Videos are memorable, no question about it. After all, who doesn’t remember the Gangnam Style video? The catchy tune and matching dance moves made it a viral hit. Today, the video has 2.1 billion hits. (Yes, billion with a ‘b’). Super Bowl ads, cat videos – let’s face it – people love video.
More and more brands are jumping on board the video train. Why? Videos can improve audience retention. Brands are always looking for ways to create and maintain customer loyalty, says Justin Kerby, the co-founder of marketing company CAVE Social. One of the best ways to do that is through branded videos.
“Adding video increases your visitors’ average time on a page by 88%, which has huge implications for your website,” he says. “The longer people stay on a page, the better your chances of reaching the coveted first page of search results and converting visitors into customers.”
If you’re ready to add some video eye candy to your website, try these four tips to get you started:
Answer a question your audience is asking
Your video needs a purpose. The video should answer a question that your target audience is itching to know. Maybe potential consumers want to know how your product works or why it’s worth paying for. The list of possibilities is endless, but Kerby says you can narrow your focus with a little online detective work.
“Visit niche specific forums, and be sure to explore sites like Quora and Ask.com. These websites will help you define what kind of content you should be sharing, and what questions you should be answering with your marketing strategy.”
Use the responses you get to establish a focus of your video.
Turn to professionals
You can create a low-cost video with a basic camera and editing software. If you’re going to go down this road, be prepared to take some extra time to finesse your final project. Posting a shaky iPhone video taken in portrait mode isn’t going to achieve the results you want. If you have the resources, invest in a professional team to help with video creation and editing.
Use your metrics and make changes
When you roll out your video, your effort shouldn’t end there. Kerby says your work is only beginning. You have to check your metrics, see what’s working and make changes based on your numbers.
Creating a video isn’t an exact science, but metrics can improve your results. That’s what Kerby did for a real estate client.
“Early in 2014, we launched a video marketing campaign for a large real estate brokerage in the United States. We analyzed the retention rate. We analyzed the nose of the video (the first 2 percent) and saw a drop off rate of nearly 10%. We knew we had to make adjustments,” he says.
“We eliminated graphics and logo sequences that did not speak to the video’s content and shortened the introduction and made sure the introduction matched the video’s description. These adjustments cut our drop off rate significantly, bringing us below the industry average of 4.9 percent.”
Share your video
Once you have your video dialed-in, share it. Use your social channels, website and blog to promote your video. Work with partners to share videos and maximize exposure.
Final thoughts
Creating a video isn’t a one-day project; it will take time, money and resources. However, if improving audience retention and creating brand awareness is your goal, it’s worth creating a few videos as a test run to see if it’s worth your while. If it proves successful, you might consider adding it to your overall marketing strategy.
