types of video marketing

How to Effectively Use Different Types of Video Marketing (Part 2)

How to Use Video Marketing for Consideration Stage

The beauty of using video here is that they’re highly successful in moving viewers to action. This is especially important for growing your email list. Giving a clear call-to-action in your video that directs users to the next step will have a tremendous impact on your conversion rates.

Here’s how to put it to use:

#1 Video on Landing Page

Landing pages that include video can increase conversions by a whopping 80% (Source: Hubspot)

#2 Webinars

Webinars allow you to showcase your expertise and knowledge in a given area. You can dive deeper into topics and give people a chance to ask questions for further understanding. It also bolsters your lead generation as each participant must register before joining your broadcast

#3 How-to’s and Instructional Videos

YouTube and live-streaming are ideal platforms for how-to and instructional videos.

#4 Promote Your eBook

eBooks are ideal sources for product comparisons, how-to’s, or giving detailed instructions. Shoot a video that promotes your eBook and shares how viewers can opt-in to get their copy

#5 Mini-Video Series

Consider repurposing your popular, evergreen, or long-form blog post into a mini video series that you can distribute on social media or use as a lead magnet. Repurposing content fills your content calendar, giving you ample material to share with your audience.

Decision Stage

Your prospect is now closer to making the financial decision to solving their problem. Through your email nurturing tactics, they’ve been cultivated by your content (whether blog posts, videos, infographics, etc.) and perhaps ready to make the purchase. Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads (Source: Emma). Your video marketing strategy is about to pay off big, but we’re not finished yet!

The content used to help close the deal will be different from the content leveraged in the previous stages. Your focus here is to make the sale, so it’s vital to create a smooth transition to the transaction.

How to Use Video Marketing for Decision Stage

Videos will help get the job done. Hubspot also shares that after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy that product online. You’re using the right tool to convert leads into customers.

The following ways show how:

#1 Gather Customer Testimonials

User-generated content and sharing testimonials are incredibly useful in boosting sales revenue. It builds trust with your audience and shows that what you have, works! Compile your customer’s social videos into one, compelling marketing video to share with your list

#2 Live Demo

Show prospects how your products work live and in living color by hosting a webinar or live-streaming video on social media. Outline the benefits, features, and how people use it as their solution. Allow an opportunity for participants to ask questions for immediate response.

#3 Share Your Story

Storytelling is a powerful strategy for pulling your audience in and connecting them with the vision of your brand.

#4 Product Videos

Create an extensive video for each of your products and services. This can be evergreen content that you can use forever that highlights the details, advantages, and how viewers can purchase.

Final Key Pointers

Video marketing is a powerful tool in the inbound marketing box! By honing on your video strategy, you can significantly boost brand awareness, get more eyeballs on your content, grow your leads, and increase revenue. The key is ensuring that you’re leveraging the different types of videos appropriately to move your audience effectively.

Use this blueprint as a guide to creating your video marketing strategy. Be consistent and patient with your results. Regularly test your outcomes to discover what’s working best with your audience and what needs to be modified. In due time, you will experience the desired growth in your business with video.

Ready to ramp up your video marketing? We are equipped to help you get in front of your audience and achieve results in your inbound marketing. Reach out to us here and let’s chat!


types of video marketing

How to Effectively Use Different Types of Video Marketing (Part 1)

It’s been established that video is one of the most effective ways to promoting your brand in an ever-evolving digital age. YouTube consumption rises 100% every year, and marketers are taking full advantage of using this tool to get in front of their audience, bring awareness to their brand, and leads viewers to take action.

The key to an effective video strategy is ensuring that your content aligns with each stage of the buyer’s journey.

You see, your marketing will attract different prospects who are at different phases in your sales funnel. You may have a visitor who is ready to invest in your service yet another who merely wants information. It’s essential to create content that suits these needs at each stage that moves them to the next step in your funnel.

The ultimate goal is to convert prospects into buying customers. Video marketing is a top tool in inbound marketing to help you achieve this objective.

In this guide, we’ll outline the three stages to the buyer’s journey and how to effectively use different types of video marketing in each phase for maximum success in your strategy.

Awareness Stage

In the awareness stage, the prospect is in the discovery process of your brand. They understand they have a problem and begin researching ways to resolve the issue. As a result, they land on your content as the solution. Your prospect is merely looking for educational material that will help them quickly overcome their pains and challenges.

