How to add video content into your marketing strategy

With visual content dominating so much of what people see and listen to online, video is more than ever an important tool for marketers looking to capture attention. In this article, we’ll explore five key reasons you should include video content in your marketing strategy and best practices for doing so.

5 key benefits of video content

From boosting engagement to showing off your brand’s unique personality, adding video to your content strategy can give your online presence an edge over your competition.

1. High engagement and attention 

Video is consistently among the best forms of content for engagement, generally outperforming text-based content. For example, videos on Instagram alone receive 49% more engagement than static posts.

What drives these high rates of engagement? The dynamic nature of video makes it particularly effective at attracting and retaining audience attention. Not to mention, people spend more time than ever before watching videos, with research indicating that people watch 17 hours of video content per week on average. Whether through visually appealing graphics, solid storytelling, or helpful product demonstrations, video content can captivate and leave a lasting impression on your target audience.

2. Works well on mobile 

One of video’s significant advantages is that it can be easily adapted for viewing across all platforms. This adaptability is essential, as 75% of viewers report watching short-form video content on mobile.

With businesses seeing large amounts of online traffic from mobile users, videos become more critical than ever in capturing visitors’ attention. Whatever the type of video you publish, the mobile-friendly nature of video content maximises the reach and impact of your content.

3. Great for SEO

Video content serves as a powerful tool for boosting search engine optimisation (SEO). While search engine algorithms always change, videos consistently drive traffic to pages. They can also appear directly on search engine results pages (SERPs) as part of a carousel or as a snippet next to your article.   

To maximise the impact of your video content, go through the same steps you would take for any other piece of content to ensure that it’s optimised for SEO:

• Do keyword research to find topics that your audience is searching for.
• Use those keywords in your script, titles, descriptions, tags, and other related assets. This makes it easier for search engines to index your content and for your target audience to find it.
• Use attractive and eye-catching thumbnails, as this prompts users to choose your video over others and increases the click-through rate (CTR).
• Sharing your video across various platforms and embedding it in relevant blog posts and web pages enhances its visibility and encourages backlinking, further solidifying the impact of video on your SEO.

4. ‘Shareability’: encourage sharing and go viral

User research shows that video content is among the best in ‘shareability’, with 52% of people reporting that they are more likely to share video than any other type of content. Creating videos that are meant to be shared amplifies your reach and encourages the organic, word-of-mouth promotion that can boost awareness of your brand.

Crafting content that engages emotionally or that provides exceptional educational value encourages viewers to become enthusiastic advocates, contributing to the growth of your brand’s online presence.

5. Develop and show your brand personality 

Video content lets businesses shape and share their brand personality. More than other media, video lets companies convey their culture, values, and overall personality in an authentic and exciting way. You can share your brand personality through behind-the-scenes clips of your daily operations, employee interviews, or storytelling that aligns with brand ethos. Humanising your company helps viewers develop an attachment to your brand, creating a basis for brand trust and loyalty.

How to include video in your marketing strategy

Now that we’ve explored some key benefits of video content, it’s time to look at practical steps you can take to incorporate video into your marketing strategy.

Consider different content types

Creating a diverse palette of video content is a good strategy to keep your audience engaged and interested. Different video formats and types offer diverse ways to connect with your audience. Here are a few examples of different video content types you can consider:

• Tutorials: Educational content like tutorials shows your expertise and provides value to viewers. Tutorials engage viewers by addressing their questions and concerns.
  
• Product demos: Visualising how a product works can make far more of an impact than a written description. Product demos allow you to showcase the features and benefits of your offerings, providing a firsthand experience for potential customers.
  
• Testimonials: Real-life experiences from satisfied customers are powerful social proof. This type of video humanises and builds trust in your brand, making it relatable to a broader audience.

By incorporating a variety of video content types, you keep your content strategy fresh and dynamic. It can also cater to different audience preferences and expand your reach. Experimenting with various formats lets you discover what resonates most with your audience, keeping them engaged and eager for your upcoming content.

Engage with video at all levels of your marketing funnel

All levels of your marketing funnel can benefit from video content. It’s just a matter of identifying the best type of content for every stage.

