How to leverage video content

You probably already know that content marketing is huge.

But now, smart operators are shifting their resources out of text and into video. Nick Whitehead, Head of Marketing at Viocorp, and Tracey Atkins, Managing Director of Golden Eye Media, explain how SMEs can best leverage video content.

1. Recognise the opportunities.

Nick Whitehead: Here are a few figures to illustrate how big a phenomenon video content already is:

  • 73 per cent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after watching videos explaining a product or service.
  • 75 per cent of senior executives watch work-related videos each week.
  • 84 per cent of all net traffic will relate to video by 2018.

Tracey Atkins: Video content isn’t new. What has changed are things such as the bandwidth that consumers have access to, and the amount of time they spend staring at tablets and phablets. People love stories, and video content is a fantastic way of communicating a narrative. We now do a lot of work at the top end of the real estate industry, and there’s nothing that compares with a video showcasing a property that people all around the world can watch on their phones, and forward to others.

2. Work out what you want to get across, and what you want the viewer to do.

Nick Whitehead: It’s not about just getting some video on your business’s website because everybody else is. It’s about working out what content is right for your viewers, and what you want them to do after watching the video content. Do you want them to make a transaction? Download more information? Make an appointment? That will determine what kind of video content you need and what kind of clickable calls to action you insert in the content to make it as easy as possible for the viewer to take the next logical action.

Tracey Atkins: Effective video content isn’t about pretty images and soundtracks. It’s about content that targets the people you want to speak to and tells them what you want to tell them. Given the explosion of video content, it’s a cluttered environment out there. You need to cut through. You need content that’s engaging enough for people to want to watch while remaining consistent with your brand values and telling the story you want told. People are emotional rather than rational creatures, so emotive messaging generally works best. Win over people’s hearts with your video content and their heads will usually follow.

3. It’s probably not a good idea to get your 15-year-old to shoot the video content for your business on their mobile.

Nick Whitehead: One of the exciting things about video is how accessible it’s becoming. It’s not difficult for a business to spend $50,000 on a professionally produced 90-second video. Then again, it’s not uncommon nowadays for a business owner or CEO to film a short video on their phone then post it on a website or email it to stakeholders. I’d suggest that rather than spending up big on a single piece of video content, SMEs invest in a solution for scalable filming and editing of video content, and bring the capability in-house.

Tracey Atkins: As an SME owner myself, I’m aware that resources aren’t unlimited. Nonetheless, the video content needs to be aligned with what your business is all about. If you’re promoting a premium product or service, then those you’re targeting expect to see slickly produced video content. No matter what your budget, it’s often useful to get someone from outside your business to clarify what its story is. Often when I show business owners the videos we’ve made, their reaction is, “That’s a nice surprise. I’ve never before seen my business in the way you’ve presented it.”

4. Less is more when it comes to video content.

Nick Whitehead: It’s difficult to keep viewers engaged for more than about a minute and a half. If you can’t say what you want to say in that time span, then split it up into several shorter videos.

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