A practical guide to video marketing for 2020

Video marketing in 2020: the context

Unless you’ve been living in a cave (and no offense to cave dwellers), you know video is a big thing these days.

YouTube may still be king but Facebook is quickly gaining on them in terms of online video. A Facebook exec even when as far as to say that the social media giant’s content could be “all video” in 5 years.

After Facebook, there’s Netflix of course, everyone’s favorite source for binge watching TV series and movies, while Instagram, Twitter and other social channels are also becoming increasingly important in the online video space.

But online video isn’t just about watching cat videos, music clips or Game of Thrones. Video has also grown exponentially in the marketing space. It fact, according to HubSpot, it’s now the most prevalent type of content people want to see from a brand or business they support.

The bottom line is that you need to make video marketing a key part of your overall marketing strategy or you’ll risk getting left in the dust by your competitors.

In this article, we’ll help you better understand what video marketing is, the importance of video marketing as well as the types of videos you should explore in order to engage your target audience and, ultimately, grow your business. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

What is video marketing anyway?

Video marketing is the use of videos to promote and market your product or service, increase engagement on your digital and social channels, educate your customers and reach your audience with a new medium. It aims to make is simpler for your viewers to get the gist of what you do, make or sell by delivering your message in an easy-to-digest format.

Why video marketing is important: some key stats

There are many, many statistics that point to the importance of video marketing. Below are just some of the compelling stats that underscore why you need video in your marketing mix ASAP!

85% of marketers say that video is an effective way to get attention online. (Animoto)
Viewers claim they retain 95% of a message when obtained via video. (Social Media Week)
The average video retains 37% of viewers all the way to the end of the video. (Hubspot)
The average user spends 88% more time on websites with video. (Forbes)
Social Media posts with video get 48% more views (Hubspot)
Video ads were the #1 way consumers discovered a brand they later purchased from. (Animoto)
94% of video marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. (Wyzowl)
30% of mobile shoppers say video is the best medium for discovering new products. (Facebook)
96% of people say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. (Wyzowl)
93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media. (Animoto)
79% of people say a brand’s video has convinced them to buy a piece of software or app. (Wyzowl)
92% of mobile users report sharing videos with others. (Social Media Week)
Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than those who don’t. (Wordstream)
Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from SERPs. (Brightcove)
Video is the best performing content type on Facebook. (SocialMediaToday)
LinkedIn users are 20 times more likely to share video over all other forms of content. (SocialMediaToday)
A study by Eyeview Digital revealed that using video on landing pages can increase conversions by 80 percent.
Mentioning the word “video” in your email subject line can increase open rates by 19 percent.
90 percent of consumers reported that video helps them to make buying decisions, while 64 percent say that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy.

Types of video marketing

Before you start producing marketing videos, it’s helpful to know the general types of video you can use to grow your business. Here are the main video categories to consider.

1. Explainer videos

We’ll list this one first for selfish reasons as explainer videos are one of our specialties here at Gisteo. Explainer videos are used to explain what your business or product does, why it matters…and how your target audience can benefit from it.

You can view plenty of Gisteo’s explainer videos in the portfolio section of this site and here’s our own explainer video starring the famous (or infamous?) “Gisteo Guy:”

Most of what we do here at Gisteo utilizes animation techniques but live action can also be very effective in producing explainer videos (albeit much more costly). Here’s one of our favorites for PooPourri:

2. Brand Videos

Brand videos are often created as part of a larger advertising campaign.

These videos are frequently used as advertisements on social media to generate brand awareness and increase traffic. They normally aim to communicate the brand’s personality, culture, mission and vision, or products and services.

Here’s an example from Gillette, which made waves in early 2019…while earning the brand millions YouTube views plus plenty of praise and criticism from around the globe:

In a post-#MeToo era, Gillette made the bold statement of telling men that they could be better. It was polarizing to be sure but, like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The impact the video had is undeniable.

3. “How-to” and demo videos

These videos take an educational approach, teaching your target audience more about something they need to know to get the most out of a product, platform, service, offering etc. while building trust. Demo videos in particular often use screenshots to showcase a software platform’s functionality.

