Video Content Marketing

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‘Video is more than something we can watch, leaning back in our chairs. It’s also increasingly something we can interact with – leaning forward, and engaged’. – Ann Handley (Chief Content Officer @ Marketing Profs)

Interactivity opens up a door to opportunity, and Castle CS are here to be your key to that door.

As a business, it’s important that your brand create a personal connection with each of your customers, and thanks to living in the information age, creating these types of connections has become a very real and attainable possibility within both the B2C and B2B communities.

Any brand that isn’t utilising social video as a part of their marketing plan is missing out on a big piece of business cake. The beauty of social media is that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be big. In fact, viewers are often more drawn to the less elaborately produced content than anything else, because it creates that human to human, more than just a number, personal relationship between you and your (potential) customer.

Now, the phrase ‘social video’ is an umbrella term with a broad spectrum of definitions, but the long and short of it is that no matter the platform or format used – a social video is designed to be exactly that… social. It’s content that is created to be viewed, shared, and shared again.

Having said that, social videos are not to be mistaken with viral videos. Your content doesn’t have to be shared millions of times to be a success. The key is to know your market(s), be authentic, tell a story – and when you tell that story… get to the point (being vague has no place in marketing!). Think about how you can tell your story, too, because the format of your video is just as important as its platform. What kind of company are you? What vibe best represents who you are and how you want to portray yourself?

Research your platforms. Explore, and don’t be shy in branching out with different ones.

Before getting started shooting and editing, it’s important to think about ideal video lengths and which would most engage your target audience and in turn benefit you as a company – here’s a breakdown of maximum video lengths per platform:

Facebook: 120 minutes

Instagram: 60 seconds

Twitter: Under 30 seconds, as recommended by Twitter

Snapchat: 10 seconds

Vine: 6 seconds

Whether you are a small business just starting out, or at the top of the league and trying to keep your marketing game strong, there are plenty of options to look into, these are just some of them. Dive in!

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND 

So you’re ready to get creative. Here are our top tips for peek promo:

• Timing is everything, so grab attention early. Seriously. Within the first 10 seconds, let your audience know what your video is about, and what solution you’re going to offer (if any). Generally just lay down what it’s all about because as soon as your viewers press play, you’re on a countdown of either interest or straight up boredom – do not let it be the latter.
• Know your audience. Think carefully about which age demographic you’re targeting, and where those people are most likely to view your content. Think about attention spans, about the right platforms, and what time of day / night your video is most likely to be viewed.
• Experiment with video length. Carrying on with the ‘know your audience’ theme, this tip ties into all those points. You’re going to need to find out what video length works best for your target audience. Are a bunch of teenagers going to watch a 10 minute video on XYZ unless there’s a seriously popular hashtag attached to the subject? …probably not.
• Create ‘how-to’ videos. Think about it. How many of you buy into something after watching a tutorial video? How many times have you been drawn into those 1 minute DIY videos? *raises hand*. Don’t fix what isn’t broken – use it.  
• Appeal to emotion. Human emotion is one of the quickest ways to engage viewers. As well as resonating with us, we’re often moved enough by emotion to take action; whether that be joining a movement, taking interest in a company, a campaign, or buying a product.
• Humour. Using human emotion to engage your audience doesn’t always need to pull on the heartstrings. We like to laugh. Humour makes a video enjoyable (most times), and makes us more likely to watch in full, and more importantly makes us remember the video as well as the company that posted it.
• Keywords are key. ‘What’s in a word’ …actually? everything. Keywords are called that for a reason. They’re the key to gathering an audience, and the right audience at that. Using the right words in connection to your content optimizes search results, and if you get it right, you’ll gain a wider audience. Research trending topics, research hashtags, scour Twitter and Instagram to see what people are talking about with regards to whatever theme your post has and make it work in your favour.
• Add a featured video. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make it a good one. Like it or not, sometimes users can’t be bothered scrolling down your page to see what you’re all about – so make it easier for them. Choose or make a video that you believe encompasses who you are as a company and make it accessible straight away – not even at the click of a button – this is where ‘autoplay’ comes into, well… play! Once you’ve come up with the right video (company trailer, highlight a new product, tell a story, whatever works for you), add it as your featured video where it will appear in your ‘about’ section – no chance to miss it!
• Behind the scenes. This is where you can really connect with your audience. Show off your company culture, your crew, anything and everything. A polished promo video can only do so much and your audience know it’s polished. Showing the behind the scenes action at your company really gets your current and prospective audience to connect and engage. A great place to do this is Snapchat, where video is raw and somewhat unedited. We’ll talk about this in next week’s’ blog post by the way, so keep your eyes peeled! #teaser
• UGC (User Generated Content). Feature fan content, not only is it a great way to engage your followers, but it’s also an awesome way to say thank you. Afterall, you wouldn’t be doing what you do without them.

DON’T FORGET – THE BASICS

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in exciting ideas, storyboards and shooting footage that we forget about the basics – so here’s a little reminder from us to you:

• Sound quality. You don’t need to hear us talk about this, just make sure your viewers can hear your video. You could have awesome content, but if your audience can’t hear it, what’s the point? Make sure your sound is crystal clear.
• Nail it – pick an awesome thumbnail. Choosing the right frame as your thumbnail is just as important as your video content. It’s the first thing your audience sees’. Think about the videos that you’re attracted to – get where we’re going with this? Yeah ya do!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be featuring posts focused on the benefits of individual platforms like:

Snapchat

Facebook

along with tips, tricks and generally awesome content to get you making the most out of the video content marketing movement (try saying that 3 times fast)

We’ll give you an insight into which platform is best for certain types of content and how best to use it. Make sure to check in with us over social media to be the first to know when those posts are up!

Check us out @

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