How To Create An Effective Video Marketing Strategy

Imagine you’re buying shoes and are curious about how they fit or how they look from different angles. Would you rather read a litany of paragraphs and product specifications, or watch a video that shows you what you want to know? If you’re like most people, you’d prefer the richer medium of video, since it conveys far more information in an easier, more engaging way.

Benefits of Using Video

We’ve all heard the adage “show, don’t tell,” and video gives us a great opportunity to show what we’re talking about in a more engaging way. This affinity for seeing something via video plays out in a number of key metrics: video on a landing page leads to greater time on site and higher conversion rates. And if you’re sending emails with video thumbnail images as the calls to action, those emails will see a higher click through rate than ones with different calls to action.

There are other, less measurable benefits to using video marketing. It can help you create connections with your customers and audience members, leading to brand loyalty and better word of mouth. Video helps you convey your passion and commitment to a cause or product. Last, it gives people a feel for your company culture and style, helping you to recruit and hire great employees.

Devising a Video Marketing Strategy

So, the “why” of video is clear, but what about the “how”? Where should you even begin? What’s the best strategy? We often recommend starting with videos that have a single, clear goal. This might include videos that teach people or sell them on your product. Here’s why your initial strategy should focus on videos with one clear goal:

1. They’ll tie into (and support) the goals and strategies you’ve already established. If you want to empower your customers to do more, think about how video can help you achieve this goal. For example, Bigcommerce educates their audience on ecommerce best practices, making them stickier customers in the long run. They use video to support this goal via Bigcommerce University tutorials.

2. Purposeful videos can demonstrate their own, measureable ROI. This makes it easier to justify the process of making video. The data you collect will help you see how you can improve your videos over time. For instance, if you’re making a video to explain how your product works, you should see an increase in sales after the video has gone live. This allows you to feel good about the investment you’re making in video and also allows you to hone in on the biggest opportunities going forward.

Think about the areas where your customers or audience members are asking questions. If you often find yourself explaining or clarifying a process, feature, or benefit, these are good areas to interject video.

The Video Production Process

The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re getting started is that your first video won’t be perfect. That’s okay! I can guarantee that the second one will be better, and the third will be even closer to achieving your video goals. Just get started and iterate. Don’t obsess over re-shooting or re-editing the same video. Instead, move on to another opportunity. The best way to improve is to practice.

Approach the video production process in a way that mirrors your overall content process. Like you probably do with blog posts, focus on producing videos regularly. You’ll learn a lot about what your audience likes and needs. The beauty of a video – versus a blog post – is you can see exactly which parts resonate best. With the right tools, you can see second-by-second feedback on people’s behavior. If people are rewatching certain sections again and again, this indicates that they want more info on those points.

Finally, have fun with it! Video is a great medium for conveying your passion and expertise.

To help you get started, Wistia is giving Act-On customers extended trial accounts. Plus, Wistia and Act-On have worked together to create this integration that lets you use video calls-to-action within your emails!

How To Create An Effective Video Marketing Strategy