Marketing is currently undergoing a significant facelift. As traditional mediums like radio and magazine ads begin to die alongside digital strategies like banner ads, tactics such as advocacy and influencer marketing are filling the void left behind by these withering relics.
In addition to the soaring popularity of these newer marketing modalities comes the meteoric rise of video content and advertising.
Video is the new black. People can’t get enough of it. It’s everywhere. From business websites to social platforms, in-app adverts, and every other digital location you can possibly conceive of, video has tangled its engrossing tentacles all throughout the web and beyond.
For marketers, this means that content needs to make the necessary transition from text to video if there is any hope of continuing to attract, engage and convert consumers. If you haven’t ever created a video, then it can be a bit daunting, but it’s likely easier and cheaper than you think.
Here are some steps to take that can help you with this transition.
Create Professional Video Ads
Establish Goals
As is the case with any marketing tactic, the first step is to establish the goals you aim to achieve. These should fall in line with your company’s overall marketing strategies.
Video is extremely efficient at driving a variety of objectives such as:
- Increased brand awareness: Video helps to shape entertaining, memorable, and immersive experiences for brands.
- Framing a person or business as a thought leader: Since people remember 55 percent more information from video formats, this content is a premier forum for educating consumers through tutorials, process guides, case studies and more.
- Driving conversions and sales: Video is an acquisition and purchase-inspiring machine. Placing a video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80 percent. Additionally, 64 percent of users who watch a video are more likely to buy a product online.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Video is a compelling vehicle for just about any marketing goal you can fathom.
Find Super Simple Video Tools
If you don’t have any video production or editing skills, you’re likely operating under the assumption that creating your own video content involves a steep learning curve
These fears, however, are only illusions now that premium, customizable digital video services like Promo by Slidely have entered the online marketplace.
With Promo, marketers can construct professional-grade video clips from a selection of millions of high-quality video clips and fully licensed music snippets to add to the video’s tone and messaging.
Moreover, Promo lets users upload their own footage and image materials to help create custom ads. And with its text editor, robust toolsets, and affordable pricing, marketers of every degree can create epic ads that will resonate with consumers.
Additional self-service video apps include Biteable and Magisto.
Create Stellar Scripts
No matter if your video content is 15 seconds or 15 minutes long, you will need to craft a compelling message that keeps consumers hooked from start to finish.
The most important thing to remember when forging your video’s voiceover and story flow is to keep your points succinct. Like all content, many brand videos fall into the pitfall of trying to explore overly convoluted concepts, relying on industry jargon, or attempting to cover too many topics at once.
In order to create a video that people will actually want to watch, simplicity is key. This means using a conversational tone in voice or text and staying away from lingo that only your coworkers understand.
Be sure to also keep sentences short and sweet. This is especially important for text overlays and makes your messaging easy for the audience to absorb and retain.
If you aren’t sure if your script meets these guidelines, reading it aloud will quickly clear up any confusion.
Of course, all of this needs to be accompanied by relevant and high-quality images or video clips; or as an alternative, you can opt to use a “talking head” video host.
Tell the Audience What’s Next
CTAs are an absolute must for video content. Even if the goal is to merely drive awareness, you should be directing your viewers to more of your content so as to continue developing a rapport.
At the end of your video ad (or below it, as is the case with CTA buttons on Facebook ads) you should be letting viewers know what to do next.
This could be letting prospects know to grab their coupon code before it expires, informing them to visit your website for more details, or driving folks to download a digital offering. Whatever purpose your video serves, be sure that it fulfills its potential by prompting users when the time is right; this normally happens at the end of the video.
Start Making Those Clips
Video content is the future of online marketing. Fortunately, creating video is becoming an increasingly easy and cost effective marketing modality.
Don’t let your business become as antiquated as newspaper ads. Blaze a path into the future of marketing by learning to craft arresting video content and adverts that will cater to a new generation of consumers.
Camera Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “How to Create Professional Video Ads with Zero Knowhow” was first published on Small Business Trends