With exponential growth in communication, internet speed and bandwidth, we’ve seen a huge increase in the consumption of audio-visual content in the online environment. The rise of internet giants like YouTube and Facebook has only further added to the importance of video content for the businesses.
Advertisers have always understood the effectiveness of video ads, and their experience with television ads has been a successful one. However, with the internet things have changed. There weren’t a lot of businesses that could afford ad slots on TV, but with the help of the technology and the internet anyone can now produce and run various videos, including ads, no matter how low or high their budget is.
Such a change in market dynamics has allowed for a whole new breed of video marketing businesses to emerge, and this is a massive opportunity for people to grab onto as there is a high demand for video content, good video marketers, and consultants out there.
What is Video Marketing?
Let’s begin with a brief overview of video marketing itself before actually diving into all the different aspects which make it a viable online business model.
Video marketing is essentially a sub-branch of marketing, where you carry your message out to your target audience on video format. We can consider it as a part of the content marketing strategy where in this case the content comes in video format. There are a number of channels you can use for deployment of video marketing online, but the most popular ones are social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and since recently TikTok.
With the help of video marketing, you can achieve one of three strategic goals:
- Awareness – Getting people to know your company, brand or products.
- Consideration – Generating lukewarm leads, and increasing engagement.
- Conversion – Reaching your end goal i.e. a sale, subscription a download or any other action
People aren’t up for reading long copies, and are becoming more perceptible to short-form video content online. It is the very reason why video is now the most effective form of media when it comes to marketing.
Small Businesses Need Video Marketing More Than Ever
It’s true. With so many businesses taking advantage of online video marketing and making amends already, the laggards are also following suit, and there is a massive opportunity of video marketers to cash in.
Small to medium size business owners aren’t well-versed when it comes to digital marketing and its precepts. If you’re properly trained and know your way around video then there are plenty of clients waiting for you.
So, why are small businesses in such a hurry to get their video marketing campaigns started? Well here are a few intriguing video marketing stats:
- YouTube is the second most popular site after Google!
- If given a choice between text and video, eighty-percent choose video.
- Above sixty-percent of consumers are more likely to buy your offering after watching a video.
- Six out of ten people prefer online videos over television.
- Mobile video consumption is increasing by hundred-percent every year.
- About fifty-percent of people will search for a video about the product before visiting a store.
Video Marketing as Online Business
The above-mentioned statistics are a ray of optimism for the video marketing businesses. Different video marketing business models may include; video blogs, video podcasts and video channels. You can also use video marketing to complement you existing web business or you could start your very own video production agency to serve the demand. Regarding the latest option there is tremendous potential for growth, and there are plenty of small and medium sized businesses who’d be willing to enjoy your services.
So, besides creating videos for your own online business you can also offer video services to other business, but what can you do as online video marketing developer regardless if it is for your own use or for the clients? The following aspects will form the core of your online video marketing business:
1. Different Types of Videos
2. Online Video Marketing Strategy
3. Making and Publishing Videos
Now, we will explain each of these aspects of a video marketing business in the paragraphs below.
Types of Videos
There are number of different kinds of videos that perform really well on social media platforms. Each video-type has a specific function, and is used to achieve certain goals distinct from each other, even though they all play a part in your online marketing campaigns.
• Go Live – Engage with your audience directly. Interact with them live instead of recorded video, and give them an opportunity to talk to you and ask you questions.
• Promotional Videos – Such videos are great for converting leads to sales. These are normally pitched to people have already familiarized themselves with your brand.
• Interviews – Such videos have a lot of popularity online. Talk to an expert, or interview the company founder and allow people to get to know him or her better.
• A Brand Video – Use these videos to introduce your brand, its values and proposition.
• Product Demos – Perhaps the best way to introduce your products is to shoot a product demo. Product demos greatly increase the likelihood of sales.
• How-to Videos – These videos are highly engaging, and can be used to teach customers about your product’s maintenance, other uses, or hidden features.
• Customer Testimonials – Absolutely necessary to gain trust and confidence of potential buyers, testimonials are vital for your business.
• Plain Old Ad – Create an ad for your product. You will need a story that customers can relate to, and a story which shows why customers need to buy your offering.
• Webinars – Webinars are another good way of engaging with potential consumers online. But these must be done strategically, and must serve a particular purpose and that is to educate the audience about something.
Creating an Online Video Marketing Strategy
Apart from creating a whole of lot different types of video content, your business or your clients will, more importantly, need you to come up with an effective online video marketing strategy. A marketing strategy determines the direction of your efforts, helps your garner the response that you intended.
Each video-type serves a separate purpose, but apart from that, it must also be used on the right platform, otherwise it might end up not being as effective in meeting its goals as expected.
Furthermore, each social media platform has its own specifications when it comes to video, and this forms an important part of your video marketing strategy. We’ve discussed some basic differences below.
1. Facebook – Prefers long-form video and it is a fact that longer videos fare much better on Facebook’s algorithm. Product Demos, explainers, live and webinars perform exceedingly well on Facebook, and you should look to target such content towards Facebook audiences.
2. Instagram – Shorter videos are perfect for Instagram. You should also cater to auto-play silent videos on Instagram. These videos run without turning on audio, so are easy to watch on public transport without earphones.
3. Twitter – Short announcements and teasers do very well on Twitter so make sure you use this to your advantage and post accordingly.
4. YouTube – You should focus on building a channel and audience on YouTube. You can gain a lot of brand loyal followers here and cater to wider sections of your target market. Everything goes on YouTube, but it is better if you post longer videos here.
Making Videos
Finally, as a video marketer, it will be your job to create videos from scratch. From planning to implementation, it will be your responsibility to take care of everything. Make sure you are all up-to-date with the latest equipment, editing software and techniques required to create amazing and attractive video content. If you have a decent budget you can hire other video producers to create your videos, but if your play as video marketing agency the best way to go is to produce the videos yourself.
Conclusion
Video marketing is a very viable business model in the current situation, and as has been demonstrated in the light of the stats presented above in the article. In our opinion, it is a booming and blossoming opportunity for younger entrepreneur to enter this space and build a sustainable business doing what they love.
Video marketing is where all the action is nowadays as far as advertising is concerned. So, no matter what your budget or what your constraints, you should do whatever you can to generate online video content on the various social media platforms that people us. Hope you succeed in your effort, till then – see you!
To learn more about the available online business models and revenue sources check our Online Business Guide.