Your goal in creating video content for the Awareness Stage is to do just that build awareness of your brand. Here, you’re positioning your company as a resource, expert, and solution in the industry. It’s where you let your audience know what you offer so buyers recognize what you do and how you can help them.

Therefore, you want to engage your visitor in a way that encourages them to indulge more in your content by focusing on their pain points, not your products or brand.

How to Use Video Marketing for Awareness Stage

Here are the typical content types that work best in the Awareness Stage using video:

#1 Social Videos

Social promotion is an excellent medium for building a following and community around your brand. It’s also a tremendous asset to getting your video content in front of an engaging audience.

There are three types of videos to consider when posting on social media:

  1. Sharing videos from your YouTube channel – an excellent way to feed your followers with valuable content while increasing views
  2. Uploading organic videos directly to social media – you’ll obtain greater reach with your audience using natural videos (Source: Social Media Today)
  3. Live-streaming video – apps like Facebook Live, Periscope and Instagram Stories are generating massive engagement on social media. It is an excellent tactic to build exposure to your brand fast

#2 Add Video in Blog Content

Search is still the #1 source for content generation and the perfect platform to create quality rich-content that educates your audience while increasing visibility of your brand. Add videos to enrich website-experience and keep people on your page longer (improving SEO)

#3 YouTube

As the second largest search engine, building your channel is smart towards growing brand awareness. Be sure to optimize your videos for better ranking.

Consideration Stage

Good news! Your prospect has warmed up to your brand, and you’re now viewed as a credible source. They’re also clear on their goals, are committed to addressing it, and now looking at options on how they can handle their issues. At this stage, they’re actively looking for content related to solutions.

Content in this phase needs to be incredibly informative and help the prospect gain clarity on how to solve the problem they are experiencing. In the Consideration Stage, you’re also focusing on capturing qualified leads by leveraging compelling lead magnets to get them in your sales funnel.

******

Stay tuned for part 2!


Video Marketing

How Can Health Care Providers Incorporate Video into Their Marketing

When looking at some social media sites, you will come across everything from 'homemade' cell phone videos of patients and procedures, to just a slideshow of still (stock) photos with generic music in the background.

If healthcare professionals want to capture potential patients attention, they need to be effective with their presentation style.

It's common for someone to ask a friend for a recommendation to a dentist or doctor and word-of-mouth is the absolute best advertising. The crucial point is when the person getting the recommendation goes to search out the care provider to find out more information. The health professional only has one choice for a first impression when potential clients get to their website or social media page. Using quality video content is one key way of creating a positive impression (no pun intended).

Going to the doctor is a not-so-pleasant experience for some people, so they need reassurance that they are in the hands of professional and caring people. A quality video will portray precisely what the potential patient needs to see to feel comfortable picking up the phone to call for an appointment.

Here are some critical facts about video marketing:

  • 70% of marketing professionals report that video converts better than any other medium
  • The average internet user spends 88% more time on a website with video than without.
  • 64% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after watching a video about it. - Forbes
  • A successful video campaign is just one aspect of an overall marketing and relationship-building strategy. As a health professional, you are an absolute expert in your field, having spent hundreds of hours studying and learning your art. The one thing that is not taught in medical colleges is how to market yourself. This is where you need to seek out a professional who has spent their time studying their field of marketing. Partnering with a consulting firm that has a successful track record will benefit your practice immensely.

Here are some areas where videos can be successful:

  • A promotional video that explains who you are and what you do. A smiling, confident face goes a long way in making someone comfortable. If you have a team practice, then that video should show you as a team.
  • A virtual tour that shows what your facility looks like, highlighting any new technology along with anything that helps make the patient experience that much more comfortable. You can even include short clips of some simple procedures; something that sets you apart.
  • Patient testimonials that communicate your practices value, expertise and professionalism. Word of mouth is the best advertising and having real people give favorable testimony will go a long way to building confidence in a potential patient.
  • Stand out from the competition by adding a video to your business listing in online directories
  • Partnering with a professional consulting firm makes it simple to accomplish these goals.

