A vast number of platforms and mediums can now be utilized to promote your products and services. B2B and B2C marketers all over the world say video is one of the top 3 most effective social media marketing tactics.
If you are a small or medium sized business looking to grow your business with video content marketing, here is some actionable advice on using video for promotion and customer engagement. The simple tactics shared below can help to maximize your online exposure.
Insights from Kathleen Gossman, Account Manager at EnVeritas Group, a content marketing agency that specializes in content creation, strategy, digital media and social media:
I am surprised at how many small business owners fail to leverage the power of video. The fact that YouTube has become the second largest search engine is indicative of how frequently we turn to videos for information and entertainment. Research clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of video, whether on YouTube or a business website, in transforming browsers into buyers. But what seems to stop people from using it is fear.
Here’s my advice: Jump in and make a 30-second video and get it posted. Do a second one and then a third. Just do it. Tell the story of why you do what you do. Demonstrate the newest products, showcase your service people, and highlight the level of customer service you offer. Pose a question, answer a question or debunk a myth. Don’t worry about making a Hollywood-style epic, just make sure the audio is clear, the picture is in focus and that there is a point to be made or a story to tell. Don’t worry about selling your audience, this isn’t a commercial. Simply start the conversation. Make a new video every week. Add something you can track at the end of it, a discount offer, a phone number for service or anything that you can track. This will help you understand the reach and effectiveness of each video. (Each video should have a different promo.) Don’t expect overnight success; stay with it. If you work to engage your audience, produce content that addresses what they want to know and offer real information that provides value, you’ll reap the benefits.
Related Article: Why Your Brand Should Invest in Mobile Video Advertising
Next we have advice from Laura Hampton, Digital Marketing Manager at Impression, a digital marketing agency that delivers SEO, PR and mobile marketing services.
Successful content marketing is founded in a business’s ability to recognize the value within its own business data and team, and to translate that into an engaging article, video or creative content piece. This means that small businesses and startups have an opportunity to really stand out among their competition by simply identifying the topics and themes on which they are expert, in line with the questions and interests of their audience.
Practically speaking, this means recognizing that ‘Steve the sales person’ speaks very authoritatively about a particular service offering, and getting him to pitch to camera for a really engaging yet simple video. It means monitoring trends in buyer data within your business and aligning the results with national trends to inform a really interesting graphic. It means recording the questions your customers tend to ask the most and then putting the answers to those questions into a long form guide.
Companies which have something useful, relevant, informative or entertaining to say stand a much better chance of having their content consumed and shared. By using a variety of formats for communicating this content, you can appeal to the interests of your users as well as improving your website’s search visibility. For example, Google is working on its understanding of video content, as well as also including YouTube videos in the search results, so savvy marketers will invest more in video in 2015.
Of course, as with all digital marketing techniques, content marketing must be monitored for return on investment. Particularly when you’re investing in a video production or graphic design, you want to be sure that you’re getting back at least what you put in. Set KPIs (key performance indicators) and make them measurable. Google Analytics is a great tool (and free) that enables you to monitor traffic to your piece of content. Social listening tools such as Buzzsumo allow you to see the extent to which your content is being shared. Open Site Explorer will tell you how many websites link to your content. And of course, your sales team will be able to tell you how many people called in citing your content piece as their reason for doing so.
I hope that the expertise shared by the professionals above has given you an idea of how you can successfully incorporate video into your content marketing strategy.
Author: Garth Haley is director of Hyperfine Media.
Published: June 26, 2015
2166 Views
2166 Views
