Video Marketing: The Top 6 Research-Backed Tips you Need to Know

Before the Social Media Age, print, radio, and television marketing dominated the marketing industry. With the rise of technology came the metamorphosis of video marketing. No longer confined to traditional television commercials, marketing professionals rolled up their sleeves to create new and more effective video methods.

The goal? To connect with their audiences quickly, creatively, and effectively via the variety of new media platforms. Think With Google discovered that more than half of modern consumers think video ads are the #1 way they discover new brands to buy from!

At Red Egg Marketing, our team has experience in every stage of the content creation lifecycle. From discovering a brand voice to storyboarding ideas and bringing them to life, we’ve got you covered. Here are 6 key parts to a successful video marketing campaign:

Tell a Story

Quality storytelling leads to effective marketing, and that’s just a fact. Psychologically, we are all programmed to be on the lookout for patterns of information so we can assign meaning to objects, places, things, people, and products.

For example, if you’re a part of a residential real estate company and you are working on a video marketing campaign, a huge thing to remember is that you are selling a home. So, the heart of your videos should be pushing the concept of selling a home—a place to make new memories.

According to a Kinesis Inc article, people are willing to alter their purchasing habits depending on what they want that purchase to say about themselves. Using video footage of laughing, happy families is far more effective to family-oriented viewers instead of having the head of the real estate company talking at the screen!

The First Few Seconds Matter

With any video, the first few seconds are crucial to making it a success. They say that people’s attention spans are no longer than that of a goldfish, so you have to snag people’s attention—fast. Here are a handful of effective ways to pull in your audience:

  • State a startling fact.
  • Ask an enticing, difficult, and/or pointed question to give audiences something to think about.
  • Utilize alliteration with a catch phrase.
  • Display the end result to depict your video’s value (a classic example of this is utilizing a “before” and “after” sequence).
  • Introduce a problem and offer a solution.

The Audio’s Gotta be Solid

There is no better way to pull an audience out of a story than with poor or ill-fitting audio (especially if there are no closed captioning options!). Have you ever watched a video where you can’t really hear what anyone is saying? Ensuring your audio and video content align is imperative to drive your product and story home.

Fun Fact

Sound (especially music) is a direct cognitive response to our memories, according to the Independent Hearing Professionals.

Not only is it important for the audio to be clear, but it’s also important that the sound adds to the message of your product or business. Think of McDonald’s commercials (I’m Lovin’ It), or even the catchy intro song to “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.

Always Offer Closed Captions

While audio is extremely important, closed captions are too. The American Press Institute found that 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound. The trends are along the same lines for Instagram and Twitter; if someone is in a public space or in an inopportune environment to watch a video, that doesn’t necessarily push them away from doing so. Closed captions are an easy way to connect with these audiences.

Closed captions are more important than ever for two key reasons:

  • They make your content more accessible to those who are hard of hearing. You can also translate your captions and have multilingual subtitles for non-English speaking audience members, which would further widen the scope of your content.

  • They allow audiences to view your video content in all situations – from studying at a bustling coffee shop, taking a noisy train, or flying in an airplane.

Closed captions also really help with SEO. Speaking of which…

Optimize Your Video for SEO

Search Engine Marketing (SEO) is a huge part of digital marketing strategy as a whole. While text content such as blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies are crafted to achieve stellar rankings on Google, there is a lot you can do to get your video content up there as well.

Here are a few ways to do so:

  • Use keywords in your video title and video transcript

  • Add all relevant tags

  • Add closed captions

Pro Tip

Google’s search engine solely interprets text, not video footage, so it will go a long way for your video’s reach if your marketing campaign’s key words are in your transcript.

Call to Action (CTA)

The cherry on top of any video marketing campaign is the “call to action”. In a marketing video, you’re preparing your viewer, creating emotion and demand, and encouraging them to want your product or business. Essentially, a CTA lets people know what to do in order to engage with your product or business after watching your video.

You can use CTA in marketing or explainer videos (click here to learn more about explainer videos!) for different purposes. Here are some popular examples of CTAs:

  • Call number: A tried and true method we all remember from TV commercials and before websites.

  • Visit your website: You can direct them to your homepage, landing page, or product page.

  • Subscribe Today: This effective method is often seen at the beginning or end of videos through a clickable link or button.

  • Schedule a demo: Potential customers love trying products and services out before having to spend money or commit. This is a great choice if you have something that works with demos.

  • Try for free: This one goes along the same lines of the “Schedule a Demo” example—it’s a very effective CTA.

  • Learn more: This is another great CTA for products or services that may create buying hesitation.

The Major Takeaway

With these in mind, your video campaign is on track to be a success! If you need any help along the way, Red Egg Marketing’s brilliant creatives have your back. Give us a jingle or shoot us an email and we can work together to take your business’ video marketing campaign to the next level.