Videos’ Contribution to Content Marketing
You may be on the fence when it comes to deciding whether you use videos in your content marketing strategy. It will require some effort for you to include videos in your strategy but you will see that it is definitely well worth the effort.
The many aspects of successful content marketing
It is a well-established and well-understood fact that you need to have a solid content marketing strategy in place in order to bring your business to the next level. Content is the most critical element for your business but there are other elements that are strong contributing factors and they are well worth considering and should be implemented and incorporated as part of your content marketing strategy. Videos, for example, will truly enhance whatever you have in your content marketing strategy armamentarium up to this point.
Even though you have a great deal of enticing, effective, educational content included in your web presence, it will always be more appealing if you add videos to it. There are many reasons why that is true. Among them is the idea that many people are visual people and videos appeal to them and allow them to relate to whatever you are trying to communicate in a way that is more effective than any other way.
Content marketing is evolving on a regular basis, just like many other aspects of business. With that in mind, it is important to understand that there are several aspects of strategic content marketing that will drive your process to success (or greater success). They are:
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Key buyers: It is important to realize that key buyers (consumers who are driven by the need for particular products and/or services) are being swayed in some way by videos more and more often.
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Marketer feedback: As time goes on, marketers have a greater and greater need to gather as much feedback as they possibly can.
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Return on Investment: ROI is increasing and has been since the onset of social media and other online tools that are now making a profound difference in the success of many different businesses.
The influences that videos have on buyers
The ultimate goal for any business (this is a principle that has always been true and will be true until the end of time) is to sell that business’s products and/or services. Knowing this, it becomes abundantly clear that the buyer is really the most important person in the formula for success of any particular business. Any marketer worth anything understands that principle and should be driven by that concept. It is the marketer’s responsibility to provide valuable content to the buyer and to engage and entice the buyers in the most profound, effective manner possible. In order for the marketer to succeed at that, that person must consistently work at keeping the buyer engaged and intrigued. This will no doubt require some effort on the part of the marketer, including keeping on top of research to determine what the wants and needs of the buyer all. It is also important to understand that those wants and needs will (or at least, may) change over time. The more you can engage other people, the more effective you will be.
It is important to try to come up with new ways to engage the buyers and videos can help you to do that successfully. Videos are a rich source of valuable information for may business people with all sizes and all types of businesses.
Feedback is essential to marketers
It is not enough for you as a marketer to merely create top-quality content. You also need to determine from your target audience how that content affects them. The feedback is critical to your success because you need to take what you learn and use it to hone what you have in order to be even more effective in your business.
Return on investment
The bottom line (and the end result) is that you need to get the other person to buy whatever you are selling. When it comes to spending and making money in your business, if you can find a tool that costs little or no money yet is still effective and does what you need it to do, you are a step ahead of the game. Videos fall into that category. You don’t necessarily have to spend a large amount of money on videos and if you do it right, you can reach a large amount of people who are of the caliber that you need for your business.
Conclusion
Content is certainly king! There is no doubt about that. Of course, content comes in many different forms and having a large variety of effective content that allows you to reach new heights of success in business is definitely the way to go. Videos should be a part of your overall online content marketing strategy because they are an extremely effective tool to leverage. Video has taken a front seat when it comes to effective content and you need to recognize and leverage that for your business. In addition to making effective videos, you will want to post them on visual social media channels as well as providing a link somewhere within your written content.
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Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: The Content Wrangler Community
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Do you think that clients have a strong feelings-either good or bad-about a video that features screenshots or PPT over a person-to-person message?
By Danielle Fetherson
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: The Content Wrangler Community
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
@Danielle, Combine both – You can have an insert of the person to person to video with ppt graphics along side – that is the most effective i think –
By David Bennett
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
I started using video in 2013 and it will be a larger part of my strategy this year. Videos are great for SEO and getting good placement. Not to mention it’s a lot faster than writing an article!