Some of the other, finer points of videos in marketing include:

  • Using videos to drive traffic to your website/social media. Search engines love video, and with proper video SEO, you can use video to drive lots of traffic to your site.
  • Use targeted keywords when titling and tagging your videos
  • Create a variety of videos, each focusing on a different search term
  • Use multiple video sharing sites to increase links back to your main website - Lifewire

As pointed out earlier, video is just one aspect of a successful marketing program. Tying in all of the other tools available with professionally produced videos will ensure that your practice attracts new patients and continues to grow.

You can download our free e-book "Video Marketing Road Map" to give you an idea of what we can help you accomplish in your practice. You can contact us for more information or with any questions.


5 Ways to Use Video to Better Your Social Media Marketing

According to Social Media Today, video posts on Facebook have 135% greater organic reach than photo posts. Videos yield crazy engagement on social platforms...and there’s no slowing down. More people are consuming videos from their mobile devices at alarming rates, so it’s critical you position your brand to capitalize on this movement.

Adding video to your social media marketing offers huge benefits such as increased brand exposure, better follower engagement, and more opportunities to drive traffic to your web pages. Your audience will appreciate the variety you bring to their newsfeeds while giving an alternate approach to engaging in your content.

So, give the people what they want more—video!

Five different ways to incorporate video into your social media marketing

#1 Your Story is Important. Share it!

Storytelling is a time-tested tactic that works great at pulling your audience into your brand message. People connect with you through your story. It helps you establish common ground with your followers, making you relatable and real. Stories also separate you from other brands which give you that competitive edge in the industry.

Humanize your brand by communicating its story on video. Delve into the “why.” Who do you desire to inspire and what problems are you solving through your products? What charitable contributions do you make to your community? Share what motivates your team to get up and go every morning. Sharing your story will add greater meaning and purpose when people do business with you.

#2 Offer Short Instructional Videos for Your Followers

An excellent move to promote your brand with social video is to create short, instructional videos demonstrating how your products can be used to solve a problem for the viewer. How-to videos are beneficial because you’re showing people how to achieve a specific result. As a result, you’ll keep viewers engaged while strategically placing your brand in front of your social following.

Reduce your video to the most basic steps of the process then speed up your video in production (editing), so it only lasts for about 30 seconds. These social video snippet can be product-related or simply something relevant to your niche. The beauty is they quickly solve a pain point for users.

#3 Answer Questions

Consider the FAQs that often hit your inboxes or are typically prompted by your prospects. These are excellent content pieces for your blog, email campaign, social media posts, and of course, videos. You see, you’re giving the people exactly what they want because these inquiries derived from your audience. By addressing their questions, you’ll boost thought-leadership and be viewed as an expert in the industry. Plus, it gives you endless content to share across your marketing platforms.

Enhance your credibility by posting videos that highlight one question then offers an in-depth response. Since many social users are leveraging search as a way to connect and discover new brands, be sure to include keywords or hashtags that your audience is actively searching for. Whereas hashtags reign on networks like Instagram and Twitter, keywords perform better on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

#4 Go Live!

Live-streaming platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope, and Instagram Stories are driving tons of engagement on social media. There’s something special about connecting with someone in real-time. People get to see and experience the real you! Live videos quickly build trust and can accelerate your brand’s presence fast on social media.

Use these tools to your full advantage. Invite followers into your world by taking them behind-the-scenes at the office, in the field, or company event to share a taste of your brand’s culture. Host live Q&A sessions where you give your audience a chance to ask you anything industry or product related to getting on-the-spot responses. Report breaking news and share your insight and opinion of the matter...give your followers a chance to do the same to foster conversations.

Commit to making live-streaming a regular content strategy in your social media marketing. With consistency, you’ll experience a significant boost in engagement and followership.

#5 Highlight Fan Content

Did you know that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation? Positive testimonials and reviews are killer ways to foster trust with your audience especially those who haven’t heard of you before. Prospects want to see if your products or services genuinely bring results. Sharing others experiences with your brand is a great way to show it!

With that said, use your fan’s content as a form of an online review. User-generated content can be creatively compiled into one video as a promotional tool or multiple videos to build up your content vault. Give users credit by mentioning them in the post. Growing this strategy can prove to be a valuable tactic in your inbound marketing as you highlight your customers and give social proof that you’re making a difference.

Don’t Get Left Behind

The numbers and stats prove that people enjoy videos on social media. Its popularity has caused brands to tailor their social strategy accordingly to meet the demands of today’s consumer. Use these tips to better your social media marketing and give the people what they want!

