In our busy world, video is becoming an increasingly popular vehicle for marketing content. People have less time these days, and video is a fast, modern, and engaging method for catching prospects’ attention. It might not be a surprise then that video marketers get 66 percent more qualified leads per year.
Still, many businesses are concerned that video production falls outside their budget. While it’s true that professional videos can be costlier than static content, they can also be more affordable than you might think, especially when you have a solid video marketing strategy in place before you start.
Most Bang for Your Buck
Many companies think “Hey, let’s produce a video.” They pay to have one video done, they put it online and decide they didn’t get the ROI they hoped. To be clear, videos need to be a regular part of your overall content marketing strategy for true effectiveness. Just like you wouldn’t publish one blog post and stop, video needs to be on a regular schedule as part of your marketing plan.
But won’t that cost too much? Not necessarily.
In one well-planned day (or maybe two), you can shoot enough content to keep something fresh and new coming out every few weeks, possibly throughout the year. This is much more cost-effective than bringing in a production crew for one video and then having them come back again when you’re ready to produce another. And, you can always pay for editing as you go to offset the upfront cost.
To be sure, executing this strategy requires precise planning, thoughtful consideration of each video’s topic and purpose, storyboarding and script development, as well as the availability of your company’s subject matter experts and others who need to be on hand for the shoot. But what you can end up with is a lot of focused content that can then be spread across multiple channels over an extended period of time. When you think about how much content you can wring from that one shoot, the cost becomes less overwhelming.
Where should my videos go?
There are myriad places to place video—your website, email newsletters, social channels, and more. Place them wherever your audience is, so you’ll need to understand what channels they use most often. Even if you have great content, if it’s not in the right delivery portal, it won’t be seen. Ask yourself, where do my prospects live online?
Tip: Even if your company doesn’t have its own YouTube page, you’ll still want to place your videos there. Google loves video (and owns YouTube), so be sure to place keywords in your YouTube caption or description to make it rise to the top in searches.
Video can be your best salesperson
How do you define success? Well, that depends on what your definition of success actually is. It could be new customers signing on, revenue growth, or something less tangible like brand awareness. Figure out what it is for your company and reverse- engineer your video marketing strategy for it.
Did you know that video on landing pages is capable of increasing conversions by 80 percent, and simply using the word video in the subject line of your email boosts the open rate by 19 percent? Suffice it to say, people love watching video which is why it needs to be part of your marketing mix in 2020.
Think of it this way: How much do you pay your average salesperson? You can probably get a year’s worth of engaging video content for a fraction of that cost. And, just like a rising tide lifts all boats, that content will help your entire salesforce perform better.
Do you need help in creating and producing video in a way that’s within your budget? We can help, so let’s talk.