A brand / business needs video marketing as a marketing strategy. Indeed this idea is not a new idea. The novelty is how this one type of media has become the biggest spotlight on every platform and channel these days.
So, this marketing strategy is no longer just part of the trick to increase your sales. Video marketing or product marketing videos have played a huge role in your potential customer outreach and brand campaigns.
Have you noticed that recently well-known brands are uploading video content more often on their various social media? This is because experts and executives who work on various social media platforms themselves also say that videos have gone viral in recent times.
Google itself states that creating video content is indeed a smart way for any company that wants to do marketing in this digital era. On search engines like Google, video content also often gets high rankings and people tend to click on it.
What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is a marketing method that uses videos on online platforms as the main medium. Video marketing can be easily found on various online video platforms and social media such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
5 Advantages of Video Marketing
Video marketing has its own advantages over other marketing methods. Here are five advantages of video marketing:
1. Videos Help Consumers Understand Your Products
Customers are sometimes lazy to read to the end about your product details. If they don’t understand the advantages of your product, of course the chances of buying it are getting smaller. You can use video marketing to help customers understand your product. According to HubSpot, 87 percent of customers want the company to release more videos in the future.
2. The Use of Video Marketing Continues to Increase
In 2017, only 63 percent of companies used video marketing. This number always increases every year. In 2018, 81 percent of companies have started implementing video marketing and it is predicted that this will increase to 87 percent in 2019 ( Wyzowl ). If you want to win the competition, of course you also have to follow the existing trends, one of which is using video marketing.
3. Video Marketing Increases Conversions
The use of video marketing continues to increase, of course there is a reason. The main reason video marketing is widely used by companies is to increase conversions. According to a Wyzowl survey, 72 percent of businesses said video marketing helped significantly increase their business conversions. The higher the conversion, the higher the profit you will get.
4. Customers Prefer to Share Videos
All business people want their marketing campaign to spread virally all over the internet. The more viral the marketing campaign, the more people will talk about your brand. Of course this is good for building brand awareness of your product in the community.
One of the efforts you can do to create a viral marketing campaign is to use videos. Because people prefer to share videos over other types of content. According to a Mill for Business report, 92 percent of customers share an engaging marketing video with their friends.
5. Video is the Future of Marketing
According to Cisco, 80 percent of internet traffic in 2019 will be dominated by video and is expected to continue to increase in the future. This finding is a trigger for all business people to immediately take advantage of video marketing. Because your customers prefer to consume video over any other type of content and you need to be able to reach them on the platform they like the most, which is video.
Types of Video Marketing
There are various types of video marketing and you can choose the type that best suits your business. Here are some of the most commonly used types of video marketing:
1. Video Demo
The demo video shows how your product works. You can show the product unboxing and try the product.
2. Video Branding
Video branding is an important part of your business advertising campaign. The main purpose of video branding is to build brand awareness of your company. Branding videos usually contain the vision, mission, and solutions of what your company offers to the public.
3. Video Event
When your company holds an event such as a conference, seminar, discussion, or product launch, make sure you capture the event in the form of video.
4. Video Interview Expert
Featuring experts who share their opinions will help you earn the trust of your customers. You can conduct interviews with influencers in your industry for these types of videos.
5. Video Tutorial
Sometimes the tutorial in the form of text is not enough to explain complex steps. You can help customers to understand step by step tutorials using video tutorials.
6. Video Animation
Animated videos make it easy for you to explain abstract things in your business.
7. Video Live
In contrast to event videos that are released when the event is over and go through the editing process, live video allows you to show the event live. You can find the live video feature on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
8. Video Webinar
Video webinars are seminars held online. So video webinar participants can attend seminars without having to leave the house. Participants only need to register through the form provided by the webinar provider and will be invited to watch the seminar online.
Read What is Webinar? Its Benefits, Types And How To Plan It
Create a Video Marketing Plan
Before making video marketing, you need to make a plan first. Just like carrying out any other marketing campaign, making a plan is an important step so you don’t lose your way when creating video marketing. Here are some things to consider when creating a video marketing plan:
First, the target audience. Understand the audience you want to target for your marketing videos. Understanding your target audience will make it easier for you to determine the next important thing, namely goals.
Second, the goal. Each audience segment has its own criteria so that the goals achieved from video marketing are different. After understanding the target audience, now is the time to determine what goals can be achieved through video marketing. The goals that can be achieved also vary, from buying products, downloading ebooks, or simply registering as a member.
Third, publication media. Deciding which publication medium you want to use to publish video marketing is important. Because each video platform has different characteristics and conditions. You must consider the conditions of the video publisher platform in order to display optimal and effective video marketing.
