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How Brands Can Boost Engagement with Video

Digital MarketingVideo Marketing

 

In this always-on world, people expect more visual content on websites and social media channels. The fact that 86% of companies use video on their website and 77% use it on their social media shows that brands are aware of the need for compelling visuals. By 2021, it’s predicted that 80% of all internet traffic will be video.

Additionally, Forrester research calculated the value of a 1-minute video and they found they’re worth about 1.8 million words. Whether you’re already doing video, thinking of adding video content to your marketing strategies, or planning to take your content up a notch, here are a few ways on how you can use video to engage your customers.

Promote your product or service with explainer videos

Explainer videos are great marketing tools for helping your audience better understand why they need and how to use your product or service. It guides your potential customer through the buyer’s journey and helps boost your sales.

A lot of explainer videos tailor the content to the company’s primary buyer persona, who is likely to be looking for a solution to their problem. According to studies, the average person remembers far more of something they’ve seen compared to something they’ve heard. Explainer videos help capture audience attention and provide the most relevant information they need within a few seconds or minutes, as opposed to reading an article which may take anywhere from five minutes to an hour.

HubSpot produced an explainer B2B video that works effectively in showcasing audience pain points and introducing their platform as the solution for improving a marketer’s professional capabilities.

 

Engage prospects with webinars

Webinars are incredible not only for highlighting your expertise but also for engaging with existing and potential prospects. This is also great for your clients as they get the opportunity to reach out and interact with other webinar attendees. In fact, 73% of marketing and sales leaders say webinars are one of the best ways to nurture quality leads. Overall, it’s great for customer engagement, customer experience, and hooking in new leads.

You can record your live webinars and share the sessions to those who attended and those who registered but missed the event. Include a Q&A portion at the end of your webinar for your attendees. Most importantly, be passionate when you speak to pique your audience’s interests. This can encourage more people to sign up for your next webinar and eventually convert attendees into qualified leads.

Cause a stir online with social cyclone videos

This type of video marketing strategy is particularly created to go viral or cause a reaction on social media. Videos of this type should be posted on a native platform. If you choose Facebook, make sure to include captions since 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound.

Social cyclone videos typically have high production standards and are targeted at ideal consumers. Its main objective is to cause a stir and elicit an action among its audience. They can participate in the campaign by using the video’s official hashtag or purchasing that product or service.

Jollibee went viral for their 2017 Valentine’s ads, the #KwentongJollibee trilogy, gaining more than 50 million views and thousands of shares. Jollibee also more than tripled its sales the week the campaign was launched.

 

Market your mobile app with a video campaign

Using video to promote your mobile app or its features allows you to showcase the full user experience to your audience. This way, you can clearly communicate the purpose and functions of the app more than screenshots and words could.

A video campaign to launch your mobile app would help build excitement around it. You can simply use your smartphone’s live screen capture feature to record and promote your app. This encourages users to download and use the application. Notice that both Apple and Android app stores now use video previews, not just photos, with their roster of app offerings.

Feature real customers with user-generated content

Ever since the rise of the internet, user-generated content (UGC) has increased in popularity. Brands are acknowledging its value using it for both customer engagement and marketing. User-generated videos on YouTube pull 10x more views than those uploaded by the brand itself.

UGC is a fantastic way to highlight the experience and profound influence your product or service has on its consumers. It serves as substantial social proof that encourages potential customers to believe that the solution you’re offering will solve their woes.

Reebok Philippines reposted a range of user-generated content from people who participated with their #FastestFeet Challenge as entries for their promo. They used it to promote their new footwear product and gained a ton of additional engagement for their online content.

 

Promote customer loyalty through Thank-You videos

There’s nothing more personal than a thank-you video that shows your customers how much they’re valued. The more authentic and heartfelt the video, the better it will work in fostering customer loyalty.

This is your chance to be creative. Just look at TD Canada’s viral video campaign. It just screamed authenticity and managed to create personalized experiences for many of their customers.

Be sure to instill your brand values and personality to make it engaging and entertaining. If you want to get your messages across, hook them in within the first few seconds so they’ll watch it till the end.

The Secret to Driving Video Content Engagement

  1. Hook the audience immediately. User attention span has significantly reduced over the years. Getting them interested enough to click ‘play’ isn’t enough to gain prospects and generate leads. Get straight to your point right from the beginning so as not to lose their interest.  

  2. Tell a story. Focus on showing powerful stories your audience can relate to, not on selling something. When you’ve successfully created content that moves people, increased engagement should transform into revenue in no time.

  3. Use humor (with caution). Humor can attract your viewer’s attention as people naturally respond to it. Do use this with caution and don’t lose sight of your target market. You can use humor to establish your company culture and brand personality, but always keep in mind what your audience might or might not find funny and avoid being offensive.

  4. Inspire Your Audience. Choosing one’s favorite brand is like choosing their best friend—it’s an emotional decision. Since people surround themselves with people who make them feel good and inspired, customers engage with brands that bring the same energy. Treat customers like your friends. Put their best interests first and they’ll do the same for you.

Wrapping it up

In this day and age, video content marketing strategies are going nowhere but up. People are attracted to video and it’s a great medium to reach out to a broader audience as it provides a different level of emotional appeal.

Video is king. It’s undoubtedly best-in-class for bolstering traffic, generating sales, finding leads, boosting brand awareness, and most importantly, engaging with consumers. Be sure to take advantage of the handy video editing tools available online. Remarkable videos that bring your ideas to life and provokes viewer’s emotions will certainly propel your business forward.

 

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