5 factors for effective video marketing

Research from HubSpot, the leading marketing platform, has again highlighted that videos are the most important and sought after form of content. Bearing in mind the accepted missive that 'content is king' when it comes to marketing and that modern marketing is more about story telling than just talking about the stuff you make or things you do, then video is one of the most powerful ways to tell those stories. Whether it’s on Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo, Linkedin or Instagram we’re all now consuming more and more video online as it delivers a much more immersive and involving user experience, plus it's often much more amenable to watch a video on mobile devices than scroll through web pages.

We've put together 5 simple factors to consider when it comes to video creation, to help market your brand more effectively.

• 1. Clarity. 'Who are we we talking to?' and 'what have we got to say?' are the 2 essentials of any marketing activity, but it's amazing how often this gets lost in the actual act of trying to explain things and is especially true with practitioners who are naturally passionate about their subject matter so tend to get dragged into details losing sight of the key messages. We find it really helpful to write a script - not to read from verbatim as this can look very stilted - but it helps to define the key messages and to distill them into their most succinct form. Then it's advisable to read this a few times so that you're more or less able to memorise, not necessarily word for word, but so that you can articulate your messages clearly. It's also a good idea to watch some of the experts, obviously this doesn't mean you'll become a Jonathan Ross, a Fiona Bruce or a David Dimbleby, but there's a reason why they get paid the big bucks so TV provides some free tutorials.
• 2. Passion. If you aren’t passionate or excited about whatever it is you are discussing on video, then your audience probably won’t be either. You can't fake this; you have to really enjoy and be excited about what you’re bringing to the table if you expect others to listen. Bear in mind too that passion helps bridge the professionalism gap of those expert presenters as mentioned. So think about what you're going to speak about, what you're going to focus on and what excites you. Passion will keep viewers engaged.
• 3. Production. Whilst we've all got video cameras in our pockets these days, and they're great for capturing the blowing out the candles moment or for showing someone that concert we went to, the footage is inevitably limited by the capabilities of what is, after all, a phone. In fact that concert footage generally proves the point - it's all very wobbly with composition that's never great as heads and hands are in the way of a distant stage that's usually out of focus. Finally the sound's so bad you can't actually make out what song it was. When it comes to B2B marketing, presentation is of course a vital factor as it's a statement about your brand and how you want your business to be perceived as it is with all brand 'touch points' from reception to your business cards and website. If you want take your video marketing to the next level, hire talented professionals using decent equipment - tripods, gimbals, HD cameras [using 2 makes a real difference even to interviews], proper lighting etc - and you will get high quality content
• 4. Acceptance. No one is perfect, so stop trying to be. Yes, as just outlined, we all want to achieve a level of professionalism but trying to match Hollywood production values is probably going to waste a lot of time, be expensive and ultimately a fruitless exercise. Try not to be too precious, find a balance of production values in relations to time, effort and inevitably cost. The flaws in your videos may well be why people watch them. People don’t want to see something doctored and plastic they want to see something real. Authenticity is far more important than perfection.
• 5. Jump in! As someone who hates having their picture taken never mind being in front of a camera, it still feels totally alien being filmed and some of my first attempts were terrible. But, like most things, it gets easier with practice. Yes, it’s going to take time, it’s going to feel weird because the fear of being in front of the camera is probably never going to completely go away and you’re probably never going to be completely ready to start. So there's no alternative really other than just taking the plunge and having a go. But once you start seeing the much higher views video generates, compared to stills or text, and hopefully some positive comments or even, as has happened to us many times 'I saw your video - can you make some like that for us?' then the value becomes apparent and your confidence naturally grows.

By articulating your message clearly, being passionate, investing in some good production, being authentic and ultimately having a go, your marketing efforts will be that much more effective with video. Obviously we'd be delighted to help you get started, contact will@bd2.co.uk.