By Angel Fields
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Linked User Group (Official Linked User Group)
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Your question is timely. I taped two minute videos as part of a campaign I intend to start today. I’m optimistic about what can happen. I do nonprofit fundraising.
By Karl J. Ohrman, CLU
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Michael, videos have been a very large part of my content marketing strategy. When I started my Once a Day Marketing blog in 2012 I decided to product five short branding videos each week based on the 7Ps of Marketing. I also created themes for each day of the week related to the topic of the video: Smart Monday, Strategic Tuesday, Action Wednesday, Recon Thursday and Digital Friday. At the end of 2012 we released 250 video blogs. In 2013 we produced another 250 written blogs and linked our videos from the previous year. We found that we generated as many views in year two from the repurposed videos as we did from the original release. This year we are releasing one new video blog per week. What’s fun is tracking where our videos are being watched. We have followers in over 165 countries and 920 cities. I highly recommend the use of video blogs.
By James Glover
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Consulting Success
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
What type of results have you seen from using video?
By Michael Zipursky
@Michael, videos, if they are compelling, will keep the visitor longer on the page and if they contain call-to-actions will guide the visitor based on the CTA. In general just stand alone videos will have less result as videos that are embedded in blog articles with SEO optimized text around them.
Testimonial videos are always more powerful than textual testimonials if they look natural and not scripted.
Shorter videos that are focus only on one small topic or problem are better than longer videos. In general it s better to have few 1-2 minutes segments of videos instead of having one segment that is 10 minutes or longer.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: The Content Wrangler Community
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
The RSA ( http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate ) has a series of videos that deliver the intended messages while engaging the viewer. There are no screenshots of the person delivering the talk, and if there were, they would likely detract from the experience.
In general, I’d say that it depends on the situation, but if a video captures interest while conveying a message, it will naturally be successful in a content marketing strategy.
By Michael Peterson
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Video is very important component of content strategy for a number of factors:
1. It gives an SEO advantage simply because there is less competition than from other forms of media.
2 PC usage is dropping and Mobile usage and video consumption is continuing to increase dramatically.
Online video now accounts for 50 percent of all mobile traffic and up to 69 percent of traffic on certain networks. (Bytemobile Mobile Analytics Report).
3. 65% of people are visual learners, so by using video, marketers have a prime opportunity to educate clients before they buy.
4. With the new integration of Google+ and You Tube people can now easily share content (your video’s) with their circles, and start a conversation with you using the comments on YouTube.
5. I also agree with the Robert’s statement, “Good video is king!” Helping prospects, or clients with a challenge they are experiencing, educating or entertaining them needs to be the focus. Trying to inject some personality into video’s is a challenge that marketers are going to need to get creative with. The days of watching the guy with the rubber plant behind his desk drone on and on are over!
By Hannah Tighe
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Video has been good to us, especially within our SEO strategies. The short videos that Carolyn mentions are excellent to gain visibility in specific segments. Additionally, I feel videos quickly assist in “telling the story” for products that tend to be more technical in nature!
By Erik Cocks
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Marketing Communication
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Hi Carolyn!
You bet! Professional video is so easy to produce these days and it makes a big impact. I would rather see a 3-minute video presentation from a person I will potentially work with than read a website with the same information. The people and the relationships that will be forged are the most important part of the services I will receive.
Great question!
By Bob Bundy
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: SES Conference & Expo
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
I think it depends on the business and your audience. At Adobe we sell video products so it makes sense to highlight videos as a means to market our tool set. Other audiences don’t like videos. They want to skim and get to the meat of what they’re trying to find out.
There are also search considerations. If you use animation or Flash, it’s not impossible, but there is planning that needs to be done to ensure your content is searchable.
By Lisa Flosznik
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Video has been good to us, especially within our SEO strategies. The short videos that were mentioned are excellent to gain visibility in specific segments. Additionally, I feel videos quickly assist in “telling the story” for products that tend to be more technical in nature!
