Video marketing is a powerful tool that can help businesses of all sizes reach a wider audience, generate leads, and increase sales. As the data shows us, video is valuable: it’s more engaging than text or images, offers a positive ROI, and it can be used to tell stories, educate and engage customers, and demonstrate products or services. 

We’ve outlined 10 tips to help you seize the opportunities offered through video marketing, including ways to pad your filming budget and broaden your content’s reach. 

To make the most of your video marketing efforts, follow these tips: 

1. Film in bulk: Schedule quarterly shoots to produce three months’ worth of content at a time. This will help you to spread out the cost of video production and encourage you to make the most of your footage. Can that long-form testimonial be shortened into a :45 story? Can demo footage be used for trade show loops and a landing page? (The answers are yes).
2. Splice it up: Long-form content has its place in marketing, for sure. But when it comes to social media, email, and ad – short and sweet is the engagement sweet spot. So take those beautiful videos and serve them up as bit size pieces. A 2-minute brand story video can easily create 10 snippets – each identifying benefits, features, and brand ethos. 
3. Keep it concise: Research indicates that approximately 20% of viewers click away within the first 10 seconds of a video. Harsh, right? To capture attention, experts recommend keeping videos short and focused, conveying the core of the story. Ensure your video immediately communicates why viewers should continue watching.
4. Refine your storytelling: Pushy advertising can deter consumers. Instead, center your marketing content, both written and in video format, around the value proposition. Tap into the emotive power of video by addressing consumer needs and aspirations. Include a strategic and relevant call to action (CTA) with a tracked URL at the conclusion.
5. Create educational content: With 65% of online audiences being visual learners, it is essential to educate your viewers through video marketing. Consider demonstrating how to use your product or service effectively, providing helpful tips on maximizing its benefits, or hosting webinars to share expert knowledge. Educational content positions your brand as a thought leader while offering valuable information to customers.
6. Utilize subtitles and silent viewing: Studies indicate that 93% of mobile viewers watch videos on mute, and 80% are more likely to watch an entire video if subtitles are available. To facilitate engagement, automate the process of adding subtitles to your videos using tools like Cloudinary’s Google AI Video Transcription add-on or Microsoft Azure. Quick lesson we’ve learned – make sure your subtitles don’t cover your most interesting/valuable content. Seems obvious, but it’s worth a mention and a double check if you let the social platforms do the subtitle work for you.
7. Optimize page load speed: Videos can slow down page rendering, particularly on devices with limited bandwidth. Couple bits of advice: 
   • Reduce the size of your video files. You can do this by using a video compression tool.
   • Use a progressive download format. This means that the video will start playing as soon as it is downloaded, rather than waiting for the entire file to download.
   • Stream your videos instead of downloading them. This is the best way to ensure that your videos load quickly for all users.
8. Leverage user-generated content (UGC): User-generated content, including product reviews, home videos, and pictures shared on social media and brand sites, has gained influence and trust among consumers. If this hasn’t hit your radar yet, do a little searching. If your fans, friends, and partners are out there sharing – share that.
9. Tag content for SEO: To enhance the discoverability of your videos through search engine optimization (SEO):
   • Embed video content to increase the likelihood of inbound marketing links.
   • Create video sitemaps as per Google’s guidelines.
   • Provide descriptions to aid search engine crawlers.
   • Tag the video with relevant keywords and descriptive titles.
10. Track results: While many brands focus solely on video views as a metric, it is crucial to measure deeper viewer interactions. Monitor metrics such as viewer engagement duration, pauses for evaluation, and skipped content. 

We hope these tips help you plan, schedule, edit, and implement your video marketing strategy with confidence. If you want a little more backup before breaking out the cameras, check out Driving Brand Growth with Video. Then get out there and break a leg. Or a lens? We don’t think anyone says that. Either way, we’re cheering for you!