Ready to amplify your social media marketing with video? We know how to create compelling video marketing campaigns that humanize your brand and gives you the slight edge. Reach out to us today and let’s chat!


13 Facts About Video Marketing You May Not Know

Camera Capturing a Man for Video Marketing

There’s an old but true axiom in the marketing world: consumers justify their purchases based on logic, but they buy based on emotion. Your neighbor will tell you he bought that shiny, new convertible in his driveway because it gets great gas mileage, or performed well in crash tests, or its great resale value. The truth is he probably bought it because it’s sexy and tells you he’s climbing up the social ladder.

Creating that emotional connection with customers sells your products and services. And the best medium to sell with emotion is video. Video brings your company to life and shows rather than tells customers who you are, what you value, and why you’re better than your competitors. Study after study shows that consumers prefer a compelling video about a product or service to a comparable print description.

How Do You Sell Wearable Cameras? Rescue a Kitten

GoPro sells wearable action cameras, high-definition gadgets for outdoor sports enthusiasts who want to capture their thrill of victory moments skiing, surfing, and skateboarding. In 2013, firefighter Cory Kalanick got the call to rescue an unconscious kitten in Fresno, California. He was wearing a GoPro camera. That video, heart-breaking and hopeful, made its way to YouTube where it caught the attention of 1.5 million viewers in its first few weeks. GoPro saw an opportunity, edited the raw footage, added its logo, and re-released the result (“Fireman Saves Kitten”) on its own YouTube channel. The video went viral, capturing 5 million views in its first week.

Founded in 2004, GoPro racked up $150,000 in sales in its first year. By 2013, annual sales had shot up to more than $985,000. In 2014, that number jumped to almost $1.4 million, taking the company to an IPO valuation just shy of $3 billion. It would be hard to argue that a kitten put GoPro on the map, but it sure didn’t hurt.

Video Sparks Emotion and Emotion Boosts Sales

GoPro isn’t alone in boosting sales and company image by tugging at the heartstrings. For example, Chipotle’s video (and mobile game), “The Scarecrow,” brought awareness to its sustainable farming campaign with images of animal confinement and toxic pesticides. More than 17 million consumers have viewed the video on YouTube.

And then there’s HelloFlo, which sells feminine hygiene products. The company scored big with a video using humor and heart, “The Camp Gyno,” featuring a young girl who gets her first “red badge of courage,” then helps other girls at summer camp. The video cost about $6,000 to shoot, got 6 million views in its first week and was named ad of the week by Adweek.

By the Numbers

The numbers tell the story: video marketing works because it’s what consumers want. Here are 13 facts about video marketing you may not have known:

  1. Four times as many consumers want to view a product video instead of reading about it
  2. Half of internet surfers want to see a product video before entering a store
  3. Consumers who see a video are about twice as likely to buy a product or use a service
  4. More than half of internet users watch videos all the way through
  5. Half of consumers say they want to see more company videos
  6. Companies which use video grow revenues twice as fast
  7. 52% of marketers say video content has the best return on investment
  8. Two of three consumers want videos of 60 seconds or less
  9. More than 100 billion people are active users of YouTube
  10. Half of all marketers plan to add YouTube to their marketing strategy in the next year
  11. Two of five marketers plan to add Facebook video in the next year
  12. Almost half of consumers watch an hour or more of Facebook and YouTube videos each week
  13. 80% of consumers say video demos help them make purchases

What now?

Video is an essential component of an integrated, inbound marketing strategy. To learn more about the ways you can generate leads and drive sales by engaging marketing content, contact us today.


What Should You Look For in a Digital Marketing Agency

2 Men with laptop facing each other in marketing agency

You've tried juggling your marketing. Either you're doing what you do best—focusing on your core business needs—or you're losing hours on social media and trying to figure out why your website won't work right on mobile. Let's face it. You need a digital marketing agency.

A quick web search gives you plenty of company names. But how do you pick one? How do you differentiate between sizzle and substance? High bills and high conversion?

Here are a few things to look for when selecting the digital marketing agency that's right for you.

Social Media Experts

Content is king. You want a digital marketing agency that has tapped into where your audience gets their media. They should be able to formulate a strategy to put your company on the lips of your target audience. Engagement is key to social media. Will the agency craft a plan that tells your brand story in a way that relates to the audience? Look at how they handle their presence? Has their blog been updated recently? Marketing is ever-evolving. If there hasn't been a blog update in months or if their Twitter feed is empty, it's not the marketing company you should hire.

