How To Use Videos In Your Marketing

If you’re a marketer tasked with growing your company’s customer base, you’re probably well aware that videos are more effective than most other strategies you can use.

Understandably, consumers find them more interesting than motionless images or text. They’re also most people’s preferred method for learning about products, services and opportunities. As a consumer, wouldn’t you agree?

At the same time, decision-makers nowadays prefer them over information presented in print media or emails. The emotions they trigger tend to prompt them to respond more often as well.

With that said, my guess is if you’re in business and have experienced the effectiveness of Video Marketing, you’re probably grateful to no longer be relying solely on print advertising or email marketing. Am I right?

All the while, the biggest key to success with videos is getting the right people to watch them… But more on that in a bit.

First, this post is about how to use videos in your marketing — not why you should — so let’s get into that now.

Short Videos Are Better

Without a doubt, attention spans nowadays are shorter. A recent study by Microsoft proved that, according to TIME online, the attention span of humans has decreased from 12 to 8 seconds. And, in case you’re wondering, it’s not just in kids.

For reference, that’s about as long as it takes for pit crews to perform the average IndyCar pitstop. It’s also about the same amount of time it takes to button down a shirt and check it in the mirror. I experimented—LOL! Or to chew and swallow a bite of a fairly thick sandwich, or to slip on and tie a shoe.

So, what does that mean for marketers? Basically, they only have 8 seconds to hook the average consumer enough to get them to continue watching and/or listening to their messages. Clearly, that makes it difficult to engage an audience through text. And, when it comes to rattling off statistics or sharing data, it needs to be super quick.

That said, since most marketing messages need to present far more information than 8 seconds will allow, keeping them brief regardless of the presentation format is important, making short videos ideal.

Example Of A Short Marketing Video

As an example, here’s a short video from Mountain Dew:

What an action-packed, informational, and outrageous advertisement…all within about 15 seconds, right? And, when the slam came down right before he busted through the sheetrock, weren’t you captivated? I was… Rhetorically, how did you feel? Think you’ll remember it? I’m sure I will.

In a nutshell, marketing videos need to grab and hold attention quickly, which they can. By combining images with sound and motion, they have the ability to deliver oodles of information super fast…and accomplish the goals of marketing.

Relate To Your Target Audience

Here’s a question for you: Do you know your target audience?

As a marketer, my guess is you understand that rarely ever is “everyone” a target audience. While hoping that is natural, in reality, it just isn’t likely.

For instance, while many people love ice cream, some actually don’t like it at all. Or, even though 5-star hotels are amazing, not everyone can afford to stay in them.

Considering that, for marketing videos to perform their best, they need to be told in a way consumers can relate to or even imagine themselves experiencing. This concept is why numerous cereal commercials are shown on cartoon networks, and why beer and gambling commercials are often shown on sports channels.

Likewise, videos can make someone feel like a real person and not like a sales prospect. Motionless images and words simply can’t do that as well. Plus, sometimes words seem fake.

With that said, here are different types of effective marketing videos: educational, product and service descriptions, comparisons, testimonials, how-to’s, requests for donations, news updates, and inspirational videos. Oh, and humor can be used as well. Just try not to make it too distracting so you don’t miss the chance to connect with viewers and make your points.

Post Where Your Target Audience Will Be

Knowing where to post your videos is a key to success. To simplify, ask yourself these two questions: Who are you talking to, and what are your goals?

Then, consider where those people will be and evaluate these possible platforms:

• Pay-per-click
• Email
• Targeted campaigns like newsletters
• Social media
• Company websites
• Video hosting websites like YouTube or Vimeo
• Direct Mail campaigns like Video Brochure Mailers and Video Boxes

While all of these produce levels of success, some are more effective than others. For instance, now let’s cover why Video Brochures and Video Boxes tend to outproduce them all.

Examples of Video Brochures and Video Boxes

First, here’s a short clip of some Video Brochures and Video Boxes we’ve created for clients. It also includes Video Business Cards and Video Mailers.

By the way, if you’d heard these products called by other names, here’s a link briefly explaining why that is: Alternate Names For Video Brochures.

Video Brochures and Video Boxes Are Top-Level Producers

While many decisions that will impact your life significantly will be made without you in the room, it doesn’t mean your video can’t be there.

So, in business, how can you make that happen? With Direct Mail Video Marketing Products, that’s how.

In a nutshell, when marketing videos get watched by a target audience, they tend to boost sales. Why? Because as stated above, they’re more interesting than old-school marketing products like pamphlets, flyers and traditional brochures.

I mean, how excited do you feel when you receive those types of products? Do you set them aside? Maybe glance through them later, or simply throw them away? That rarely happens with Video Marketing Products.

What’s more, we’ve had clients report as high as a 66% response rate when using them. We’ve also had one tell us they enjoyed a 70% increase in sales after theirs were distributed. And yes, those results blow away other marketing strategies.

In addition, videos feel like they take less effort to watch. They also feel more trustworthy, and they can say and show a lot of information in a short period of time… All reasons why they’re so popular.

And finally, are you familiar with the saying It’s all in the presentation? Well, isn’t a video presentation more appealing than print marketing with motionless content? We say yes, by far. And it’s no wonder executives seek out videos when trying to find ways to improve their companies.

After reading this, if you’d like to learn more about how to use videos in your marketing, or to get a FREE Sample of a Video Brochure or Video Mailer, contact us today.