Fourth, the time of release. You also need to determine when the marketing video will be released so you can estimate how long it will take to create the video. In addition, you can catch up on the momentum to release video marketing, especially if you are pursuing certain seasonal promos.
Fifth, budget. How much do you need to spend to make video marketing from the preparation process until the video is released? This must be calculated carefully so that you do not overspend with minimal results.
How to Create Video Marketing in 11 Steps
After making a careful plan, you can now start making video marketing. Below are 11 easy steps to create video marketing:
1. Create a Video Script
Just like when creating other types of videos, video marketing also requires scripts. Creating scripts is very important in video marketing to make it easier for you to edit at the end. Scripts help you determine what pictures need to be taken so they can be combined into a story.
Start your script by creating an outline. Make any important points that you want to appear in a marketing video. Then you can create a table consisting of two columns. The left column is the audio or voice over, while the right column is the displayed image.
| [Title] Complete Guide to Getting Started with Video Marketing | |
|---|---|
| Audio / Voice Over | Picture |
| Now business owners are required to be able to make video marketing because consumers prefer to see content in the form of videos. In this episode, we’ll walk you through creating effective video marketing from the planning process to releasing a video. | People watching YouTube |
| [Audio Subtitle] | [Image matched audio] |
| [Audio Subtitle] | [Image matched audio] |
The table above is an example of how to script for your video marketing. Start by writing the audio text that you want to appear in your video marketing. Keep in mind, the language used for blog articles and videos is different. Use language that is easy to understand, clear, and interactive. Avoid using complex technical language.
Read What are Storyboards? Here are Examples, Functions and How to Make It!
2. Choose the Right Camera
There are many camera options that you can use to make video marketing. You can even take pictures using a smartphone camera. The most important thing is that you understand how to use the camera you are using.
You can just use a professional camera like a DSLR. However, if you don’t understand how to use it, the video you produce will be mediocre or even of poor quality.
Even if you use a smartphone camera, you can still produce good video quality if you understand how to use it. So choose the camera that you think fits your needs and learn how it works. Take the time to read the camera’s user manual and tutorials on using the camera.
3. Understand Camera Shooting Techniques
In general, there are several camera shooting techniques that you need to know before making video marketing.
– Frame Rate
The frame rate is the number of images (frames) displayed each second in the video expressed in frames per second (fps). The most basic frame rate settings on many cameras are 24 fps and 30 fps.
Many videographers state that 24 fps is often used to take a more “cinematic look”. While 30 fps is more used for most videos.
– Aperture
Aperture is the size of the lens opening. Like the human eye, the lens also opens and closes according to incoming light. Aperture is measured with an f-stop scale. Here are the f-stop levels: f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, and f/16.
The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the lens aperture. Conversely, the larger the f-stop number, the smaller the lens aperture. So the largest lens aperture is f/1.4 and the smallest lens aperture is f/16.
Aperture is useful for adjusting the amount of light entering the lens. When the aperture is set to small and you get a lot of light coming in, you can get a subject in focus that stands out against the background. On the other hand, when the aperture is set to large and you get less light in, you can keep the subject in focus in a large frame.
– Shutter Speed
In simple terms, shutter speed is how fast a camera “blinks”. Maybe you’ve seen a cheetah running fast caught on camera and looks as if it stopped. Such photos are likely taken using a high shutter speed setting.
Shutter speed is measured on a 1/X scale. The larger the X, the faster the shutter speed. High speed shutter speed is usually used to capture fast moving objects. Conversely, the smaller the X, the slower the shutter speed. Slow shutter speeds are usually used to take slow-moving objects.
– ISO
ISO is used to measure the sensitivity of the camera sensor to light. On the camera you will see the ISO size as 200, 400, 800, 1600, and so on. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the camera is to light. Meanwhile, the smaller the ISO number, the lower the camera’s sensitivity to light.
To determine the correct ISO number, you need to consider natural light in a studio set. If the object you are going to take is getting enough light, you can set the ISO at a small number. On the other hand, if you feel there is not enough light, you can set the ISO to a higher number.
– White Balance
White balance is used to tell you the color temperature where you took the picture. Each type of light produces a different color. For example, light bulbs commonly used in homes produce warm colors.
– Focus
Most DSLR cameras allow you to take pictures using auto focus or manual focus. You can adjust the focus manually to focus on a specific part of the captured object. For example, when taking a picture of an interview, you can set the focus on the face of the person being interviewed.
4. Prepare Camera Support Tools
In order to get maximum video marketing results, you need to prepare some basic camera support tools. First, tripods. The tripod helps you take steady pictures.