Adaptable and Innovative

You can't afford to be a step behind. You need to keep up with the competition, or better yet, stay a step ahead. Marketing is always changing. Radio was big. Television was huge. Now, social media is the current forefront of marketing, and the most consumed content is video. Social media platforms are adapting to the content their users want, and that means video. It will be the next cornerstone of inbound marketing.

Strong Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing means motivated customers come to you and want you to market to them. Rather than inundating people with expensive hit-or-miss ads, you generate content and capture an audience. They follow you because you talk to them, you interest them, you engage them. This is less intrusive, often less expensive, and establishes more than leads; it creates repeat conversions.

Flexible and Scalable

Would you wear a one-size-fits-all suit to a meeting with your biggest client? What would you think if a vendor came to meet with you? When choosing a digital marketing agency, why would you choose one that wants to sell your company cookie-cutter solutions? Look for a digital marketing agency that will tailor their services to your business needs. They should respect your firm as the unique entity you've worked so hard to create.

Real Data Analytics

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Data tells you about your buyers and how they are interacting with your company. They can tell you how you're perceived, what campaigns are generating leads, and, more importantly, what strategies are converting leads. Without sufficient data, an agency is fumbling in the dark. Sure, they might have an occasional hit, but they won't know why or how to duplicate their former.

Take your time and evaluate your options. At HARNESS, we tailor our services towards your company's needs to give you the best results. Whether you need us to complement your existing traditional marketing efforts or we're your first foray into working with an agency, our focus is you.

Contact us to harness the power of inbound digital marketing.


5-Step Guide to Video Content Marketing

taking video of man skateboarding for video content marketing

Video marketing is the newer, shinier version of content marketing. By developing a solid message with quality video to portray your message and share it with others, you're creating the most powerful marketing strategy. Follow this 5-step guide to video marketing to create a strategic inbound marketing methodology.

1. Know Yourself and Your Customers

What is it about your brand that sets you apart? Why is your brand valuable? Think about your ideal customer and then study that population. People are like schools of fish; similar ones swim together.

Seek out this information by conducting surveys, gathering data and organizing that data to make it applicable to your strategy. If you find out what makes the customers tick, you can use that information to draw more people in. A strong message backed by attention to customer service is what improves your brand image and increases leads/sales.

2. Care About It

Why did women in the 1950s need to have those Tupperware containers? It was because Tupperware knew how to create messaging that appealed to women at that time—freedom and family. Owning a set of Tupperware showed women how they can have financial freedom while still espousing the happy American family way of life.

If you don't care about your message, nobody else will. What is it about your story that would make others care about it? How can you make your customers valued?

3. Know your Competition

It is most likely you're not the only one in your specific market. That is why it is essential to know your competition. If you have already video marketing content, review the material and identify if it addresses trends. Sift through your content and highlight areas that need to be changed or cut. Try finding weak parts could be improved.

Compare your history with the history of others within the same market. What are their gaps? Look at what all the other people are doing, brainstorm how it could be better and go for it.

4. Position Yourself Accordingly

Be reasonable with where you are in the market. Have you been in the industry for one year or fifty years? How long has your competition been providing the same products/services?

After doing all the research, plot out your growth. Where have were you years ago? Where are you now? Where do you desire to go?

Those three questions stated above, along with the information you gathered in steps 1-3 will lay the blueprint for your successful outcome.

5. Create

After you've done all the steps, you can now create a video marketing strategy that will take people's unfamiliarity of your brand to interest to emotional investment.

You lead people through this journey in one short film. Make sure your material addresses everything you learned in your research.

Set the goal to create video content that will stick. Think about the videos that have stuck with you, what was it about those videos that attracted you? There is a lot of factors involved but knowing your audience will make these easy to identify.

If implementing a video marketing strategy seems like a daunting task, contact us for help. All of your research is only worth it if you're able to produce a robust piece and execute your marketing strategy.


Video Camera closeup for video marketing

Top 6 Reasons Why Video Marketing is Highly Effective

Video Camera closeup for video marketing

It’s projected that global internet traffic from videos will make up a whopping 80% of all Internet traffic by 2019. Additionally, 78% of people watch videos online every week while 55% do daily (Source: Hubspot). These numbers illustrate the growing trend of video and the importance of leveraging video marketing in your business strategy.

