Your brand is so much more than your logo – it’s how customers perceive your products and your company. It’s the idea, or image, that people have in their mind when they think about your business and the emotion that they have towards it and your messaging. That is what makes video such a powerful tool for strengthening your brand. But how do you use it correctly? Here are five quick tips to get you started as you plan your first video marketing strategy:
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Understand why you are doing it
A TikTok dance or sing-along might seem like much more fun than your usual marketing plans, but it’s a lot of work if it doesn’t have a purpose behind it and a goal. How will you know that you’ve succeeded if you don’t know what your benchmark of success is? Is it to improve web traffic, get more sales, educate potential customers, offer support to existing customers by answering their questions, or something else entirely?
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Speak to the right people
How are you going to use the video? Social media, webinars, live streams, user-generated content, adverts, testimonials and case studies, corporate story videos…the choice is endless. The best way to choose is to decide who you are speaking to. When you know who your target audience is, you can plan the right medium to reach them.
If you created audience personas when you developed your brand or most recent marketing strategy, you can use these as a basis for making the decision. Where do your customers go online? What platforms are they most engaged on? Knowing where to find them and what they are interested in is crucial.
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Use the right style
Animated or live-action? Speaking to the camera or using a whiteboard explainer? The right style for your video will depend on your goals and who you are talking to. Try to choose a video style that suits your branding and brand voice so that it helps to strengthen your brand.
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Get Started Quickly!
There is no time to hang around when you create a video! You have to hook your audience in the first few seconds, and let them know what to expect in the rest of the video. Make your message clear from the start, and work on keeping them watching right to the end by leaving no space for them to lose focus or interest.
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Have a Clear Call to Action
You need to tell your audience what you want them to do. Be clear about what their next action should be after watching the video. Is it to visit a particular page on the website? Contact you with some specific information? Or share the video with someone else? All of these are known in marketing as a ‘call-to-action’ or CTA and if your video is missing one then you are missing a huge opportunity with your audience.
Remember, when using video in your marketing, being unique and quirky is not as important as being consistent, and showing your business off in the best possible way, so focus on branding and you’ll achieve your goals.
If you’d like some support kick-starting your video marketing strategy get in touch for a free consultation.