So you’ve decided that your organization needs a video, but the question you must answer is what type of video to create and what is the purpose. There are so many factors to think about, prioritize, and strategize in order to get the biggest impact for your marketing dollar.
The best place to start is with the purpose of the video and what you hope to achieve and convey in your messaging. Videos can be created for numerous reasons such as: Lead generation/sales, brand awareness, recruiting, company culture, meetings/presentations, landing page, product demonstration, virtual tour, testimonials, etc.
A video should build trust and confidence in your organization. Creating captivating video content on a regular basis is a best practice for your overall marketing strategy. Remember, video is a 24/7 sales person for your organization!
For example, an organization that is looking to increase sales will look to their marketing department to help them develop and produce a video that outlines the advantages, features and benefits of their products and or services.
There is still the question of “where to start”. First and foremost it’s important to understand your buyer’s persona: Who are they, their behavior patterns, their motivation and their goals. Understanding your buyer will be critical as you develop your video content.
Depending on your vertical market, products and/or services, your customers have various expectations as to what they would like to learn more about. People are visual leaners; they respond to emotion, they enjoy a good story and process information better in bite size pieces. There is no single, magical way to produce the perfect video. However, here are a few things all great videos have in common:
- It tells a story – There should be a logical sequences to your video that leads the viewer to want to watch it to completion
- It is short – We all know that attention spans are shrinking. Depending on where the video will be used will drive the length. Here is a good rule of thumb for the length of videos:
- Explainer Videos – 60 seconds or less
- Company Culture or Recruiting - 2-3 minutes
- Product Video – 1-3 minutes
- Webinars – 15-60 minutes
- Social Videos – 15 seconds – 2 minutes
- Video Pitches – 30-45 seconds
- It is relatable and engaging – All videos should capture the attention of their target audience and be relevant to their interests.
- It teaches or motivates – After your viewer watches your video they should walk away with new information or be compelled to learn more.
- It builds trust – Your video should be candid, have a friendly tone and be honest in its approach; these are the key items that will build trust.
- It reinforces your brand – Brand is not just your logo, it’s also the personality of your company conveyed through voice, design, words, color or a feeling you hope to portray to your buyer. It’s critical your unique brand voice is portrayed in your video.
- It encourages you to take action – After your viewer has watched the video there should be a clear message as to what step you want them to take next.
Video is powerful! And if done the right way it can make a huge impact on your bottom line. Don’t just listen to me, listen to the experts!
- “Video is a mega trend, Video will look like as big a shift in the way we share and communicate as mobile has been” – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO Facebook
- “Stop looking for that blogger and start looking for a videographer. 50% of your content mixture should be text and video. You need to make the shift to what your customers are on” – Brian Halligan, CEO HubSpot
- By 2019, 80% of the world’s internet traffic will be video – Cisco
Now that you're armed with this knowledge and have a better understanding of what type of video to create, be creative and tell a great story. A narrow focus on the target audience and their needs always will lead to a more effective B2B marketing video.
