Video Marketing
What is Video Marketing?
You may have heard that content is king. Video then is the mother of all bombs in the king’s arsenal.
To put it simply, video marketing, or video advertising, is the use of video as a part of your marketing campaign. It is a form of content marketing and has been around since the advent of television.
Even though it’s been around for so long, don’t for a second think it’s the same. The difference between early video advertisements and modern-day video marketing campaigns is night and day.
Video marketing has become more versatile with what can be done and more precise in how videos can be delivered. You can create videos that engage your ideal customers and help them accomplish their goals. Building a relationship that starts with helping and giving.
New customers and clients are the lifeblood of any business. As a business owner, you’re well aware of this fact. That’s why you spend so much time and money prospecting for new clients and testing various advertising channels to drive growth.
You’re not alone in this. A 2018 report from data insights company Kantar Media found that total spending on advertising that year in America was over $150 billion. The bulk of that was advertising from SMBs, despite companies like P&G and AT&T taking up the top positions.
In fact, the average small to medium-sized business spends up to $10,000 each month on advertising with a smaller percentage spending between $10,000 to $50,000. With over 30 million small to medium-sized businesses in America, that adds up to be a massive amount of money spent each year on finding clients.
So, why do SMBs spend this much each month on advertising? Because it works! But, not just any advertising will do the trick. Just a few decades ago, for example, the radio was one of the champions of the advertising sector. Nowadays though, it’s but a remnant of a bygone era when podcasts and Youtube didn’t exist. While there are still companies utilizing radio advertising, that market is drastically shrinking.
To get the most bang for your buck, you need to be putting your money into the right advertising channels. In comes video marketing, one of the fastest-growing methods of advertising around the globe.
Why use Video Marketing?
Just a few decades ago, video advertising was relegated to at-home television sets and movie theaters. But today, most people around the world carry around devices capable of streaming video anytime and almost anywhere. In fact, Pew Research reports that as of 2018, over 5 billion people around the world have mobile devices. Of that, over half of those mobile devices are smartphones.
In Florida, these numbers are much higher. A 2015 article noted that at the time, almost 19 of the state’s 20 million people owned a cellphone and actively subscribed to a wireless plan. You can make a safe bet that your potential clients and customers not only have a smartphone but are actively using it every day to engage with social media platforms and other websites.
With the average smartphone user spending over four hours each day using their device, this means opportunities are abundant for your ads to be seen. Even better, you can target your video advertising to the exact audience you are intending to reach.
Video marketing has two-way benefits for both you and your customers or clients. Your customers are getting more of what they need to make better decisions about buying your product or service. In return, you’re getting more customers and clients and ultimately that translates into more money.
Using Video to Market your Business: An Example
Let's take a look at how using video to market your business could work in the real word. We will use a barbershop as our example. It's called Classic It's a local business with three locations.
A barbershop owner that targets middle-aged business professionals creates a series of videos for a video marketing campaign. The first of these videos run on television during the news hour and helps to promote the barbershop to the target audience.
It’s a success. The barbershop begins to see an uptick in traffic as their video addressed the exact pain points these business professionals experience when looking for a sleek and professional upscale haircut.
As an addition to this campaign, the barbershop owner creates a series of how-to videos on his website. These videos help his clients to maintain their hair in-between haircuts in order to help them remain smart looking. But, they also serve another purpose.
The barbershop owner has recently created their own line of upscale hair products. These products are featured heavily in their how-to videos. So, when the clients come back for another haircut they purchase these hair care products.
The barbershop is able to increase its revenue from more clients and from increased sales of their products. All of this made possible through video marketing.
Benefits of Video Marketing
- Video provides a more robust method of communicating with your target audience. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a whole dictionary. You can convey exactly what you want without worrying about the message getting lost along the way.
- A study from Impact Marketing revealed that over 70% of consumers have already made a buying decision before they even enter a store or call up a service. More and more people are using the internet to educate themselves on products instead of relying on salespeople. Video gives you the perfect tool for providing your customers with the information they need to make a decision.
- Video marketing provides a more precise way to track how effective your marketing is performing. In the past, the primary method of marketing was known as the shotgun approach. These were methods such as paid radio and television ads and billboards. While they worked for the time, they were not always precise. With online video marketing though you can track exactly who is seeing your videos and how many people are converting into customers or clients.
- Chances are, your clients or customers want to see video. A Hubspot study from 2018 found that across all demographics, over 54% of consumers wanted to see more video content from the brands they love. By engaging in a well-produced video marketing campaign, you’re giving your people exactly what they want.
- Video isn’t just for B2C. Over 59% of business executives say they prefer to watch video as opposed to reading text. If you’re running a B2B business, chances are the people you want to reach are on video platforms.
- Finally, according to a report from Wyzowl, over 87% of business and marketing professionals are engaging in video marketing. More importantly, over 88% of them are satisfied with the ROI they are receiving. Your competition is most likely already using video marketing and seeing in their bank account.
