Whether it is a large or a small business, marketing is equally important for them. The only difference is that the small business owners usually have a financial constraint in their marketing budget. Many times, small business owners don’t even have a separate marketing budget. Owing to such circumstances, various modes of online marketing have come up to suit the needs of such businesses.
Growing popularity of explainer videos
Engaging customers through textual content has existed for quite a while through the mediums like email marketing, blogs, website content and social media. Off late, marketing through explainer videos have gained a lot of popularity owing to their simplicity of approach and their ability to provide a better understanding to the customers.
Furthermore, videos help in better information retention resulting in high brand recall value and ultimately higher conversion rates. Another significant advantage of explainer videos is their ability to retain customers. Wondering, how? Customers need support even after the sales end to resolve their issues in operating the product failing which they feel frustrated and are never willing to buy the product again from your company.
At this phase, explainer videos prove quite handy to the customers wherein they can follow and act. Besides all that, explainer videos are a great tool for increasing brand awareness and generating highly qualified leads.
Considering this contemplation, explainer videos should be thoughtfully created that fulfill your marketing goals. Let me share with you 5 tips for marketing your explainer video effectively.
5 tips for marketing your explainer video
1. Consistent and valuable content
Keep your videos consistent in appeal. Use an appropriate combination of your brand logo, colors that give your video a unique look. Target audience should identify your video the minute they start watching. Avoid using real screen shots especially when you are explaining software. Use animation instead to avoid corrections in the video after product update. In case, you have a taste for using character animation, keep it consistent for your subsequent videos.
Script is a valuable part of your video so pay importance to what you want to say and how you want to say before you start making a video. Do not generalize while making a video. We are not asking you to use jargon either. But we want you to understand the professional approach of your customers and what perception do you wish to form.
You content should add value to your target customer, in line with the content marketing strategy wherein you produce content which will be read and digested by pin-pointed target customers. Follow a problem-solution approach starting with the problem faced by your customers and providing a solution to their problem. Or you can use emotions to state how your product adds value. Whatever way you choose, always stress more on the benefits over features as your customer only cares about the former part.
2. Good audio, music and voice over
Have you ever tried watching a TV ad after muting its audio? If not, you should try it once to understand what exactly I’m going to say. It is agreeable that you pay a lot of attention in the visual appeal of your video which is understandable. In the process, marketers forget the relevance of clear audio in the background.
Do not forget that though their eyes are glued to the video, their ears are tuned to hear you. Every part of your video should have a consistent audio quality. Remember that video is a great support but without good audio, your message will be lost. Audio and video should be in sync. We often turn our TV channel if the audio is not good. At that time, even HD video quality fails to stop you. Likewise, your customers also behave in the same manner and the whole exercise of making video goes to drain.
Secondly, music has its own importance. It should not overpower your voice over. Choosing a right piece of music is vital to your visual appeal. It should sound professional and go along with the expression you want to convey. Thirdly, be careful in whom you choose to do your voice over. A strong voice bearing conviction and excitement leaves a deep impact on the audience.
3. Fun to watch
After all your effort put in to create a video, it is quite possible that your video looks boring and fails to engage your visitors. To avoid this situation, let your video look natural. Do not exaggerate about your product features. Do not talk about the point that you are the best company in the world.
All this nonsensical communication hurts your agenda; remember it is not a commercial TV advertisement. Explainer video puts forth explanation about your product as a key agenda but with an element of fun. Use a story to describe a situation as stories are engaging and people love to follow stories.
Use character animation, drawings, transition effects, colors etc to make it entertaining. We know this sounds too much of a work for a start-up company but it’s worth the expenses if done smartly. Even if you wish to go slow, you can use a case study explainer video by interviewing your customers and sharing their stories. Again people would be intrigued to see real stories that testify your claim as a new company.
Ask your customers to visit your webpage and check out your video. A satisfied customer will take pride in promoting your video by liking it and sharing it with their friends through social media. To say the least, fun does not mean it has to be humorous or amusing, keep it short and sweet.
4. Appropriate title tags
A video created by you is your intellectual property but it loses sheen if it is not seen by your target audience. There are two ways you can expect your video to be seen. One is to ask your customers to visit your website to see the video and share it further. But it has a limited approach if your customers are not active enough to do that. On the other hand, if you manage to appear in the top results of search engines, then you get a higher visibility, more traffic and conversion rate.
As we all know, small businesses struggle to stay visible online but Google has made it easier for genuine content to make it to the top. Search engines give higher ranking to original and authentic content. To guide the search engines to do their job better, it is essential that you add appropriate title tags to the video. Add a relevant meta-description that appears in search results. A crisp meta-description will grab people’s attention and lure them to see your video. A video with appropriate title tags will be seen by the target audience spread across the globe.
5. Self-host the video
The reason you create a video is to market your brand, your company and your product. Then what is the need of hosting the video on video-hosting websites like YouTube and Vimeo? You need not. Host the video on your domain as it adds credibility and value to your brand. People take you more seriously when they see a video hosted on your company’s homepage. Moreover, the likelihood of your visitors exploring content on your website increases as they are already present at your web address unlike the case for third party video-hosting sites. There you need to prompt your viewers to visit your website for more information.
Final thoughts
The above-listed tips for marketing your explainer video and spruce up your online presence should be used wisely and you’ll see your business growing. Marketing is always a two-way communication where you have to listen to what your customers say and answer all their queries. Video marketing is no different.
Encourage your visitors to give a suggestion and help you to improve. Request them for a valuable feedback after the video. Post your video on social media. Interact with your customers on social media networks like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter etc so that they know you are actively present on the leading networks and take an interact with you on the platform of their choice. Share your video with the maximum number of customers and target audience as it raises your chances of appearing in the top results.
Do you find these tips useful? It’s our turn to request you for your views on this matter.
For more useful tips, contact Oomphbox.
