Here comes reporting week, and you have to explain to your boss why all the money that’s been spent on social media video marketing that month hasn’t brought in any revenue.
Makes you feel sick doesn’t it.
Yeah, video marketing can seem like a quick fix to some companies, another string to add to their content bow. Simply having more content is surely the best way to build more brand awareness and revenue. And definitely videos, you can do those! There’s a guy on the SEO team who makes YouTube videos, he can totally put together some videos!
STOP.
I beg of you, just stop and wait a moment! Time is money yes, but trust me when I say if you go ahead and create sub-par videos that don’t give your audience what they want, you’ve already lost.
Give me 5 minutes, and I’ll show you why your videos are killing your revenue.
Be Human
There is a lot of video content out there. Oh yes, a hell of a lot, and with 72 hours of footage being uploaded just to Youtube every minute of every day, there’s no point in me telling you just how important it is to stand out from the crowd.
And what does that crowd look like? Well, it looks like 80% of the boring, bland, basic marketing videos that you are accosted with on a daily basis on the internet. It lacks value, it lacks engagement, it lacks excitement, it generally just lacks humanity.
And then you get adverts like Mellow Mushroom’s ‘Clinically Proven’ video series, where someone thought it would be a greatidea to combine pizza and drugs commercials together.
There’s thinking outside of the (pizza) box, and then there’s just plain common sense; in what world does a delicious pizza go with a cringey TV drugs commercial? Do you suffer from chronic irritability? Try our newest cheese pizza…...doesn’t make you so hungry huh.
Your videos need to reflect your business as authentically and as humanly as possible, which means steering well clear of salesy videos that make you sound like the wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man from Family Guy. Nobody likes that guy, and definitely no one will buy from him.
Almost 50% of online customers are turned off by adverts that come across as too salesy, lacking humanity and any real reason why people should buy from them. It’s so important that you use your video marketing to convey a relatable & understanding brand persona that builds lasting relationships with your customers. That is if you want to make money….
What’s the last marketing video you actually remember watching?
For me it’s the Nike ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’ advert, on-point, hilarious, relatable and gives you all the feels.
It showcases the wide range of Nike products awesomely, and it’s motivating, inspiring, makes you feel proud to be a Londoner; it’s a brilliant example of how using video to convey emotion to your audience builds affection. Which in the long run turns into loyalty which turns into revenue and happy days for you.
And you don’t need hundreds upon thousands of pounds to make your own videos either.
Take a leaf out of Dollar Shave Club’s book and make simple, honest fun your main objective.
Their ‘Our Blades are F****ing Great!’ ad is hilarious, primarily down to the leading man, but also thanks to the uncomplicated, well-paced and relatable script that tells the audience more than just what they do. It tells the audience that they are a fun-loving business, who is providing a grooming service like this because they’ve suffered too. They’re human just like you, and that allows the audience to build a connection, relate to the brand and take a chance on them with their money.
Quips about Pop-Pop’s beard and spending way too much money on bad-quality shaving gear humanises the brand, evokes emotion in the audience, and this is the key point I want to make;
Emotion is the trigger that wins you a loyal customer base. And by leaving out the emotion in your video content, and skipping straight to the salesly marketing stuff, you’re doing your company a huge disservice.
Dr Karen Nelson-Field says in her book Viral Marketing: The Success of Sharing, marketing videos that put across a strong emotional appeal have more than double the chance of being shared over videos that don’t. And before you say it, no emotion doesn’t have to be ‘depressing’ or sad like the charity adverts you see all over daytime TV. The above examples evoke the wider range of emotions, like motivation & inspiration, using these themes to build an affinity that is just as strong as a charity ad.
As Spock would say, it’s logical! The greater affinity you have for a brand, the more likely you are to become an advocate for them, and buy their products/services. The more human you make your brand videos, the greater the result will be, because people don’t buy from companies, they buy from People.
Creating Your Video Content
So it’s time to take a look at your video content library, if you have one, and reassess what’s going on.
Is it portraying who your business is in a human way? Is it conveying emotion? Is it valuable?
If not, you need to start at the top, and ask yourself these questions:
Who is your audience? Who needs your product/service? You need to make sure that the content is tailored specifically for this group, both in look and language, in order to engage the most people.
Budget? Like I said before, you don’t need hundreds of thousands of pounds to make an effective video. Only have £300 to play with? See what you and your team can source, use your own office and MacGyver the hell out of it!
Do you need outside help? It’s much simpler to shoot a video than it is to edit one, so consider the costs of contracting a professional video editor or sound technician before you start.
What metric will you measure success by? Is this about making more money, creating more brand awareness or driving site traffic?
Where is the video going? Is it going on the company website? On Facebook? Instagram? Make sure the format fits the platform you use it on, for a seamless user experience.
If you’ve got here confidently and are ready to try and make your own videos, hold up! What about editing software? You have an Adobe subscription for Premier Pro, right?
No! Well that’s not a worry, as it is hella expensive anyways, especially for smaller businesses who don’t regularly create video content.
Thankfully, there are some easy to use and free online editor tools, that although they definitely can’t produce the high quality shots you see from the pros, they will give you the means to cut, transition and mould your video to make it fit for purpose.
ClipChamp Easy to use and a basic layout that even beginners will find easy to navigate, ClipChamp is a great online video editing tool to use.
WeVideo Winner of the Trendsetter Award 2017, WeVideo is a super handy and functional editing tool that will help you create slick and simple videos for your company.
Magisto Leaders of the social video revolution, this chic platform is perfect for creating badass social videos in just minutes.
More is not Better
Getting your point across is made much easier with video content, but as you can now see, doing it badly will only do your business more harm than good.
More content does not equal more money!
And while it’s all well and good taking on the challenge of creating your own brand videos with no prior experience, working with professionals who have been creating videos for years, and know how to make the biggest impact will get you the biggest return for your investment. Period.
Honestly, we don’t think that your brand’s reputation should have a price on it, as nothing is more crucial to your success than your reputation. But this is real life, and we know that there isn’t a magic money tree for you to shake down, which is why iNS aims to be as flexible as you need us to be. Solid experience, expert design skills and years in the industry have confirmed our belief that more money doesn’t mean better results. That’s why we’re the outside-the-box agency that gets you the results you want faster.
Your video content is a key part of your success in this digital realm, and half-assing it will only hurt your business in the long run.
