There are certain internet marketing strategies that will always work no matter what.
But there’s one that trumps all.
Do you want to know what it is?
It’s called Video Marketing.
You’ve probably heard it several times, but you don’t just pay attention to it. Or, probably, you overlooked it for other effective marketing strategies you’ve heard many times before.
There’s one thing you need to know right now: 80% of Internet users remember the video ads they watch online.
Not convinced yet?
Here’s a BIG one: 80% of your online visitors will watch a video.
Your target audience wants videos. They hate to read. I’m sure this is true for most people, including me. I like watching videos more than I like reading.
Videos are kind of more entertaining and engaging.
Viedit has created an article on how to make videos go viral, so I’m not going into that.
My purpose of writing this article is to show you how to use videos to build an unforgettable brand and slash your cost of customer acquisition down to the very lowest levels possible.
Know Your Audience To Create The Perfect Videos For Them
How can you sell when you don’t even know who’s going to buy?
Before you create any video for your brand, you need to understand who your target viewers are.
When you know your target viewers, getting them to watch your videos would be easy. And convincing them to buy your product will be much easier.
So how can you know your target viewers?
First, paint a picture of the customers that are having the problems your product solves.
Once, you’ve built a picture of these customers, group them by locations. For example, the city they live.
Ask yourself other relevant questions like:
- Are they married?
- Are they male or female?
- Do they play golf?
- Do they pay rents?
Ask yourself more relevant questions like these.
These questions may look silly to you, but they help you hit the nail on the head when creating your video.
Using those answers will help you create the right videos that resonate with your target viewers.
People are more likely to buy from you when your message resonates with them.
Choose The Right Platform Where Your Target Viewers Hang Out
Various social media platforms now allow you to share video contents with their users.
In this case, you can be tempted to build your brand on all these social media platforms.
While building your brand presence on all these social sites isn’t a bad idea, you would be wasting your marketing budget and time by trying to do that.
Instead, you should focus on the platforms where your target viewers hang out.
Is your target audience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube?
I’m a big fan of Facebook and Instagram, but if your target audience isn’t there, then they are not helpful for your brand.
For example, if you sell diapers, then LinkedIn is not the right platform for you.
If you sell kitchen appliances, combining Pinterest with YouTube can be a better marketing strategy. Why is because food lovers spend most of their time on Pinterest than any other social platform.
Pinterest can send massive views to your videos on YouTube.
Spending your time on the right platforms will reduce your customer acquisition costs while maximizing the reach of your message.
Choose The Right Actor (or Actress) For Your Videos
Now don’t get scared by the word “actor” or “actress.”
What I mean is you should get someone who is comfortable in front of cameras. That can be you of course. But it’s not an easy skill to pick up. It takes time and a lot of practice.
If you’re serious about taking your video marketing campaign forward, then I strongly recommend you get a good actor or actress to shoot your video.
But if you’re willing to commit the time and pick up the skill, then you should know, in advance, that your first few videos would be worse. But you’ll surely get better over time.
You need the right actor to convey your message and connect with the audience. Your actor should also possess a strong acting technique.
For example, your actor must be able to take direction, make adjustments, and repeat a performance multiple times.
The ability to connect with the emotions of an audience is an actor’s most powerful weapon.
There’s also the body language, facial expression, vocal quality – all these qualities are what a good actor needs.
Put Videos On Your Landing Pages
A study by Eyeview Digital shows that using videos on landing pages can increase conversion by 80%.
The whole world was stunned when Zappos announced their intention to provide videos alongside tens of thousands of their product offerings.
What has the result been for Zappos?
Those videos increased Zappos sales conversions by up to 30%.
Putting videos on your landing pages will increase your sales. No doubt about that.
Many brands use videos to draw in visitors to their website, then forget to put them on their landing pages too. That’s a mistake that could be costing you a lot of sales.
If a web user decides to visit your site because of a video they watched on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube, it shows that the user likes watching videos than reading texts.
The visitor may decide to bounce back from your site when they see a wall filled with texts after they’ve watched an engaging and interesting video about your brand.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re running an e-commerce website, a B2C or a B2B company, you should be putting videos on your landing pages if you want to increase conversions.
A/B Test To Know Which Videos Generate The Most Conversions
A/B testing is an important part of internet marketing.
There’s nothing like the perfect marketing strategy.
I’m not trying to say that many of the marketing strategies out there aren’t effective.
What you may not know is that the marketing strategy that works for Company A might not work for Company B.
How do you know if an internet marketing strategy is the perfect one for your business?
Unless you A/B test, there’s no other way to know.
A/B testing applies to video marketing too.
There are different types of video formats like:
- The comedy video
- The How-To video
- The Interview video
- The Case Study video
You never know which video might generate the most conversions until you test them.
Test which videos generates the most sales. Test which video gets the most social shares. Test which video generates the most subscribers.
A/B testing tells you what works for your brand. So, do more of what works and do less of what doesn’t work.
Include Call To Actions In Your Videos
It’s easy to forget the reason why you’re making videos in the first place.
I can’t recall how many times I’ve watched a video and wanted to buy something, but left because I don’t know exactly the next thing to do.
Sure, there was a contact form and a phone number on the site but there was no clear call to action.
Don’t assume your viewers know the next thing to do after watching your video. They don’t!
You should give them a clear call to action that tells them what to do.
So put yourself in your viewers’ shoes, and make a clear call to action that shows them the next step.
What’s the next step you want visitors to take after watching your video?
Is it to visit a landing page?
Sign up for your upcoming webinar?
Download a free guide?
Buy a product?
Make sure there is a link and instruction that tells them how to do that.
About the guest writer:
Michael Akinlaby is an SEO consultant and freelance writer. He’s the founder of Internet marketing agency that specializes in search engine optimization and content marketing.