You see, if you don't currently have a video marketing strategy in motion for your website and social media, you're missing a grand opportunity to reach and engage with your audience. Videos are incredibly effective in capturing attention, maintaining engagement, building relationships and getting viewers to take action. These are key metrics to any working digital marketing plan.

In fact, here are the top six reasons why video marketing is so effective and the significance of honing this strategy in your inbound marketing.

#1 Consumers Vote Video over Text

Did you know that four times as many consumers actually prefer to watch a video about a product versus reading about it? Videos allow prospects to see your product in action, getting a full grasp on how it works, the features and its benefits. They’re able to digest the information easier and faster when it’s demonstrated through video.

Your customers are better positioned to make an informed decision quickly by watching your video than reading a blog article or social media post. Therefore, give the people what they want by implementing more product how-to and demonstration videos in your content marketing strategy.

#2 Moves Viewers to Action

After watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online. When optimized for conversions, videos are extremely compelling in moving viewers to follow directions and take action quickly. You can bolster your lead generation and sales tremendously by giving a clear call-to-action in your videos that direct your audience to the proper link.

#3 Increases Brand Awareness

Video marketing is also effective in creating more awareness about your brand. From telling your story, sharing customer testimonials, to answering common questions relevant to your industry, your video strategy is the ideal tactic to increasing exposure and expanding your reach online.

With YouTube being the second largest search engine, building your channel with valuable video content is huge towards growing your presence, boosting visibility and getting in front of your target audience.

#4 Live-Streaming Videos Generate Tons of Engagement

People are spending three times longer watching live video on social media versus those that have been prerecorded. Live-streaming apps like Facebook Live, Instagram Stories and Periscope are generating crazy engagement on social media…and brands and are taking full advantage.

The beauty of live streaming is that it allows your followers to join you in real time. You’ll quickly build the know, like and trust factor with your audience with these “in the moment” experiences. Whether you’re hosting a live Q&A session, taking your followers behind-the-scenes to an event, or reporting breaking news, live streaming is an excellent way to keep your social audience in the know and connected to your brand.

#5 Highlights Your Brand’s Personality and Culture

Videos have an amazing way of drawing your audience into your brand’s culture, giving them a taste of your personality and passion for what you do. It further humanizes your brand, making you relatable and reachable. People are craving authenticity and transparency…your video strategy allows you to do both which significantly builds trust with your viewers.

#6 Positions You as an Expert

At the heart of inbound marketing likes sharing valuable content that solves problems, educates and inspires your intended audience. As a result, you will bolster your thought-leadership and position your brand as an authority in your industry. Your video marketing strategy serves as the perfect platform for showcasing your expertise, giving solid advice and tips, and addressing common issues that concern your audience. It’s the best way to building credibility fast in your niche.

Conclusion

Video marketing is highly effective in boosting brand awareness, generating leads, increasing sales, and connecting with your audience. With more consumers leveraging video, it’s crucial to begin implementing a video marketing strategy to get in front of your audience. Doing so will yield positive returns for your business.

Much success.

Ready to use video to drive sales? Reach out to us here and discover how we can help you create a solid plan that gets your videos in front of your audience.


video set-up for video marketing

13 Facts About Video Marketing You May Not Have Known

video set-up for video marketingThere’s an old but true axiom in the marketing world: consumers justify their purchases based on logic, but they buy based on emotion. Your neighbor will tell you he bought that shiny, new convertible in his driveway because it gets great gas mileage, or performed well in crash tests, or its great resale value. The truth is he probably bought it because it’s sexy and tells you he’s climbing up the social ladder.

Creating that emotional connection with customers sells your products and services. And the best medium to sell with emotion is video. Video brings your company to life and shows rather than tells customers who you are, what you value, and why you’re better than your competitors. Study after study shows that consumers prefer a compelling video about a product or service to a comparable print description.

