounds you can use.
A Video Campaign to Rule Them All
In 2021, Heinz Ketchup launched a brilliant video that captures what a good ad campaign looks like. They demonstrated brand recognition in a way that comes across as authentic rather than boastful or arrogant.
Why does it work?
They know their audience and the high value placed on multiculturalism
It is personal, with the camera focused on the people taking part in the experiment
They utilize music to help build a mood
They shared it on social media (YouTube and Instagram)
The video campaign works because Heinz knew how to build an effective video that would reach their audience, be shared, and generate conversation.
The success of the Heinz viral video proves how effective these 10 tips can be when you use them to build your campaign. Heinz utilized tips that fit their project utilizing the strength of their primary platforms, leveraging social media, using music to reinforce mood, and reaching out to their audience as part of the video itself.
What will you create with these tips?