Let’s break down the marketing funnel into five stages. These are:

1.  Awareness, where you try to generate leads and make your target audience aware of your brand.

2. Interest or consideration, where a visitor learns about your product and their interest is piqued.

3. The desire stage, where you aim to convert a visitor to a paying customer.

4. The action stage, which is where the customer makes a decision to purchase your product.

5. After purchase, businesses encourage loyalty and ambassadorship towards their products.

At the top of the funnel, where the focus is on creating awareness, video content is a great tool for spreading the word. At this stage, you should consider incorporating video into your ads or doing educational content to capture visitors who are not actively searching for your company.

As you move into the consideration stage, where you should look to generate demand for your product, you can incorporate how-to videos and tutorials that showcase your product functions. Here, you can position your brand as an authority providing the solutions your visitors seek.

For the desire stage, where the primary objective is to drive conversions, testimonials and customer reviews take centre stage. Authentic stories and positive experiences shared through video can create trust and confidence in your brand, influencing decision-making.

After the decision stage, in the post-purchase period, video content can play a vital role in getting your users to become loyal to your brand. Educational materials, webinars, Q&A sessions, and other informative forms of video content help customers squeeze out the most value from your products or services while also developing a sense of satisfaction and eventual loyalty.

Finally, we can add an advocacy stage, where you try to turn customers into active promoters of your product. Consider capturing user-generated content (UGC) and highlighting authentic praise for your products on your site. Showing real-life experiences shared by customers encourages a community of advocates who further stretch your brand’s reach.

Know your audience and choose the right platforms

Understanding your audience is vital for a successful video marketing strategy. Research your target audience to create content that aligns with their needs and interests. Equally important is to select the right platforms by identifying where your audience is most active. Customising your content for each platform maximises its impact and demonstrates your commitment to meeting your audience where they are.

Keep posting frequency in mind

Maintaining a steady and predictable schedule for your video content is important for building anticipation and driving engagement. When viewers know when to expect new content, they are more likely to engage regularly. Establishing a rhythm creates a sense that your company is reliable, strengthening your brand presence.

However, keep in mind that consistency should not come at the expense of quality. While regular uploads keep your audience engaged, ensuring each piece maintains a high standard is equally important. You want to create high-quality content that viewers look forward to rather than simply expect.

By finding the sweet spot between consistency and quality, you can create a content schedule that aligns with your audience’s expectations while delivering content that captures their attention and maintains their interest over the long term.

Potential negatives of video content

While video content offers many benefits, a few downsides are worth considering before making video a central pillar of your marketing strategy. 

Time-consuming

Creating interesting video content is a time-intensive process, with lots of planning, scripting, shooting, and editing required. Before diving in, evaluate the time you can realistically dedicate to video production.

Consider your goals and audience. While short clips may be enough for some social media platforms, tutorials demand more time and resources. Finding the right balance ensures that you publish high-quality, well-aligned content while not pushing your business beyond its capacity.

Costs

Investing in higher-quality video production can be costly, especially if you aim for professional equipment and editing services. However, there are strategies to make video creation cost-effective. You don’t need to invest in top equipment immediately but rather find affordable alternatives to get started. A microphone and a good-enough camera go a long way to upgrading your videos from smartphone to professional quality.

For editing, exploring low-cost editing tools can help lower the financial barriers to video content production. Setting up a budget and exploring alternatives for the highest-cost parts of video will let you focus on producing the high-quality content you want without breaking the bank.

Accessibility

Video content, while engaging, can create issues related to accessibility. Addressing these challenges helps ensure your content reaches a diverse audience. Make sure you use features like captions, transcripts, and meta descriptions to improve accessibility.

Beyond being a good approach to making your content accessible for individuals with disabilities, there is also research showing that a significant portion of users view video content without sound. Adding captions and text descriptions will broaden your audience reach while demonstrating a wider commitment to accessibility for all users.

A balanced approach leads to results

Adding video content to your marketing toolkit has many benefits, from improved engagement and SEO to showcasing brand personality and connecting with audiences at various stages of the marketing funnel.

The dynamic nature of video allows businesses to share their message attractively and authentically, creating a deeper connection with their target audience.

However, it’s important to have a balanced approach to video content creation, as there are some negatives. For example, it can be time-intensive to produce video, and there are challenges related to accessibility. You can better navigate the video content product process by understanding and addressing these considerations.

A consistent posting schedule, high-quality production within budget constraints, and an inclusive approach to content creation ensure that video becomes a powerful and sustainable tool in the broader marketing toolkit. By embracing both strengths and challenges, you can ensure your video content has a lasting impact and makes customers out of your visitors.