There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that incorporating video in your marketing campaign is the best way to get favorable results. The persistent rise of video production companies dedicated to web video production is just part of the proof. But if you’re new to the video marketing game, the options for using video may seem a bit overwhelming. We’ve narrowed it down to 4 of the best ways you can incorporate video into your marketing campaign.
VIDEO CONTESTS
People generally jump at the chance to be heard, featured, exposed, introduced – whatever. Social media platforms are built on this fact.
GoPro followed this line of thinking and launched regular contests/giveaway, encouraging people to submit videos they shot using their GoPro. Their tagline is even capture + share your world. Who could resist that? The ultimate in look ma, no hands! technology, GoPro is now considered the number-one choice for active, on-the-go athletes and adventurers who need stable, hands-free video equipment to record their lives.
Encouraging people to send in videos of them using your product or service kills a lot of birds with one stone. It gets people interested, it gets your brand out there, and you get relatively free case studies and testimonials.
VIDEO TOURS/360 VIDEOS
Now that anybody and their mom can run Photoshop to make any image look pretty (what would we do without filters?), images are starting to lose credibility. The whole “pics or it didn’t happen” mentality is starting to give way to “where’s the video?”
And since every Smartphone comes with its own camera plus a multitude of photo-editing apps available for download, people have become quite the photographers. If anything else, they know that some clever angling and a good deal of exposure can always hide the unsightly bits.
Enter the video tour. You can now take your guests on a virtual tour of your establishment. With the cameraman basically acting as the guests’ eyes, potential customers now have the option to view every nook and cranny of your building from the comfort of their home.
360° videos take it a step further, and are fully interactive – meaning guests can click through rooms in any order, and explore at their own pace. It’s a good way to building trust and excitement with potentials, encouraging them to book a room/trip/tour/etc. with you rather than your competitor.
INTRODUCTION VIDEOS
This may seem obvious, but – given this generation’s obsession with everything digital – it bears repeating; humans will instinctively trust other humans.
With the level of technology we’re at, planes can fly themselves, computers can troubleshoot their own problems, and your tech support line’s IVR can pinpoint your internet problem faster than those call center agents can. So why are there still people in these career sectors?
Let’s put it this way; would you board a plane without a pilot?
People feel they can trust a company or brand more when there’s a human face behind the name. Introduction videos can help you build rapport, trust, and familiarity with your intended audience – all without leaving your studio.
It’s this line of thinking that makes kickstarter videos so effective, too. Hearing a relatable story and seeing a face behind the whole thing can really up the emotional, empathic connection, which factors largely in a consumer’s buying decision.
CLIENT VIDEO TESTIMONIALS
Similar to video contests and introduction videos, video testimonials seal the deal using the human factor and the relatable quotient. People don’t like shelling out money for experimental or unknown products without the certainty that they’re going to work.
It’s basic marketing; why do people buy products? They have a pain point, and they’re hoping that product will help with the pain. Something as simple as bath soap is bought due to a pain point; we want to be clean, we want to be sanitary, and we don’t want to smell bad.
Ergo, the client testimonials. Word-of-mouth marketing operates on the whole “it worked for me, it’ll work for you too!” theory. It may seem too simplistic, but results don’t lie. This kind of marketing works, and it works just fine in web video production, too.
