Video has built up quite the reputation for being an incredibly powerful marketing tool, and it seems that 2019 is going to be THE year for video. Video is projected to consume 80 percent of internet traffic in 2019. No, there is no need to zoom in. You read that correctly—80 percent. Contributing to that percentage is the increase in businesses planning on incorporating video into their marketing strategies. The number is continuously rising and already in 2019, 87 percent of businesses are using video marketing as a tool. There is no denying the impact video has on consumers, which is exactly why your video marketing strategy needs to be on point.
Here are some essential tips to keep your video marketing game strong and ahead of the competition.
- Always have a goal
Before the video-making process even begins, make sure there is a clear goal. The message can easily get way off track if there isn’t a crystal-clear end goal. Ask yourself, ‘what point is this video trying to get across, and what are we hoping to achieve through this video?’ Are you trying to inform? Follow up with a lead and begin building a relationship? Is the point to sell? If you don’t know EXACTLY what you are trying to achieve, neither will your audience. Be very clear, real, and relatable, so there is no confusion in your message, and avoid using language that is difficult for consumers to understand.
Not only should your videos have a clear goal, but so should your entire video engagement effort. All interactions should be mapped with purpose, so knowing where your customers are at in the buying process is essential to ensure that your video’s message is successfully communicated.
- The shorter the better
Having a clear goal is one thing but getting straight to the point is another. In today’s world where it feels like society is competing to see who can be the busiest, time is extremely valuable. It is imperative to the success of a video to get the message out quickly enough to spike interest within the first few seconds. Video is going to drive engagement, so catching the eye of the viewer right away is important, and here are some stats to prove it:
- Videos less than 2 minutes long get the most engagement
- 33% of viewers will stop watching video after 30 seconds
- 45% of viewers will stop watching video after 45 seconds
- 65% of viewers skip online video ads as soon as possible
- Millennial’s (the nation’s largest group of consumers) attention spans require ads to be no more than 6 seconds
- Have a clear call to action
.png?width=354&name=image%20(1).png)
Having a specific goal in mind for your video will help simplify creating a clear call to action. Every video you share should be directing viewers to act. Whether the call to action is encouraging the audience to “share” the video, “subscribe” to emails, “join”, or buy—a viewer should not be left without the opportunity to take the next step. Creating a call to action with Verb’s taggCRM will motivate your audience to take that step and increase engagement. Also, customers don’t want to be confused on what to do next, so it’s important not to miss out on a chance to build a customer relationship through the call to action.
Consider personalizing the video, and call to action, to speak directly to a targeted audience. Create a video for existing customers thanking them for their business with a tagg from taggCRM placed directly in the video to facilitate more interaction, such as asking them to share a product video in exchange for a discount code. Or, send a follow-up video to leads encouraging them to subscribe to blog posts. Personalized CTA’s convert 42 percent more visitors into leads than those that are not personalized. People who are interested in engaging further need to know exactly how to do that, so let ‘em know!
- Don’t be stingy!
There are so many opportunities to get your video out there. Once you have created, share, share, share! Post video content to your website or go a step further and make the background to your website’s homepage a video to immediately engage the visitor’s senses. Include video in emails to increase click rates when prospecting, following up, or attempting a sale. Adding video to emails will increase click through rates by 200-300 percent. 
Utilize social media like there is no tomorrow to get your video out there. Utilize live streams on Facebook and Instagram to connect with your audience. Stay relevant through using “stories” and always have content for your followers to view throughout the day because 62 percent of people said they were more interested in a product after seeing it in a Facebook Story.
Your videos don’t always have to be studio quality. Viewers like to see normal, everyday operations like, behind the scenes tours, or quick demonstrations and reasons why your product will improve their life. Not only can stories get content to your audience quickly, but it can also facilitate even more engagement by asking followers to reply. Also, jump on the #tag a friend trend and post a video asking followers to tag a friend to be entered for a prize to double the amount of engagement. Whichever social media strategy you choose, just act. The optimal amount of posts to Facebook and Instagram per day is at least 1, and no more than 3.
- Learn from past mistakes
Not only with taggCRM facilitate engagement with taggs that prompt a clear call to action, but taggCRM will provide you with the analytics needed to make an informed decision for your next marketing video. After putting in the work to create a killer video, don’t waste time guessing which videos are making a positive impact. Make sure you are getting a return on your video investment with analytics from taggCRM and understand the effect your videos are having so you don’t make the same mistake twice. Did your Facebook followers watch the video you posted? If so, did they watch it to the end, or did most viewers fall off after the first 10 seconds? Did your video inspire action?
The answers to these questions are crucial in determining your next step, and taggCRM will deliver. So let us know below what you think - is your video marketing strategy changing soon?
- verb