Video marketing has gained massive steam over the last couple of years and 2018 is the year you should be using it to drive your leads and sales. It is the best way to announce business changes, business events, contests, and product releases. It can be overwhelming when you don’t know where to start or how to begin.
Today we look at some trends and how they can best help your business in the coming year.
Make It Easy – Hire A Videographer
If you have never done a video before, it can do you a lot of good to hire someone who knows how to produce a video. You can find someone easily enough by locating a well-known company in your area. A quick google search, such as “video production St. Louis” can lead you to some popular companies as well as some reviews.
So what exactly are you looking for? Someone who knows everything from simple staging concerns like lighting and set design to editing to make your video look excellent. Ask to see a video portfolio so that you can see if they do exactly what you envision.
Pick A Channel
When you sit down and plan your video marketing strategy, pick a place to share these videos. Start with one and work your way into multiple outlets if you see positive results.
We often recommend starting out with something like Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram. Why? It doesn’t cost you anything to upload a video on to their sites! They are also the most popular of all platforms and have millions of users accessing them all the time. If you already have a successful Facebook page, that would be your obvious choice.
Wherever you have the most engagement is where your videos should be posted to first. Encourage sharing as much as possible!
When In Doubt, Go Live
One of the biggest trends of 2018 is the live video feed. We saw this truly take off in 2017 and it is steadily gaining ground as being the top thing to do. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube all make it very easy to go live and archive the video so it can be viewed later on.
It’s also a great start to video marketing if you aren’t quite ready to produce quality videos in advance. What can they be used for? Announcing contests is a popular topic within the live video. You announce there will be a contest and encourage people to watch the live video to learn what the contest is and how they can enter. Got a big sale going on? Live video can allow you to show off the items and talk about your sale. Even just a Q&A about your business is a great way to engage in conversation with your target market.
Creating Brand Loyalty
If you still aren’t sure if video marketing is right for you, remember that it is a good tool for solidifying brand loyalty. People say they don’t view corporations as a person or an individual but when they can connect with the faces behind a product or service they love, they show loyalty to that brand.
It can be easy to get a sale. It’s harder to gain a loyal customer who doesn’t want to go anywhere else.
Promoted Videos on Pinterest truly show how brand loyalty can be achieved. A makeup company that shows a new tutorial will see a spike in sales. The mechanic who shows how to change a lightbulb will see those people coming in for brake repairs. The catering business that shows how to make a fantastic baklava will see more people asking them to cater major events.
Video marketing satisfies your target market’s need to getting information quickly and efficiently. You may not feel like avoiding it is hurting your business, but if you adopt it, you are going to wonder why you weren’t making videos sooner!
