It’s easy to understand why video marketing is so compelling. Just scroll through social media for a minute and see what engages you most. Chances are that a video might capture your attention faster — and hold it for longer — than a text or photo post.
You sense it’s true, but what do the numbers say about the effectiveness of using video in marketing? Wyzowl’s 2019 Video Marketing Statistics report says that 96 percent of people watch videos to learn more about products or services. Sixty-eight percent say that they actually prefer to learn about new products or services via video than any other method. Fifty-four percent of people want to see more video content from marketers, according to HubSpot Research.
If that’s not enough, Wyzowl reports that upwards of 80 percent of marketers say that video has:
- Increased traffic to their sites
- Helped generate leads
- Increased dwell time on their sites
Ready to up your company’s video game? With the help of a few powerful video content tools, you can be well on your way to realizing those benefits for your brand.
Types of Video Content
Video content can take many forms. To be effective in marketing, your overall video strategy should build awareness and trust around your brand. It should lead prospects to choose your product or service to meet their needs or solve their problems. The following types of videos can help do that:
- Brand overview, about us, or company culture videos
- Documentaries or interviews on topics related to your industry
- Entertaining or inspiring videos that capture the imagination
- Educational videos that impart information on a subject
- How-to or demo videos that explain how to use your product or service
- Explainer videos that take viewers from a problem to a solution
- Case studies or testimonials that build trust and credibility
- FAQ videos that help leads make a buying decision
- Personalized videos addressed specifically to one recipient or group
- Live videos to highlight a special event
Your company can also consider virtual reality videos in which viewers can navigate themselves through a 360-degree panorama. Companies like IKEA have made great use of augmented reality videos in which users can open their cameras and see an overlay. This helps them to see exactly what a dining table would look like in their spaces, for example.
Video Content Tools That Marketers Should Know
It’s true that creating a gorgeous video can get a lot more complicated than cranking out a blog post. However, there are plenty of tools out there to help you integrate video into your marketing. Here are some of the more effective video content tools by category.
Top Tools for Video Editing
No budget to hire a professional video editor and no time to learn how yourself? These tools can help you take all that raw video and turn it into a final product.
Animoto has long been a popular stop for DIY online video editing. Its simple drag-and-drop features and library of stock video, music tracks, fonts and storyboards make this a great platform for stitching videos into something professional. Enterprise plans are available for businesses.
Filmora is another oft-recommended video editor for good reason. Download the application, and you’ve got a comprehensive tool similar to iMovie. Expect much more sophisticated tools — think green screen effects and 100 layers of media — as well as full 4K resolution.
WeVideo is another easy, comprehensive online editing tool that offers a business plan. Get access to over 1 million stock videos and powerful editing tools with 4K output. You’ll also find branding, collaboration and management tools in the business package.
Looking for the easiest and simplest route? Biteable was created for you. Promising that you can create pro videos with zero prior experience, Biteable gets you started with templates and free clips.
Video Editing Tools Specifically for Marketers
Magisto Business does come with a comprehensive video editor, but it also includes tools to help you distribute your video to multiple channels. This makes it a great tool for your social media efforts. Plus, it includes engagement analytics so you can see how those videos are performing. Magisto tries to make things as easy as possible by using artificial intelligence to analyze and edit your video, saving you valuable time.
If video ads are a big priority, then Promo has you covered. The online platform has templates ready for Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn ads. One of its slogans is “Promote Anything,” so if that’s what you’re primarily looking to do with video, this can be a helpful resource.
Shakr is similar to Promo, specializing in video ads — especially social media ads. It has thousands of templates to get you started. And, there are several pricing tiers based on how much video you need and your level of customization.
Other Top Video Marketing Tools
These tools are geared more toward optimizing videos rather than actually creating them.
Vidyard isn’t an editor, but it’s brimming with helpful tools to market your video content to the fullest. Here, you can host your videos, but that’s just the beginning. Use the video player to ensure your content looks right on every device, and create a fully customized hub or channel that’s organized your way. Vidyard also offers analytics and SEO tools, along with a tool for generating personalized videos on a larger scale.
Wistia is similar to Vidyard in that you can host, customize and analyze your video all on one platform. It offers many of the same features.
Viewbix enhances your videos, optimizing them for engagement and making them more interactive. Think embedded calls to action that entice viewers to take measurable steps, such as clicking a link to a landing page or email signup form.
Tools for Specialty Videos
Wirecast is a go-to solution if your primary concern is broadcasting live events, such as webinars, trainings, interviews or even sports games or concerts. Select your desired destination, such as Facebook Live, and Wirecast connects your video so viewers can see what you see.
If you want to create explainer videos, especially if you’re in the tech industry, check out Common Craft. The extensive library of ready-to-use explainer videos helps you break down big, complicated subjects like “copyright” and “programming languages.”
Tools for Animated Videos and Doodles
When it comes to animated videos, Wideo and Powtoon are two top choices. They allow you to make custom animations without having to employ an actual animator. Both provide templates that you can customize, but Powtoon is geared more directly to marketers and includes non-animated video, too.
Here are more popular tools for video animation to check out:
Close cousins to animations are whiteboard videos and doodles; viewers see the images sketched onto a background like they’re watching a person draw a picture. Videoscribe is an authority in this space. Sellamations is another popular tool for creating this type of animated content.
Video is a powerful tool for communicating your brand’s message. And these video content tools are here to help you take things a step further with effective options for reaching and resonating with your audience.
