How Video Marketing is Taking Over Social Media

On any social media platform today, it seems that there’s no escaping video marketing. With studies showing that the world’s appetite for video is growing, marketers should take note and start thinking of making their own video content if they haven’t yet. In this article, we’ll delve into why it’s so effective and how you can get incorporate it into your own marketing strategy, but first:

 

What is video marketing?

Video marketing focuses on using video as the main form of content to promote a brand, product or service. It is the process of creating, publishing, and distributing videos that showcase your brand, product, or service, as well as provide value to your audience. The goals for using video marketing can vary, but often are to increase brand awareness, generate leads, educate customers, entertain an audience, and more.

Types of Videos

• Short-form videos – 66% of people admit to engaging with this type of video the most. Usually running for 60 seconds or less, it’s designed for easy viewing particularly on a mobile device.
• Video ads – Video ads generally refer to advertising that plays before, during or after video streams.
• Explainer videos – This format summarizes the basics of what your brand is about and what it can do for customers
• Company culture videos – These videos show the people behind the brands, what their values are and how they work and interact with each other. If your brand is in a particularly crowded market, company culture videos can go a long way to make you stand out.
• Consumer-generated content – This content is made by actual customers, and may be a testimonial, unboxing video, review, etc. This video type has the potential to boost sales at no cost to marketers.

Why is video marketing taking over social media?

Among the forms of content available, video marketing is taking over social media because it’s more engaging, memorable, and compelling. In fact, viewers retain 95% of a message when viewed in a video, as opposed to 10% when they read it in text. HubSpot also reports that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from brands that they support.

Despite the metrics pointing to how beneficial video marketing can be, it’s easy to understand why one might be hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. Don’t wait too long, though. In a survey by Wyzowl, 70% of non-video marketers said they plan to start online video marketing in 2023.

While producing videos may have been out of many marketers’ budgets years ago, the tech is getting more accessible. If you have a smartphone with a decent camera, you can start shooting footage today. Now, if you want sleek visuals with animation, 3D modeling, and the like, professional help may be necessary. Luckily, it’s not too expensive if you know where to look.

 

Planning Your Video Marketing Strategy

If you want to practice video marketing, make sure you’re going in with a plan. Set clear objectives. Do you aim to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or boost sales? Then, who are your ideal customers, and on which platforms can you reach them? By determining these factors, you can create a more effective plan that reaches the right people in the right channels.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for Video Marketing

To gauge the success of your campaign, you will want to track KPIs that align with your goals. These are some of the commonly used metrics:

• View Count – Measures the number of times your video has been viewed.
• View Completion Rates – Measures the number of people who watch a video from start to finish.
• Engagement – Likes, shares, comments fall under this metric.
• Click-through Rate – This measures how effective your content is in converting views to clicks.

However, take not that not every KPI bears weight on a video marketing strategy. For example, impressions alone are not enough to give a full picture of your campaign’s success. The specific KPIs you need will vary depending on your objectives.

Video Marketing Platforms

As you begin to strategize, you’ll want to pick a platform that has a wide user base. For that, these are your best bets:

• YouTube – The second-most visited website after Google, YouTube has over 2 billion active users monthly. On average, US users spent 46 minutes on the platform daily in 2022, with that time expected to rise in the following years.
• Facebook – Facebook’s active user count continues to rise, hitting almost 3 billion despite losing popularity among younger generations. Almost 50% of time spent on Facebook is dedicated to watching videos, and the websites algorithms are excellent for targeting specific audiences.
• LinkedIn – Not many think of LinkedIn when video marketing comes up, but with over 930 million members and about 134.5 million active users every day, this platform is a goldmine for targeted B2B marketing among professionals.
• Instagram – On Instagram, where users can upload Reels, Stories, Instagram Video, and go Live, the consumption of video content is increasing every year. People spend 30% of their time watching Reels, according to Meta’s Q2 2022 earnings call.
• Tiktok – For a platform that’s known for short-form videos, TikTok has the most enthusiastic users, spending an average 1.5 hours per day on the app. Known as Gen Z’s preferred social media, TikTok has caused many products to sell out after going viral on the platform, and the view count of the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt is in the billions.

Of course, a wide user base shouldn’t be your only consideration. Before deciding the most suitable platform for your business, always consider your target audience, and research their demographics and online preferences.

Final Thoughts

Today’s consumer is tech-savvy and hungry for video content. If you haven’t ventured into video marketing for your business, there is no better time than now to start. Considering how much video producing technology has become more accessible and affordable, there is no reason you shouldn’t put up a video or two to test the waters. Just always keep your target customer in mind when formulating your video marketing strategy. If you’d like some help with stunning visuals for your videos, RipeConcepts has creative solutions that won’t break the bank. Reach out to rc.connect@nagarro.com.

 

Digital-marketing, Social-media, Social-media-marketing, Video-marketing, Videos-for-business