Below is a “how-to” example we’ve done for Bill.com as part of a video series:

And here’s an in-depth screen tutorial we did for a mortgage company:

4. Promo videos

This type of video is great for creating hype around a product while generating brand awareness or leads.

Most companies already have text-based content marketing assets—like reports or brochures—to promote, and one of the best ways to make the most of these pieces is to create a promo video like our sizzling example below:

5. Case studies and customer testimonial videos

Case studies or testimonial videos can be excellent for increasing social proof and influencing your target market. A testimonial is a stamp of approval from your customers and lets others know how your offering makes their life better.

This video below has some great tips about how to get a memorable testimonial for the B2B space:

6. Thought leadership videos

The point of thought leadership videos is to share a unique perspective in order to educate, establish expertise, build trust and credibility within your industry. Here’s just one thought leadership example we help produce for Airbus:

7. Company culture videos

Culture videos tell your audience more about your brand and what you stand for. They’re an opportunity to have some some fun and get creative, like in this example we produced for Lionbridge, a global translation firm, a few years back:

8. Webinars

While this isn’t something we focus on at Gisteo, webinars can play an important role in your video marketing strategy.

Webinars are digital events with virtual attendees who have registered in advance to watch the session (generating a lead for the company). Recorded webinars can be published on an organization’s website, landing page or blog.

9. FAQ videos

These videos answer frequently asked questions about your product, business or service. They inform users about the most critical pieces that users or visitors to a site need to know.

Below are just a couple examples that we’ve done with a Q&A approach:

How to get started with video marketing

OK, so you now have an idea of what video marketing is, why it matters and what some of the main types of video are. Here are some tips to help you kick-start your video marketing journey.

Step 1: Define your target audience

Who are you talking to with your video? It’s important to clearly define your messaging and content to effectively connect with your viewers in a way that resonates with them.

Step 2: Identify your objectives

What’s the point of your video and what you trying to achieve? This sounds straightforward but it’s critical and many marketers lose track of why they’re creating a video in the first place. Begin with the end goal in mind.

Step 3: Plan your budget and choose the type of video you want to produce

How much can you afford to spend on your video? If you’re going the live action route, what resources do you have available? Can you afford a professional videographer or editor? Actors? Do you have money set aside for equipment or studio time? If you’re going to hire an an animated explainer studio, how much can you spend? It’s obviously important to have the answer to these questions before you begin your project.

It’s also important to realistically match your budget with the type of video you plan on producing. If you have little to spend (say under $1,000), you may want to focus on simple demos videos (with your own screencast recordings and voice over) or webinars, for instance.

Step 4: Develop your idea and create your video

Now that you’ve identified your target audience and your video marketing goal, it’s time to get creative. In most cases, it’s best to script and storyboard your video ahead of time. This is a must for explainer videos.

If you need help structuring your idea and turning it into an effective script, we suggest you check out this page on our site and download the Gisteo pre-production questionnaire. Answering the questions in that document will give you a stronger foundation for your scripting process.

Step 5: Decide where to publish your marketing video and go for it!

There’s no shortage of choices, including: your website, Youtube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and others. Where does your target audience live and how can you reach them? Answering that question will help you determine the best place to publish your video…and the answer may very well be “all of the above.”

When you do publish your video, don’t forget to use a catchy title and a well-written description on platforms like Youtube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. along with relevant hashtags.

Step 6: Promote your video

Finally, you’ll want to make sure you promote your video across social media channels, via email campaigns, on blog posts and more. Depending on the type of video you’ve produced, you may also want to use it for paid advertising campaigns on Youtube, Facebook or LinkedIn- all three of which have robust platforms.

Video marketing success metrics

If you want your video marketing to achieve lasting results, then you need plan, test and analyze. Beyond just engaging your audience, your videos should align with the goals of your sales funnel.

You should start by planning a solid strategy to develop video(s) for your video marketing program, as discussed above. Once you do, make sure you determine what metrics will best determine a video’s success and analyze the results after publishing your video. If necessary, you may need to tweak your videos (and their deployment) when in order to refine them and make them more successful.

Summary

We hope this practical guide to video marketing provides you with some useful, actionable information. It should be clear by now that, if you’re not in the video marketing game, you’re falling behind. If that’s you, remember: it’s a new decade and now is the time to get into the game!