Question: How Do You Sell Wearable Cameras?
Answer: Rescue a Kitten

GoPro sells wearable action cameras, high-definition gadgets for outdoor sports enthusiasts who want to capture their personal thrill of victory moments skiing, surfing, and skateboarding. In 2013, firefighter Cory Kalanick got the call to rescue an unconscious kitten in Fresno, California. He was wearing a GoPro camera. That video, heart-breaking and hopeful, made its way to YouTube where it caught the attention of 1.5 million viewers in its first few weeks. GoPro saw an opportunity, edited the raw footage, added its logo, and re-released the result (“Fireman Saves Kitten”) on its own YouTube channel. The video went viral, capturing 5 million views in its first week.

Founded in 2004, GoPro racked up $150,000 in sales in its first year. By 2013, annual sales had shot up to more than $985,000. In 2014, that number jumped to almost $1.4 million, taking the company to an IPO valuation just shy of $3 billion. It would be hard to argue that a kitten put GoPro on the map, but it sure didn’t hurt.

Video Sparks Emotion and Emotion Boosts Sales

GoPro isn’t alone in boosting sales and company image by tugging at the heartstrings. For example, Chipotle’s video (and mobile game), “The Scarecrow,” brought awareness to its sustainable farming campaign with images of animal confinement and toxic pesticides. More than 17 million consumers have viewed the video on YouTube.

And then there’s HelloFlo, which sells feminine hygiene products. The company scored big with a video using humor and heart, “The Camp Gyno,” featuring a young girl who gets her first “red badge of courage,” then helps other girls at summer camp. The video cost about $6,000 to shoot, got 6 million views in its first week and was named ad of the week by Adweek.

By the Numbers

The numbers tell the story: video marketing works because it’s what consumers want. Here are 13 facts about video marketing you may not have known:

  • Four times as many consumers want to view a product video instead of reading about it
  • Half of internet surfers want to see a product video before entering a store
  • Consumers who see a video are about twice as likely to buy a product or use a service
  • More than half of internet users watch videos all the way through
  • Half of the consumers say they want to see more company videos
  • Companies which use video grow revenues twice as fast
  • 52% of marketers say video content has the best return on investment
  • Two of three consumers want videos of 60 seconds or less
  • More than 100 billion people are active users of YouTube
  • Half of all marketers plan to add YouTube to their marketing strategy in the next year
  • Two of five marketers plan to add Facebook video in the next year
  • Almost half of consumers watch an hour or more of Facebook and YouTube videos each week
  • 80% of consumers say video demos help them make purchases

Conclusion

The video is an essential component of an integrated, inbound marketing strategy. To learn more about the ways you can generate leads and drive sales with engaging marketing content, contact us today.

References:

GoPro
YouTube: Fireman Saves Kitten
Statistics Brain: GoPro Camera Company Statistics
YouTube: The Scarecrow
YouTube: The Camp Gyno
Hubspot: The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics


Girl using her drone for filming videos for video marketing

Is it Time to Add Video to Your Marketing Strategy?

Girl using her drone for filming videos for video marketing

You don’t have to look very hard these days to find marketing professionals and researchers puzzling over the millennial consumer market. According to Outside magazine, outdoor retailers are especially struggling to get a foothold on the millennial money mountain. As that article and most current literature suggest, inbound and video marketing are the way to go when it comes to reaching prospective outdoor recreation customers under the age of 35.

One way to take your video marketing strategy to the next level is to incorporate GoPro cameras or drones with cameras into your business model. That content can quickly be distributed to your audience through your website and will generate new leads and sales.

Video drones, GoPros, and smartphones have taken tech, recreation, social media, and video marketing worlds by storm. If you want to start attracting that next generation of outdoor adventurers and nature enthusiasts, you should find a way to bring new components into your strategy. You can set up your own YouTube, Roku, or Apple TV channels for your business. The channel can include streaming photos, videos, and other information related to your particular niche.

You can also get the cameras in the hands of your clients. Encourage them to host their outdoor adventures on your site. You can edit the video, as necessary, for time, quality and content. Remember: Most people do not have the attention span for irrelevant, slow, and low-quality videos.

Implementing new marketing solutions can do the following:

  • Add value to your product or service
  • Create new and exciting viral content
  • Generate new sales leads through social media

If investing in a GoPro or video drone isn't in the budget, there is always the option of renting.

However you want to generate GoPro-, smartphone-, or drone-captured content for your video marketing, make sure to obtain releases.

If any of this sounds complex, remember that there are online resources you can tap into or video marketing experts you can hire.

HARNESS Consulting can help assess the video marketing needs of your brand. Contact us now!