Do you have a content marketing strategy? What about a YouTube marketing strategy?
I’m pretty sure that in 2016, the majority of marketers out there will answer with a resounding “yes” to the first question, but maybe a hesitant “no” for the second question. You will be publishing a weekly blog, responding to your fans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and all the rest. You may even have video earmarked to form part of your content strategy for 2016. But a YouTube marketing strategy? Probably not.
As far as your content marketing strategy goes, you will be doing well if you can tick off these things I just mentioned. But, this year, more than any others that have come before it (though probably not as much as those that will follow), video marketing is going to have to do more than “form part of” your content strategy. You’re going to need to have a completely separate strategy that’s just for your video output.
Why? Because video marketing is becoming ever-more prevalent. It’s no longer an option, or a nice “luxury” to have as part of your marketing repertoire – in order to keep pace with the business world, it’s imperative that you give a little more than a bit of oomph to your video marketing plans, as that’s exactly what your competitors are doing.
Indeed, as we reported in our post ‘How To Optimise Your Video Marketing On YouTube’, YOUTUBE IS THE SECOND LARGEST SEARCH ENGINE ON THE WEB, and the THIRD MOST VISITED SITE.
But, more than this, the actual figures for YouTube marketing speak loudly and clearly for themselves. Adelie Studios recently put together a SlideShare with some brilliant statistics, showcasing the importance of video marketing.
Here are some key takeaways:
- Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined
- Firms that use video enjoy 41% more web traffic than those that don’t
- Companies that use video marketing grow revenue 49% faster than those that don’t
- 70% of marketers say that video generates more conversions than any other form of content
- 74% millennials find video helpful when comparison shopping
The Importance Of A YouTube Marketing Strategy
So, it’s pretty clear that video marketing gets results. But what constitutes as video marketing?
Well, that’s what we’ve put this blog post together to clarify.
Indeed, video marketing is all well and good, but there needs to be variety to your output. Plain advertising is, frankly, annoying for the modern internet user. In fact we’re sick of it, and if you think that you can get away with endless TV-commercial-style adverts to fill up your channel, then you can think again.
No, today, the video marketer needs a video marketing strategy. And that means getting to grips with the varying forms of video marketing content.
So, let’s take a good look at what they are.
5 Types Of Video Content That YouTube Marketers Should Master To Nail Their YouTube Marketing Strategy
1. The Promo
First and foremost for the brand advertising themselves on YouTube is the promotional video.
Now, the idea of these might reek a bit of the TV-commercial-style vids that I have only just warned you about. And indeed, a poorly constructed promo will be nothing more than this very thing.
However, a good promo video will be the conversion-driving machine that dreams are made of – and it all comes down to how you deliver the promotional material.
A little while ago, we went into great detail as to what exactly makes a great promo in a blog post entitled ‘9 Elements Of A Great Promotional Video’. Taking the brilliant promo from DollarShaveClub.com as inspiration (see video below), we concluded that the 9 elements were:
- Personal bond
- Movement
- Arousal of curiosity
- Irresistible offer
- The art of rhetoric
- The creation of a mass enemy
- Adding value
- The call to action
- The memorable tagline
Please read the blog and master how to make killer promos like this…
But even simple videos made without a script can be big conversion drivers. We made this video with our own video design (you can make your own version of this video here) and it actually drove a massive amounts of registrations on Shakr when we ran it as a Facebook advertisement.
2. The Interview
There are many types of interview that a brand can use as part of its video promotional material.
For building thought leadership, there is indeed no better way than to invite an industry expert onto the airwaves for a filmed discussion about the future of the market.
Employees can be interviewed to show a little behind-the-scenes footage of what it’s like at the business-end of building the products that your customers love.
Fans can even be interviewed telling the world exactly why they love your brand.
Indeed, one of the best things about interview content is that it’s real. It’s genuine. It’s unscripted. It’s natural. And it brings an overwhelming human touch to your brand – and it even works on CEOs, as this interview with Microsoft head honcho Satya Nadello demonstrates.
3. The How-To/Product Tutorial Video
Yes, this is another important piece of content that all video marketing aficionados need to master.
The beauty of the product demo video is that you – i.e. the number 1 fan of your product – get to enthusiastically demonstrate how other users will get the same great benefits and joys from what you have created.
Enthusiasm is infectious, and, so long as you really believe in your product, then you will be able to showcase it easily in all its glory for your viewers.
And make no mistake – product demo videos are popular. In May 2015, Think With Google published this statement: “More than 100M hours of how-to content have been watched in North America so far this year.”
To put this into perspective, that’s 100 million hours viewed in one single country in one single 5-month period.
Indeed, we’ve covered product demo videos in some detail in a previous blog, and so we refer you to ‘How To Create Killer Product Demo Videos’ to get the full lowdown on the five key elements of this type of content:
- Do your homework
- Always write a script
- Hook ‘em quick and keep it short
- Avoid high information density
- Finish with a strong CTA
Here’s a sample How-To video from Shakr that’s perfect for a brand who want to make a simple how-to video for their YouTube or other social media channels.
4. Presentations/Grand Unveilings
Slightly more in-depth than the product demo is the presentation – which, indeed, is often combined with a grand unveiling of a new line or product.
With presentations, however, you’ve got to get out of the mind-frame of boring boardroom meetings, and instead seek to impress in a large way.
Think big.
Think wow.
Think – nay, believe – that your new product is going to change the world.
You know what I’m going to say next, don’t you. That’s right…
Think like possibly the greatest presenters of new products the tech world has probably ever known. Think Apple:
5. User Generated Content
Now, this one is a little harder to master – especially since you will be relying on your fans to create videos that showcase your product themselves. But, it can be done – and some brands do it brilliantly.
Let’s take Oreo for a prime example.
What that marketing team behind everyone’s favourite cookie have done is create a hashtag #PlayWithOreo.
What this hashtag encourages fans to do is come up with content – video and otherwise, as it happens – where Oreo cookies are being used or ‘played with’ in cool, fun and inventive ways, beyond just opening a packet and scoffing them.
Fans have since created wealth of original content which they’ve posted on social media and shared. Such as this little beauty (which has enjoyed over half a million views):
When people are making things like this about your own product, you might even wonder why Oreo even bother in creating any more adverts themselves when their fans are doing it for free.
However, unless you’re really lucky, and depending, of course, on what you’re selling, people aren’t just going to start making such videos – you might have to get the ball rolling yourself. So, think up a hashtag, make some entertaining YouTube videos where you take the idea of your product ‘outside of the box’, if you will, and hopefully you’ll get fans doing the exact same thing.
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