There’s no denying the power of video marketing. I’m not just saying that because I’ve dedicated my adult life to television and video. The statistics back me up. For example, a Cisco white paper estimated that within the next two years, 82% of all consumer internet traffic will be videos. Multiple industry studies report that between 85-87% of professional marketers use video in their client’s strategies.
Video isn't just pervasive, it’s effective. Video viewers retain 95% of the message compared to only 10% of readers. Social media videos generate 1200% more shares than image and text posts (whoa!). Plus, 72% of consumers and 59% of executives say they’d rather watch a video about a product versus reading about it. These statistics show that video can be a powerful way to attract attention to your brand and increase your sales. I’ve seen this effectiveness firsthand with the female entrepreneurs that I work with. Video has helped them grow their personal brands, increase their reach, and has even made sales a lot less, well salesy.
A lot of business owners and entrepreneurs see these compelling stats or witness others succeed with video and think, ‘I have to do more video!’ And then, they do a whole bunch of videos and don’t see the results. That’s because the video itself is not what’s generating the results - it’s the content of the videos. The good news is, there are three key things that, if you nail them, will result in your video marketing being on point and effective.
Here are the three things to get right so you can rock your video marketing:
What is it exactly that you want videos to do for your business or your brand? If you create videos without understanding how they’re going to help your business, then you will never meet your goals. You need to be able to see where all of these videos will lead the audience and what that is going to do for your business. You need to have a plan!
Not only does your video marketing strategy need to have intention, your videos do too. Each video you create and post should have a clear next step for the viewer. That might be for them to follow you, comment or engage with the video, download your lead magnet, visit your website or buy.
Videos with a singular intention are much more effective. Think about it, if someone tells you to “like, subscribe, comment, visit my website and buy my thing” chances are you’re not going to do any of those -- there are just too many choices!
What intention should you choose? It depends on what will help your ideal customer take the next step on their customer journey with you. (Here’s a link to a replay of a free webinar I did on the buyer’s journey if you want to learn more).
If you want your videos to resonate with your audience, you need to know who you’re speaking to. If you try to create videos for ‘everyone’ then chances are, they will be too generic and inconsequential to have an impact. Most business owners and entrepreneurs have an idea about their target demographic or their ideal customer. Make videos that serve them.
Knowing who you’re talking to is only the first step. You also need to understand what they need (what problem you can solve for them), where they’re watching videos, and how they’re watching them. Sharing the right information, in the right place, and in the right way is going to help your audience feel like you understand and care about them. And, that is the power of video.
Sadly, this last piece is the bane of many an entrepreneur and business owner. And, let’s just be honest here, it tends to be a bigger issue for women. Why? There are countless studies that show that the Confidence Gap is real. It doesn’t just apply to the upwardly mobile, it also applies to female entrepreneurs (even those who left the 9-to-5 to escape sexism in the workplace).
Most video marketing strategies require you to ‘put yourself out there’ on video. This can feel vulnerable and daunting, even for those who are confident in other areas of their life. But, here’s the hard truth: you have to suck it up. Video is too powerful a tool to leave it to the boys! Screw the confidence gap. Face the fear and do it anyway.
If you don't muster up some confidence, all the best laid plans for tapping the video marketing vein will be in vane.
No More Excuses
Take some time to set your intentions, understand and serve your audience, and push past your confidence-blocks. That’s it; video marketing, made simple.
Any other limitations are just fear masquerading as an excuse. Let me share a few I hear all the time (and how I address them):
I don’t have any (and can’t afford) video equipment. Use your smartphone and available sunlight.
I don’t know what to say. Talk to your audience the way you talk to a new customer or prospect.
I hate how I look on camera. It’s not about you or how you look - it’s about the important message you have to share with your customers.
I don’t have time. Prioritize video over other tasks that don’t move the needle as much as video will.
I’ve heard them all, and I seldom hear an excuse that’s valid. Most of the time, the excuses are a way to procrastinate because procrastinating is way easier than stepping out of your comfort zone. Are you doing this? Stop getting in your own way and start putting some videos out there!
If you focus on intention, audience, and confidence (and push the excuses aside), your videos will help you connect with your ideal customers so you can build that know-like-trust factor. When your audience knows, likes and trusts you, they will buy with confidence. And that means you can grow your business with ease and avoid having to be too ‘salesy’.
BIO
Valerie McTavish is a content marketing strategist, online business development coach, and mastermind leader. She parlayed her 3+ decades of experience in video and television production with her 9+ years of content marketing to develop a Video Marketing Mastery program exclusively for female entrepreneurs. You can access her free video training here. Follow her on Facebook for an ongoing dose of video marketing & confidence-boosting tips.
Sources:
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-statistics/
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/03/08/video-marketing-statistics
https://learn.g2crowd.com/video-marketing-statistics
https://www.insivia.com/50-must-know-stats-about-video-animation-marketing-2013/
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/state-of-video-marketing-new-data
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/
https://hbr.org/2018/03/is-the-confidence-gap-between-men-and-women-a-myth
