How to Add Video to Your Marketing Strategy
This is part one of some number of blog posts about video marketing. I am so into now and encourage colleagues and clients to use employ video in their strategy. Video is an important addition to any online marketing strategy. For the record, I am talking about short-form video, specifically those under five minutes in length. A well-rounded marketing strategy consists of not only quality images and graphics, but video content as well. Video can be used on all major social channels, as a standalone strategy on YouTube, and of course, on your website itself.
Video is one of the most compelling way to tell your brand’s story. Viewers are more likely to purchase a product after watching a demonstration video. The number of YouTube video uploaded doubles every year. Finally, 33% of all online activity is spent watching videos.[1] Is that enough to convince you to begin incorporating video in your marketing efforts?
Just a few years ago, small and medium businesses would balk when I suggested they incorporate video into their website or marketing. The expectations for video quality were high, much higher than they are today. Sure, it is still nice to have a corporate video that explains your brand’s core values or mission statement. It is a luxury for small business on a budget, but not necessary. Online viewers want to see the real “you.” They want to experience a product or brand with you. They don’t want to be talked at.
So what do I mean when I say viewers will accept a lower video quality? Well, what that means is you don’t need a soundproof studio and expensive audio-visual equipment to produce your YouTube channel. An acceptable video can be accomplished with a smartphone and a decent microphone. That’s the hitch! As long as the SOUND is quality good, meaning there isn’t wind noise, or low muffled voices – then you are good-to-go!
I have several thousand dollars (cheap by A/V equipment standards) invested into my video studio setup. It took time to build up. I researched products for a long time, stuck until two speaker friends of mine gave me tips on how to move forward. I decided to stick with my Canon DLSR camera to save money, but it will be replaced shortly. I bought tripods, soft boxes, sockets, and bulbs. A room in my house had to be rearranged. Actually many rooms were rearranged until a produced friend helped me choose the best setting. My next major investment was a Zoom external recorder. This improved the sound of my videos tremendously! The introduction of the Zoom recorder meant I had to find some software for editing. More about that later. A $100 lavalier microphone is a plus, but not needed if you can find a quiet place to record.
I founded my YouTube channel with the promise that I would cover the equipment used to make the video. I am going to cover more about video content creation and posting in coming blog posts. The first and ONLY equipment you need to get started is a smartphone and an idea. I’ll cover the equipment I use, editing, terminology and then of course statistics! And yes, part of this will be in video format! Stay tuned and if you have not already please follow me on my YouTube channel!