By Erik Cocks
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
I discovered the musical, 3D story-telling power of YouTube about 5 years ago. Last year I stumbled onto the video editing options of PowerPoint 2010 and started a collection of what I call “Pitch” videos for the television show I am bringing to Hollywood.
Some of my videos are very structured, professional pitches and some are more music videos that educate with a general message. I think my virtual business cards are the best tools in my networking tool box. You can peek at channel eating2heaven on YouTube.
By Denise Martin
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
The emergence of videos has changed the way we market our musicians. We used to work one on one with our customers by showing them videos or sending out DVD’s. Now, most of our musicians are on YouTube & Vimeo. It has proven to be one of the most effective tools for us. One rule for posting on these channels: Keep it brief!
By Ana Maria Verrusio
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
I have used video as part of one of my products and want to use more video in my work, yet still stumble with my MAC. I am not very technical and takes me a great deal of time to even digest/practice with the software on my MAC. Any suggestions are appreciated. I have and will continue to use my flip camera. I know, oldie, but it works for me.
By Joanne Victoria
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
I found a world wide company that has been an innovative leader in Video E-Mail, and Video Social Media communications. It has really got a technological edge on most groups, when compared on a chart for services to money outlay, with all the features, and benefits analysis worked out. I don’t want to give names out here to be too overt, but since many others here are openly telling their favorites, I guess I can too. Just for the fun of it press a lot of click icons on the show page of the following link. I would really like to know some other opinions, as to how the variety of services displayed on the website fit this pages’ market segment.
By Jim Geldart
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Step Into The Spotlight!
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
yes, mostly in my email blasts to my current network: college alumni; business associates; friends
By George R. Moskoff
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
I think that video content can be very effective and that more companies should try it out. Video is innately engaging — moving pictures catch the eye and draw much more attention than plain text or static images. A well-crafted, short video can spread a message with higher efficiency than text or image content. The only catch is that good video content is difficult to produce and can take a lot of time and resources. But I believe that, in the end, it’s worth it.
By Justin Belmont
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Hi, if by ‘mareting strategy’ you mean does the horse have pulling power, OMG yes.
I am pleased to see video regain its status as an engaging medium but I also see it evolving to a smarter form, more dialog like flexibility and tuned to viewer interests. I know one firm that has a video technology that begins down that path and expect others to figure it out and maybe be in a better position than I am to implement. I have another that figured out how short video learning modules tuned to just what a user needs have great benefits versus the rote, totally captive audience realm today’s videos are limited to.
By Bill Van Eron
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Caveat to the conversation: It’s unlikely Google will spider many videos on your site or blog without submitting an xml video sitemap even if the videos are hosted on Google.
XML sitemaps were not, as some people thought, a tool for search engine optimization. It does not affect ranking, but it does allow search engines to make more accurate rankings and searches. It does this by providing the data that a search engine needs, and putting it one place-quite handy, given that there are millions of websites to plough through.
A quote from GWT: Google Video Sitemaps is an extension to the Sitemap protocol that enables you to publish and syndicate online video content and its relevant metadata to Google in order to make it searchable in the Google Video index. Sitemaps are an excellent way to make sure that Google knows about all the content on your site, including content we might not discover with our usual crawling methods.
Your companies Youtube page has changed significantly since October of last year and it’s worth it to spend an hour or two of housekeeping and learning about the new G commenting system just put in place
By Mitch Rezman
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Do You Use Videos As Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Yes! Think about how youtube works, especially alongside google…. A good example was when I help create videos for a company which had 1-2 min stories by employees of the company talking about why they loved working for the company… The HR recruiter told me that because of these videos most people who interviewed for openings heard about the company and learned more about it from the videos that were created.
Remember people love stories, and visuals stories like videos are a great way to help a company be relevant, memorable, and relatable.
By Marlino Bitanga