Video has become an incredibly important part of digital marketing, as it can facilitate a more personal connection with your prospects and clients.
Here are five tips on incorporating effective storytelling into your videos:
Showcase your expertise - Share customer success stories, or create deep-dive videos on a topic of interest to your viewers in order to highlight your expertise and your success in helping people with challenges similar to theirs.
Explain a trend - Join the conversation on hot or new topics in your industry by sharing your opinion or your unique take on the trend.
Show a process - Make viewers feel like a brand insider with a behind the scenes view of your processes, or help them to solve a problem using a video which outlines a step-by-step process.
Inspire - Share an inspirational, or aspirational, story which captures viewers’ attention and invokes positive feelings, which they'll, ideally, then associate with your brand.
Get personal - Help your viewers get to know the people behind your brand, which, in turn, can help them feel more connected to your business.
Optimizing for social platform
When optimizing your videos for a social media channel, you'll want to ensure that you're familiar with the current best practices for video on each platform.
• Facebook - Keep videos short, upload videos directly to Facebook and add captions
• YouTube - Wait two weeks after the video has launched to make any tweaks or refine your target audience
• Twitter: Upload videos directly, keep them short and find a balance between fine-tuned targeting (interests, keywords, devices) and not over targeting, in order to accurately track results
Video S.E.O.
Keep these tips in mind when creating your videos, to help them be found when your ideal clients conduct a search for related topics:
• Plan your keywords for your video, just as you would for a blog post
• Include your keywords in the title and description
• Keep titles short as well as informative - less than 60 characters is ideal
• Include a link to your website
• Use tags with different keyword variations
• Work to build natural back-links to your videos
• Use eye-catching, branded, high-quality thumbnails
• Optimize your videos for viewing on mobile devices
CTAs can come in different forms and have different purposes. Inspire your users to take action with different calls-to-action, such as:
• Ask a question they can answer in the comments below
• Direct them to another piece of content
• Suggest another related video
• Send them to a landing page
• Direct them to your website
• Get them to subscribe to your newsletter or YouTube channel
• Ask them to connect with you on other social media channels
• Offer a free trial so they can take a test drive
Analysing video performance
Different metrics you can use to measure your success include:
Engagement rate - How many interactions is your video getting? How long are people watching the video? This number will indicate the quality of the content and whether the video is too long.
View count - How many times was the video watched? Be sure to understand how each platform measures view counts (YouTube 30+ seconds vs Facebook 3+ seconds).
Play rate - How many did unique visitors click your video play button on each of the different platforms (website, social media channels, etc.)? This can tell you something about your audience and their use of each network. Note that the play rate can be influenced by the thumbnail, copy or size of the video.
Social sharing - How many times has your video been shared by viewers on social media? People only share content they're interested in, or gleaned value from. If your videos are getting lots of shares, it means your content is resonating with your ideal clients.
Comments - What kind of comments are your videos getting? People have to be moved strongly, either in a positive or negative way, to leave a comment on your video. Use this feedback to help you create new videos that will perform well with your viewers.
Here are some additional tips to keep in mind when creating videos for your business:
Keep your videos short - Unless you have something of value to share, try to keep videos under a minute. Even for a complex subject or demo, try to limit it to 7 or 8 minutes.
Use good lighting so the viewer can see your face - A helpful trick is to face a window, and to have the camera above your eyesight, so that it’s aiming down towards you.
Be professional - Approach your video the same way you would if you were walking into a client’s office and having a conversation with them.
Be authentic and personable - Avoid rigid scripts or templates for live videos, as this can stifle your authenticity. It's often your authentic self that will enable your viewers to emotionally connect with you and want to learn more.
Choose the right thumbnail for your video - This is the image people will see on social platforms, or in your email, and it can be just as important as crafting the right title. Also, when choosing your thumbnail, ensure that the play button of the video doesn't cover your main image.
Note video length - When you send the video in an email or message, mention the length of the video so your potential viewer understands the time commitment and knows what to expect. This can give you higher click-through rates. For best results in your email, you should also include a value statement (three lines or less) which explains who you are and why you're reaching out, along with a call-to-action asking them to watch your video.
Creating video content has never been easier, with so many tools, apps and mobile devices, now easily and affordably available. With a little time, effort, and a planned video marketing strategy, you too can begin to share video content that's of value to your ideal clients.
