The internet has become an enormous shop window for anyone with products and services to sell in recent times. It started off with banner advertisements and pop-ups as far back as the late 1990s, but marketing has now evolved into something much more sophisticated.
Among the biggest aids to this has been the advent of video advertising, with brands of all sizes able to record clips and send them out into the world via platforms like YouTube, ensuring a wider reach than ever before.
The recent history of video advertising
Over the past few years, video ads have been proving hugely successful for businesses across a variety of sectors. Axonn Research discovered that seven out of ten people see brands in a more positive light after watching interesting video content from them, while Diode Digital found video promotion to be 600 per cent more effective than print and direct mail combined.
Furthermore, not only is video more memorable than text, but it may also increase the likelihood of action – email click-through rates shoot up by as much as 96 per cent where they are involved.
That’s why more than 93 per cent of marketers now make use of video in some form within their campaigns, according to ReelSEO’s 2013 Video Marketing Survey and Business Trends Report.
The future of video advertising
All this success shows no sign of abating, with a statistic from Cisco predicting that video will account for 69 percent of all consumer internet traffic by 2017, following on from big gains in spending and viewing figures in 2014.
Indeed, 2015 could be the year when digital video advertising fully matures, according to Venture Beat’s suggestions.
If you haven’t already begun doing so, then it’s probably time to capitalize on the video ad market and get your brand’s message out there – worldwide. Here are our top tips on breaking out in video marketing.
Get the right channel
It’s important to understand which channels relate most to your target audience if you’re to successfully engage with them. For instance, FunnelScience states that landing pages with video clips could lead to 88 per cent more conversions. On the other hand, if you know your blog gets more hits than your landing pages, it’s probably best to focus on that.
Consider content carefully
A video should have a clear and concise point to make, so plan this carefully before you start. For instance, perhaps you’ve got a new product to promote? If yes, let it take centre stage, as Invodo research suggests watching such clips makes shoppers 52 per cent more confident about making a purchase.
Get your presentation right
Presentation is everything when it comes to visual content, so be fastidious on this. Ensure the opening image is positive, especially if it’s a click-to-play clip and will be frozen to begin with. Recruit presenters who are engaging and professional – and don’t let the backdrop look messy.
Ensure optimization
Since viewing of video ads on mobile devices is soaring, it’s important to check that any clips you upload can be viewed on a variety of devices without plug-ins, as failure to play can cause audience abandonment. Cisco predicts that online video will make up around three-quarters of all mobile data traffic by 2016, so this is especially important.
Get specialists in to help
If you don’t think your company has what it takes to produce exciting videos, then you might want to consider bringing in some experts who can make them for you. Lots of marketing firms will be able to record clips featuring the message you want, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Similarly, it’s time to call in the professionals if you want to send your videos out to lots of different countries, but don’t happen to know any native speakers. EQHO’s video team has more than 20 years of experience in delivering localized multimedia content – from tutorials and short films to advertisements – so why not check us out before you take your first foray into video advertising?
