Video and the Golden Age of Digital Marketing
Most every digital marketing guru you talk to will say we are just now seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of social media marketing. For most new small businesses, social media is the cheapest, easiest, and most direct form of marketing money can buy. Social media marketing can be laser focused to micro-niches of demographics in a ways no other form of advertising can offer. To top it off, the analytics are instantaneous, so making adjustments on the fly is just a few clicks of a mouse away. The medium can also be scaled from your immediate neighborhood to the entire world, given the right budget course.
Just because social media marketing (SMM) is easy to implement doesn’t mean that successful campaigns come just as easy. Traditional marketing strategies still come into effect when launching a profitable SMM campaign. You need to understand your audience, their pains or desires, and the language that will resonate with them. You also need to understand their buying habits, as well as how they will most likely interact with each social media platform. Once you understand all of that, you need to decide the best way to present your message.
When it comes to effective presentation, there is one common thread between social media platforms, and that is video content. According to Google’s Brand Building on Mobile Survey in February 2015, users are 1.4 times more likely to watch video advertisements on their mobile devices than traditional TV or even on desktop computers. The same statistic applies to users paying to attention to advertisements on YouTube as compared to the next highest-rated platform. The great thing about these numbers is that video also encourages sharing and engagement with your content. To sweeten the pot even more, websites with videos embedded are 53 times more likely to show up on Google and including videos on landing pages can increase conversions by up to 80%.
Why Video Works
So why is video performing so much better than other forms of advertisements on social media? It comes down to the engagement of the senses.
- If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what are 60 pictures per second worth? Because that’s the amount of images you see per second when watching video. Video allows for more complex non-verbal communication like illustrating hand gestures, ongoing facial cues, and micro expressions. In short, video allows you to feel like you are in the moment, there, with the action. Constant motion also keeps the eyes engaged and the mind refreshing the images it is seeing — ultimately burning the experience into memory with every passing frame.
- Sound draws you even deeper into the experience. You get to hear the voice of the narrative which can give different perspective depending on what kind of voice is used. Inflection within speaking patterns adds to the non-verbal cues. Background sounds add to the realism of the video and music can set any type of mood you desire along with creating emotion on cue.
- Combining sight and sound can also trigger other senses. Ever watch a video set in a familiar place and actually sense the smell of the scene? Maybe you’ve watched someone getting hurt on the screen and all of a sudden started to feel the pain yourself. The mind has the ability to make the video experience as real as the viewer’s imagination can make it.
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Get the Production Right
It is easy to see why video has a multiplying impact on the viewer compared to static pictures or even sound by itself. But with all of the factors comes the complexity of bringing it all together and producing a compelling video that will incite action. Many experts will tell you that you can make your own social media video on your phone and be successful. The POV perspective and even the mounted shot using a mobile phone can come off more genuine than an overly produced post. But when it comes to reaching out with sponsored social media campaigns, proper camera and sound equipment, scripting, music beds, etc., can make the world of difference. This is especially true if you are looking for immediate buying engagement at the end of your video.
So what does it take to make a convincing SMM video ad? Well, it is relative. If you are looking to sell a handmade jewelry line to your neighbors, a simple cell-phone camera on a sturdy tripod with an external microphone and some well placed lights in a reasonably presentable space is all you need. But if you are trying to build a brand bigger than yourself, I suggest looking bigger than yourself. Of course, how big will depend on many factors such as your budget, production expertise and time to self-produce, along with the sophistication of your product and/or potential client. Of course, if you aren’t a Martin Scorsese, I would suggest reaching out to a local professional to do the production for you or get a consultant that can help you get set up to do it yourself. In the end, you are only as good as your presentation, so be careful not to step over one hundred dollar bills to save a quarter.
Back to the Basics
Once you have the video components you need for a successful SMM campaign, go back to the basics of your marketing research. I suggest making a video specifically for each of your target market segments and track the effectiveness for each. Don’t be afraid to A/B test your videos across different segments as well. SMM is the cheapest way to test market your product and message with some of the most reliable data you can get on the earth — real live reaction from your target audience. Once you have reliable data, go back to production and tweak as necessary. Keep what works and keep tweaking what doesn’t. Once you find a good formula, keep A/B testing new ideas against it in the never-ending effort to staying relevant and profitable in the ever-changing landscape of social media marketing.
Michael Buzinski is the founder and CEO of Buzzbizz Creative, a creative agency dedicated to helping small businesses be seen and be heard. Michael was named 2015 Marketer of the Year and 2016 Visionary Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association (Alaska Chapter) for both his exceptional work with marketing small businesses and success with his innovation in digital marketing strategies for small businesses. To learn more about Michael connect with him on LinkedIn.
Originally published at www.buzzbizz.biz.
