Hey everyone, and welcome to our guide on video marketing. In this tutorial, you’ll learn everything you need to know to jump headfirst into video marketing. We’ll teach you everything from goal setting, defining your audience, content planning, tools, types of video, creating videos, distribution, and measuring success. (gentle upbeat music)**
Video marketing is a type of content marketing that uses video as the main form of creative collateral. Why do it? Because it works. Video ads perform better than static image ads in every way. In a recent experiment we ran, we found video ads get more reach, more clicks, and cost far less per lead. In the last 10 years, two important video trends have emerged. The first is that demand for video has increased. The second is that the cost of video production has decreased. Thanks to video makers like Biteable, the world’s simplest video maker, it’s easier than ever to make marketing videos.
The first thing to do for any marketer is to set goals and targets within the marketing funnel. Video is useful at every stage of the marketing funnel, from awareness at the very top, consideration in the middle, and conversion at the bottom. Let’s look at these stages in more detail. (gentle upbeat music)
Think of the awareness stage as a getting-to-know-you exercise. A first date almost. Video content is short, sharp, and introductory. Aim for 30 seconds or less and explain your value proposition. What is the value of your business to the viewer? Metrics like the number of views and length of views are good markers of success. (gentle upbeat music)
Then there’s consideration. This is when your audience probably knows a bit about you, but the marketplace is crowded with options and you want to stand out. Offering consistent expert knowledge and advice while steering away from one-off discounts or gimmicks can build trust in this stage. Measure success by click-through rate. (gentle upbeat music)
And then there’s conversion, which is a bit simpler. These videos are about selling your product or service directly. Conversion content has to offer urgency or opportunity like a saving. Conversion metrics to focus on are straight-up sales. Cha-ching! (gentle upbeat music)
Who you’re speaking to is as important as what you’re saying. So before you even open Biteable to make a video, you have to define your audience. We recommend doing this with personas. A persona should include details about who they are and how they interact with marketing platforms. And remember, you might need more than one persona. Most audiences are divided into segments that represent different business goals. (gentle upbeat music)
Often the hardest part of planning video content is coming up with ideas. If you look far enough ahead, you can avoid the stress of last-minute production. Marketing calendars are great for this. Biteable’s calendar even gives you video ideas, prompts, and templates for every day of the year, as well as obscure facts like, “Did you know May 14th is National Dance Like a Chicken Day?” Well, now you do. (gentle upbeat music)
What tools do you need in your belt to nail video marketing? Only three, but they’re absolutely essential. A video maker, a scheduler, and a dashboard. The video maker, we can help you out there. Unless you’re in charge of editing Tarantino’s next project, you’re best to save time and money with a simple video maker. Use the Biteable video maker if you want something that is easy, intuitive, and comes full of pre-programmed templates. It’s also social-friendly and has a library full of clips, music, and animations. You’ll also need a scheduler to make sure your content is published when you need it to be. There are a fair few to choose from. Our advice is to pick one that’s focused on your preferred social media channel. And finally, you’ll need a dashboard to track analytics. Again, there are lots on the market. So choose one that integrates seamlessly with your channel of choice. (gentle upbeat music)
In order to convince the higher-ups to use video, you’ll need to develop a watertight business use case. Remember to provide goals and targets that align with the broader goals of your company. Clearly outline the budget and scope of the project to manage expectations. And dangle a carrot. Show examples of successful video campaigns by people in similar industries. (gentle upbeat music)
There are many types of video, but let’s break it down into the most common ones you’re likely to use. Ads are relatively straightforward production pieces in video marketing. They’re unambiguously promoting something and they get to the point quickly. Explainer videos are a great way to show your authority in your field. They give knowledge about a product, service, process, or thing and they generally help answer a question. Testimonials are a powerful form of social proof. They prove that you’re trustworthy. Genuine comments from customers with a name and face are best. These videos are more newsy and answer questions with who, what, when, where, and why. Read more at Biteable about the different types of marketing videos you can make. (gentle upbeat music)
A great way to understand what your audience wants to see in videos is to do keyword research. If you have Google Console linked to your online platforms, and you should, you’ll be able to see what keyword combinations people are using to find content in your niche. Pick the ones with volume and make videos to match. (gentle upbeat music)
The first step in making a video is storyboarding. If you have a big budget, you can hire someone who specializes in storyboarding. If not, you can sketch it out by yourself. It’s helpful to see how the beats of the story unfold, even if your sketching is just some written notes. If you’re using Biteable, you can even use the video maker itself to create a rough storyboard. Drop scenes, images, or text into a new project and change it around until it works. After your storyboard is in place, it’s time to script. Remember to speak directly to your audience and keep it brief. Read your script out loud as you go because the way we speak is totally different from the way we write. If your video idea is really specific, like you want to show a dozen clowns dancing on the rim of an active volcano, you’ll need to find a camera, hire some clowns, and put them to work in front of a green screen. And you’ll need to learn Premiere Pro or Final Cut. Boring. Save yourself the trouble and use Biteable. Biteable comes with a huge stock library of 1.8 million clips, animations, and images. So you can create an endless variety of videos. (gentle upbeat music)
Now onto hosting. We recommend using YouTube as your host platform because it’s free and comes with built-in mechanisms that help big time with SEO and discovery. Alternatively, you can host your video on your own server or look for a paid third-party video hosting service like Wistia or SproutVideo. Once you’re hosted, there are lots of places you’ll want to show off your video, but the first stop should be your website. A video on the home or a landing page can increase conversions by up to 80%. When it comes to advertising, the first question is to pay or not to pay. If you have the budget, focus on Facebook and YouTube for paid marketing as they both offer precise targeting and good ROI. If you’ve built an audience and are willing to put in the work, organic posting can work just fine, especially on platforms like YouTube or even Instagram. Earnest tactics like going live, engaging in conversations or groups, and using influencers are all viable ways to distribute your video content without paying a cent for advertising. (gentle upbeat music)
The first thing you need to measure success is analytics. If you have a dashboard with built-in analytics, then you’re already nailing it. Otherwise, pull reports from the native social platforms themselves or Google Analytics. Data usually gives us some insights but not the full picture. To truly know your audience, you need to A/B test. A/B testing on Facebook and Instagram is relatively simple. A/B testing works best on elements like thumbnails, CTA, and ad text. But remember to only test one element at a time so you can isolate what’s working. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to A/B test natively on YouTube yet, but you can use third-party helpers like TubeBuddy to do it anyway. (gentle upbeat music)
To find detailed guides on everything we’ve spoken about today, check out our full guide to video marketing. And if you’re inspired to create your own video right now, get started with Biteable for free. Thanks so much for watching. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. Bye for now. (gentle upbeat music)