Video marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing in terms of engagement and conversion rates.
This is why more and more marketers look at them as the staple of any solid marketing campaign. Now, this is a field that is constantly evolving. In order to keep up and get the results you were hoping for all along, you would have to keep up with the times, a well. Here are four things that should allow you to stand out with your video marketing campaign in 2021.
360-degree video
The concept of 360-degree videos is catching the world by a storm. It enhances the immersion, opens up new possibilities and increases consumer loyalty. First of all, 360 experience will make your audience feel like they’re physically present at the premises. In the event streaming industry, this will allow them to choose the spot that they’re in. If you’re talking about the real estate industry, it provides a unique chance to inspect the place without physically visiting it. In the hospitality industry, it can allow the audience to inspect the room before booking it. In other words, a wide range of perks and benefits at the tips of their fingers.
Another advantage of 360 videos lies in the fact that they don’t necessarily fall under the category of VR marketing. This is particularly important because the majority (the vast majority) of your audience doesn’t own a VR headset. This is why being VR-exclusive might limit your reach and, therefore, the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaign. This way, you’re enabling people who have VR to access extra features without actually restricting anyone from enjoying your content. It’s a win-win scenario.
The 360-degree video gives you more versatility and allows you to reach out and appeal to broader audiences.
Importance of SEO
The next thing you need to look into is the importance of SEO for your video marketing. While there are more videos being consumed every day, there are also more videos. This means that, even in the pandemic, even with people sitting behind their screens the entire day, your video might not pop up if it’s not optimized properly. With the right SEO optimization, you can get anywhere. Remember, YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine (right after Google), which is why proper optimization on this platform makes all the difference.
In order to optimize video for SEO, there are several things you need to do. First, you need to find the right title for the video and choose the right thumbnail. Then, you need to handle metadata like tags and captions. Keep in mind that by hiring a professional video production agency, you will get someone with experience in the field to handle this for you. Also, remember that different platforms have different preferences in terms of preferred length and format. While YouTube may look favorably on the 10+ minutes long content, when it comes to Instagram video stories, you only have 15 seconds.
Understanding the rules of SEO for the platform and format in question can make or break your reach. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
Real-time video engagement
The statistics show that the majority of the online audience nowadays is watching videos for a longer period of time, on average. This is especially true with live streaming events. Since they can’t skip through the content, people are glued to the screen in a similar way that the TV audience was in the past. Moreover, YouTube is no longer a sole culprit for these incredibly high number of views. On social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat, about 8 billion hours of videos are watched every single day.
Real-time videos also come with a certain dose of spontaneity. The lack of censorship options (other than keywords profanity filter, and moderation expediency) makes your audience more willing to engage. In other words, live streaming is the concept of the future and it has so much to offer to both brands and audiences. The biggest pitfall of present-day marketing is the fact that it seems too forced and scripted. With real-time videos, you get a chance to add a hint of something fresh and genuine to the mix.
Real-time video increases customer engagement, thus setting them on a path towards developing brand loyalty.
Use for education
Working on your brand awareness and brand recognition is so much easier with the help of video marketing. The key to successful marketing is to find a way to offer value to your audience before they do business with you. This can be done by entertaining them, teaching them something new, or sharing crucial information. In other words, entertainment, knowledge, and information are three things that people are looking for in your content. The rule of seven clearly states that your audience needs to make seven interactions with you in order to become a paying customer. Well, this will give them the reason to come back.
There are several steps to help you educate customers through content. First, you can prove to them that you understand what they need. Second, you can offer industry-related insight that someone without experience couldn’t possibly have. In other words, you should let them learn from your mistakes. Third, you need to work on building trustworthiness and credibility. Fourth, you need to offer something practical, something that they can actually apply.
By providing educational and informative content, you will provide value for your audience. This value will, eventually, turn into brand loyalty.
In conclusion
In order to be competitive, you need to be innovative. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to invent something new. You just need to discover what works the best in your particular scenario. The thing is that the majority of your competitors probably aren’t keeping up with these trends. This means that emulating a tactic used by a top-dog of your industry might be good enough to help you outcompete them all. You just need to be willing to adapt to the ever-evolving industry and do your homework before investing any money.
