We’ve talked about what is video marketing and why video marketing is so useful for your small business marketing goals. Now we want to tell you how to use video marketing so you can increase your brand awareness, boost your sales, and take any confusion away. Use these three tips for how to use video marketing to build your business marketing strategy.
1) Set Goals
Before you can begin to make videos or decide which platform to use, you need to first set goals for your video marketing strategy. What do you want these videos to accomplish? Where will the videos be used within your marketing funnel?
Set simple, clear, and measurable goals so that you don’t get overwhelmed. An example of a video marketing goal is “increased brand awareness.” Once you set your marketing goals and have a better idea of how your video will fall within your marketing funnel, you can decide which platforms to use and what kind of videos to make.
2) Create Videos Specific to the Platform
As you might already know, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram are all platforms where you can post and share videos. However, you might not have realized how different each platform is, and the niche types of videos that work with each platform specifically. You’ll want to plan your content around the specific platform or platforms you want to use.
The biggest difference between YouTube and TikTok videos, for example, is the length and formatting. TikTok videos have to be in portrait mode, which is the aspect ratio 9:16. They are short videos that are up to 3 minutes long, but we recommend keeping your TikTok videos to 15-60 seconds. YouTube videos have to be in the aspect ratio of 16:9 (horizontal format) and can be up to 12 hours long. Depending on the type of video you are creating, we recommend keeping them between 3 to 10 minutes.
The goals for your marketing plan should determine what video platform to use. Let's say you're a realtor looking to use video marketing. Maybe you want to create free advice videos to help brand you as a thought leader in the realty space. 15-second tip videos filmed on your phone are perfect for TikTok. But that might not be your only digital marketing content. Maybe you have a weekly podcast with an accompanying video. This long format video is perfect for YouTube. The longer the video, the more polished it should be. There should be camera cuts to hold your audience's attention, and the audio should be clear so it's easy to follow along.
A really important thing to remember about video platforms is the search ability of each platform. For example, Google and YouTube are both search-based platforms that work together (because Google owns YouTube). YouTube is known to be the place where “How To” videos are made, so if someone wants to learn about “how to find the right home” they will head to YouTube for that information. TikTok is not a platform where people go to find out specific information, rather it's a place to stumble upon something new. The videos are “quick and easy,” as they are shorter, less polished, and less produced. TikTok is great for those “quick tips” we mentioned earlier.
3) Use Analytics to Schedule and Boost Your Videos
Next, you’ll want to schedule your videos. A good way to do this is to use a social media scheduling platform, like Later, Hootsuite, SproutSocial, or Sendible, where you can upload your videos, include hashtags, and schedule for a specific time. Using the analytics available with the scheduler, or through your own website’s google analytics, you can determine the right time of day to post so that you have the most eyes on your video. Using hashtags is another great way to increase your viewership, and certain scheduling tools have analytics to help you determine which hashtags are best to use. Finally, using SEO keywords in your video descriptions helps Google understand where your video should rank and will help it be more searchable and findable for your viewers.
With these three steps for how to use video marketing, you’ll be able to make the best possible marketing video for your brand
Do you have a specific video question? Schedule a free video analysis call at bit.ly/callawv