Second, also prepare a spare battery and memory card. These two items may seem trivial, but their function is very important. Taking pictures often takes a long time so having some spare camera batteries allows you to shoot continuously. Likewise with memory cards. Don’t stop shooting midway just because your memory is full and you need to transfer the footage to your laptop first.
Third, external mic or clip on. Each camera is usually equipped with an internal mic. However, if you are taking pictures of people talking in a crowd or the camera is too far from the object being captured, the camera’s built-in mic may not capture sound clearly. Therefore, you also need to prepare an external mic or also known as clip on.
5. Prepare Talent
Even though your talents are experienced, it doesn’t mean they don’t need preparation. Prepare talent in advance so that they can understand the script they will deliver. You can use a prompter to help talent remember scripts, but it’s a good idea for talent to understand exactly what they’re saying. So the video marketing that you produce is not just talent who reads scripts, but talent who really understands the message they are conveying.
6. Apply Shoot for The Edit Method
Generally cameraman and video editor are two different people. Sometimes there is a difference of opinion between the cameraman and the editor regarding the footage that has been taken. Maybe according to the cameraman, the footage taken is complete and perfect. However, according to the editor the footage is still lacking and difficult to edit.
To bridge the difference between the two, you can apply the shoot for the edit method. Shoot for the edit is a method of taking a picture (footage) while imagining how it will be edited. So the cameraman can take enough footage and the editor can edit it easily.
The first step in this method is to leave a buffer at the beginning and end of each footage. This pause will make it easier for the editor to cut and join one footage to another.
Second, prepare lots of b-rolls. B-roll is backup footage for a particular scene taken from several different angles. With a sufficient number of b-rolls, editors will find it easier to make editing variations in the final version of the video.
Third, mark the best footage. When taking a scene, you may repeat the shooting up to 10 times, 20 times, or even more. Of all the footage you’ve taken, mark which one is the best. This will make it easier for editors when choosing which footage is suitable to be included in the video.
7. Tidy Up Footage
Although it can be considered a tedious activity, tidying up footage is an important part of your video marketing process. This footage is the capital to make impressive video marketing. Here are the steps for tidying up effective footage:
First, prepare an external hard drive. The amount of footage that you take is very large and can take up storage space on your computer which will affect the performance of your computer. In addition, storing footage on an external hard drive also makes it easy for you to transfer large data to the editor.
Second, separate the video that will be used from the footage. Create a separate folder containing the footage that will be used. So you won’t be confused which footage is useful and which footage can be deleted.
8. Edit Video
At this point, you have the selected footage to edit. It’s time to choose a video editor software that you can use. Some of the popular video editing software are Blender, Lightworks, Shotcut, VSDC Free Video Editor, Openshot, and iMovie.
If you have more budget to buy premium video editing, Adobe Premiere Pro is one option that you can consider. Adobe Premiere Pro is proven quality and has become the standard for most video editors. You can buy an Adobe Premiere Pro license starting at 138 thousand rupiah per month.
9. Choose Background Music
Besides footage, another important element in a video is music. Music can help liven up the mood and tone of your marketing video. The right choice of music will help the audience focus, even get carried away by their emotions when watching your marketing video.
You can choose any type of music that is of course tailored to the message you want to convey and the audience you are targeting. Even so, you have to be careful in choosing music. What I mean to be careful here is to choose music whose copyright is clear.
To be safe, you can search for copyright-free music like on Bensound. However, of course the choice of copyright-free music is limited. If you want to use music that someone legally owns, it’s best to get permission from the owner first and you should also be prepared to pay royalties to the music owner.
10. Record Voice Over
Once you’ve edited all the footage into one complete video and added the appropriate music, you can also add voice overs. Voice over is audio narration that is not spoken by the talent in front of the camera.
Not all videos require voice over and you are the one who decides whether your video needs voice over or not. If the narration of talent is enough, you don’t need to add voice over. However, if the talent narration is not enough, you can add voice over. You can also make videos without talent and the narration is replaced by voice over.
Whether you’re doing voice over for part of the video or the whole video, make sure to record the sound in a quiet place so that the sound can be heard clearly. Also, make sure the voice over matches the image that appears on the screen.
11. Release Your Video
There are various options for releasing your marketing videos. You can release marketing videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even TikTok. Either platform doesn’t matter as long as you’ve done your research beforehand. Make sure the platform you will use is a platform that is widely used by your target audience. By releasing videos on the right platform, the possibility of getting consumers is greater.
Also Read: 7 Best Video Template Websites
Conclusion
Making video marketing is one of your efforts to keep up with market demands that are starting to shift from the habit of watching television to watching videos online.
The good news is that unlike advertisements on television, video marketing can be used by anyone. Even Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can use video marketing. Hopefully this article can help you create an effective video marketing. Good luck!
