Incorporate Different Video Formats Into Your Marketing Strategy
The ultimate goal of video marketing for Oakville and Burlington-based businesses should be to achieve a return on investment while simultaneously boosting engagement on both social and digital channels. Of course, there are plenty of different video marketing formats you can use to attract customers. As an experienced Burlington-based Oakville marketing agency, we have listed some of our video format recommendations below. The examples listed are popular, but the nature of your business, products, or services may change our recommendation for your specific business. All small business owners should be aware of the latest trends and frequently use video as a marketing tool to communicate with their target audience.
How many of us look up videos of a product or service before we buy?
Small business owners can use video as a marketing tool to effectively reach their target audience. Now is the time to teach potential customers why they should choose your business over your competitors. Video is the best tool for this, and you can experiment with many different video formats to see what works best for your specific audience.
When video marketing becomes a part of a business social strategy, it can improve brand awareness, brand reputation, customer engagement, social media following, and of course – sales! If you already feel intimidated by developing your own video content, if there isn’t enough time in a day for you to spend editing, or if you are uncertain of where to start – we can help!
We would love to chat and determine the best video marketing strategy for your business!
In the meantime, as an Oakville marketing agency for small businesses, we want to let you know about a few of the top video marketing formats we recommend for Burlington or Oakville businesses to help you create videos.
Brand Videos (About Us)
Brand or “About Us” videos introduce an audience to the team, products, services, mission, values, and brand story behind a business. This format is beneficial for a platform like YouTube, but, as the best digital marketing agency in Burlington and Oakville – we often recommend it’s used directly on a client’s website.
Creating an “About Us” video or a series of videos gives potential customers a chance to connect with your business based on more than just the product or service you are offering. In 2023, customers want to connect with brands they share values with. An “about us” video format also gives your audience a peek behind the scenes and establishes feelings of authenticity.
Why is authenticity so important for this type of video content? Typically having a face for your brand—say your CEO, team or even an influencer—helps to increase trust over time and further build customer connection. Keep in mind that your brand videos do not have to be long. An Oakville marketing agency recommends creating an “About Us” video that is a few minutes in length in its long form. You can then create shorter versions of these videos, but we will touch on repurposing content later in the blog. Brand videos can be AMAs (ask me anything), behind-the-scenes video vlogs, or upcoming launch announcements.
Testimonial Videos
A video testimonial is similar to a case study. Video testimonials and client reviews are powerful assets you can use on your website and social media channels to help influence potential customers to choose your business. These videos can feature real people you have worked with discussing your businesses, services, or products while offering a positive recommendation based on their experiences with your brand. You can ask your clients or customers to provide testimonials in video format, interview them yourself, or even create an infographic version of your written reviews.
Animated written reviews (and even adding a voiceover narration of the review) can be a great alternative to getting real people to agree to review your business on camera. Of course, it’s important to highlight that videos showing real people perform better in the social media space. If your primary goal is to boost your social media presence, it is important to use real people to promote your business using this video format.
Educational/Explainer videos
Educational videos are essentially any form of video that provides expertise or knowledge on your chosen topic. As a business owner, you will want to explain how your product or service works. You can do this by creating how-to videos or even full-blown step-by-step tutorials. How-to videos can position your business as the expert in your field and increase purchase confidence for anyone interested in your products.
Explainer videos can be a bit longer in length and more of a deep dive on a specific component of a product or service. Explainer videos can be animated and more fun in their overall look and feel.
Both explainer and educational videos can be effective. You can increase organic traffic to your social media channels or business website. Develop educational and explainer videos around topics relevant to your brand and your target audience’s interests. For example, if you sell beauty services, partner with a local beauty influencer to create tutorials that explain your services. An Oakville marketing agency recommends this video format for enhancing brand reputation and building trust.
We will close this blog section with a few helpful tips for creating an educational or explainer video:
- Make a plan and determine the main message you want to highlight
- Create a script
- Creating a script is crucial for any animated how-to videos
- A live-action how-to would also benefit from a video script, but you never want someone to look too “rehearsed” in a video, otherwise, it defeats the purpose and will erode trust in the product rather than build it (Authenticity is always the key!)
- Keep the video focused on only one product or service
- Identify the main questions customers may have about your product/service and address them
Live Stream
Live Streaming is an increasingly popular format used by video marketers across relevant social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, and YouTube. If you are willing and able to put yourself out there with your audience, your business may benefit from engaging directly with potential customers.
What type of conversation should you have during a livestream? That depends on several factors, but some Oakville marketing agency recommendations are:
- Hosting a podcast-style interview session with a fellow industry expert
- Announcing a new product/service
- Educating your audience on your products/services
- Broadcasting live events
- Sharing behind-the-scenes moments
- Have a Q&A session where you address the FAQ
Live streaming allows you to strengthen your relationship with potential customers and your followers. This format can help build trust in your products or services.
Don’t forget to Repurpose!
Repurposing video content for different channels and platforms will help you get more out of your videos. We will start with a live stream example. Even if you are not actually doing a live stream but are still filming as if you were – you can take that long-form video and create many helpful types of content! Some examples include uploading the audio or video as a long-form podcast, turning it into a blog through transcribing, cutting up the long-form video into smaller versions with alternate dimensions depending on the platform(s), and animated infographic videos where you place the audio over b-roll or animation. An Oakville marketing agency believes repurposing content is a great way to save time, money, and effort, required when constantly creating new content from scratch!
CM2 Media is a full-service Burlington and Oakville Marketing agency specializing in video marketing for small businesses. We are experts in determining which video formats will work best for your business. We will also come up with the best ways to repurpose video content in ways that will increase brand awareness, generate website traffic, and build trust with your target audience.
Contact the Best Digital Marketing Agency in Oakville and discover how we can take your marketing strategy to the next level!