At a recent ETAG Conference I heard a very interesting prediction that by 2018, 80% of the world's internet traffic will be video consumption...(I sometimes feel like 2008 was two seconds ago, so it was a shock for me to realise that this prediction is talking about next year!). This prediction is also mirrored in a Cisco study published in 2015 which also states that by 2020 there will be 4.1 Billion global internet users with 26.3 Billion networked devices and connections. That's a LOT of people watching a heck of a LOT of video content - but what will they be watching? The range of video content readily available on the internet is ever expanding, from YouTube vlogger sensations with their own beauty product lines, to streaming of films and box sets at the click of a button.
For advertisers the potential of video as a content marketing channel is absolutely huge in terms of engaging with your audience and promoting your product or service. This could be through vlogs, product reviews, interviews, webinars, tutorials, animations and good old fashioned trailers or adverts...the list goes on and on.
There's also been lots of new ways to share video online recently with the likes of Periscope, Facebook LIVE, 360 video, Snapchat and Instagram Stories - to name a few!
In my current role of Marketing and PR Officer at New Lanark World Heritage Site we began dipping our toes in the 'video marketing' world last summer by creating a series of video adverts I suppose you would call them for various areas of our site such as the Visitor Centre, Mill Shop and Health & Fitness Suite. We found they were a fantastic way to convey our marketing messages in an engaging way and show so much more than an image or text ever could. We also found that sharing very short snippets of video on our social media channels (mainly Facebook and Instagram) also performed very well in terms of audience engagement.
It was very much an in-house operation with us undertaking all of the filming and editing. As there was no cost outlay at the beginning this allowed us to experiment and feel free to be creative without having to worry about having to pay a video editor for just one more change.
This year we're looking to continue to use video marketing to support our wider marketing campaigns, and also by creating specific videos to support the marketing of our growing programme of events and exhibitions.
From working on creating and editing the videos I've learned a lot about what works well and what doesn't. As such, I've pulled together a list below of my 20 Top Tips for online video marketing. I'm definitely no expert, and always willing to learn so if you have any more tips or comments please feel free to email me at melissareilly3@gmail.com.
- Videos shared on social media for advertising purposes should be 30 seconds max.
- Use a simple backing track to keep the video lively (not too loud!)
- Every video should have a easily flowing beginning, middle and end.
- People are likely to switch off, so have the essential info at the start.
- When editing use transitions sparingly! (if in doubt stick to a simple dissolve/fade)
- Use a tripod for steady pans.
- Perhaps the most obvious - use a good quality camera or phone for capture.
- Natural lighting where possible is best!
- When shooting capture a variety of shots (static, pan up down left right, zoom in out)
- More is more - take lots of short clips that you can piece together later.
- Always capture more than you need at the start and end of a shot then trim down
- Incorporate your brand colour schemes and logo (but not right at the start as this will look very corporate - unless that's the style you're going for!)
- Upload videos directly to Facebook for a higher organic reach (rather than sharing a YouTube link for example)
- Use a relevant video title and searchable keywords in your YouTube video description
- Try out Youtube's new Director App to help businesses create better video content
- Export your video at the correct (and best possible) quality for your platform
- Embed video in your website landing page (or any other relevant page) to increase the time people spend on your website.
- Include a call to action at the end of your video (so dedicated/engaged people who have watched the full thing know what to do next)
- Try not to date content too obviously (if possible) as in most cases it should be evergreen content that you can share again and again!
This is an example of one of the first videos I had a go of producing!
Thanks for reading!
Melissa
@_Melissa247photo credit: Digital Adrian Capturing the fountains via photopin (license)
