How Businesses Can Take Advantage of the Power of Video Marketing

Then, all of a sudden, with television, you’re able to harness the power of video and share compelling visual stories directly with the consumer. Is your business taking advantage of the billions of video views these platforms serve each day? The social giant’s introduction of Facebook Live Video is a significant development for B2B marketers, as this has created new possibilities for engaging with a potentially massive audience. Unlike YouTube videos, which tend to look better the more produced they are, Facebook Live Video, Snapchat Stories, and Instagram Stories can be compelling with very little investment in production values and editing. Also, because Snapchat users must specifically seek out the accounts they follow, either by typing in the exact username or taking a photo of a unique Snapcode, your followers tend to be highly engaged with your brand. Once you outline the specific attributes of your video marketing brand, make sure they are completely compatible with your overall brand strategy. If your followers sense a disconnect between your brand identity and the video content that you post, you run the risk of seeming inauthentic. It also provides you with an opportunity to tease content that will draw in a new audience. One way to accomplish this is to make your stories interactive so that social media users can directly contribute to the creative process and deepen their bond with your brand. Thankfully, the platforms themselves have some tools for business users that you can use to get started on measuring the effectiveness of your video marketing program.

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Think for a moment about what it must have been like to be an
advertiser in the dawn of the television era. You spent decades
attempting to create dynamism through static photographs and
drawings in print ads. You used the radio to encourage the audience
to visualize products on their own. Then, all of a sudden, with
television, you’re able to harness the power of video and share
compelling visual stories directly with the consumer. It must have
felt like an entirely new world of possibilities had opened up.

While this time may not prove to be quite as historically
momentous as the introduction of television advertising, we are in
a somewhat similar period of upheaval for B2B digital marketers,
and it’s also connected to the use of video. The opportunities for
creative uses of video marketing have exploded in recent years, and
marketers are just beginning to reap the benefits of sending
innovative video content directly to a user’s mobile device.

For nearly a decade, YouTube was the dominant player in video
streaming. Today, Facebook Video, Snapchat, and Instagram Stories
are giving YouTube a run for its money. Is your business taking
advantage of the billions of video views these platforms serve each
day?

Facebook’s massive reach is now common knowledge, even outside
the tech world: Its user base had climbed above 1.5
billion
by the fourth quarter of 2015. The social giant’s
introduction of Facebook Live Video is a significant development
for B2B marketers, as this has created new possibilities for
engaging with a potentially massive audience.

What’s less well known outside the technoverse is how Snapchat
has disrupted the social media marketing world, and how new brands
are discovering its potential everyday. The latest estimates show
that Snapchat has
surpassed 150 million daily users
. Snapchat’s users tend to be
among the most dedicated and engaged of any social media platform,
and savvy marketers are learning how they can leverage this
engagement by creatively using the Snapchat Stories feature.

Probably the most compelling reason for B2B marketers to use
new-generation video marketing techniques is that they are
inexpensive and low-risk with the potential for high rewards.
Unlike YouTube videos, which tend to look better the more produced
they are, Facebook Live Video, Snapchat Stories, and Instagram
Stories can be compelling with very little investment in production
values and editing. In the new world of video marketing, you can
make an impression on the social scene and connect with your
audience in new ways by developing a consistent strategy that
guides and informs your initiatives.

Understand the differences between each platform

The first thing to take into account is that not all social
media outlets that feature video marketing tools are created equal.
You wouldn’t try to shoehorn a detailed product description into a
banner ad anymore than you should try to recreate a highly edited
commercial on Facebook Live Video. Each platform features unique
attributes that need to be considered when creating content for
that outlet, lest your message get muddled and lost.

Facebook Live Video, for instance, is great for when you want to
create a sense of immediacy surrounding an event. Perhaps you are
putting on an interactive product demonstration for a brand new
offering, and this is the public’s first glimpse of it. Or you
could solicit questions from your followers and do a live Q&A
session. Your enthusiastic users can share the video feed with
their followers, adding to the sense that everyone is sharing in a
unique and finite experience.

Snapchat Stories, meanwhile, give you the opportunity to enhance
otherwise mundane content with creative filters and add-ons. Also,
because Snapchat users must specifically seek out the accounts they
follow, either by typing in the exact username or taking a photo of
a unique Snapcode, your followers tend to be highly engaged with
your brand. You can use this information to skip over entry-level
content that would provide value for an uninitiated audience member
and focus on
content for your most fervent supporters
.

Know what you want to gain…

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