Video

You might be aware of the benefits of video content and you might be curious to see if it would work for your company. That’s wonderful. However, if you have never created videos before, it might be difficult to come up with ideas about what and who to show in them. To help you out, we have put together seven easy ways you can use video inside and outside of your company. The best thing about these ideas is that if you know your company and your customers, you are halfway there. The only thing left is to get inspired and start creating videos!

Introduce yourself and what you do

How about saying hello to your audience with a video instead of a lengthy paragraph that almost no one will read? The aim of an introductory video is to first explain who you are – both as an individual if you choose to feature one, and as a company. Then, your video should tell the viewer what it is that you do in a few simple and straightforward sentences. Investing in an introductory video has undeniable benefits when used in websites as it increases the likelihood of rating on Google’s first page by 53%.

A tip from Zaran: Keep the video at or under 90 seconds! This simple trick will increase the chances of the viewer watching the video until the end.

Tell a story about your company

Have you heard the term “business storytelling”? It refers to using a story-like narrative to position a brand in the market. What was the motivation to start the business? What challenges did you overcome in the beginning? Who you are serving and why? Your audience is interested in knowing more about your company and you can tell the answers to these questions as a story. Doing so in a video format will make you stand out even more. You can also use this technique to tell a video story about the journey of your employees and leaders.

A tip from Zaran: Stories usually follow a clear structure and therefore, storytelling videos benefit from being well thought-through. Luckily for you, here at Zaran, we can help you right from the script, through production till the final video is ready for publishing (and even with the distribution to the right channels afterwards!).

Showcase your product or service with an explainer video

There are many ways to use explainer videos. The most popular choices are videos breaking down and showing features of your product or service – this is the fastest way for any client to get to know what you offer in a simple and eye-pleasing way; videos where your new and improved product is tested against an older model or a similar inferior product is also an idea. Explainer videos are an excellent way to boost your sales! In fact, 8 out of 10 people have purchased a product or service after watching a video about it.

A tip from Zaran: An explainer video should speak loud & clear through your brand’s language. We can help translate your message in the most compelling way!

Use video for internal content

By now more than 90% of companies use video and around 85% of them do so for internal purposes such as leadership announcements, introducing new practices or educating employees on how to perform a certain task. Additionally, videos can be a great addition to your human resources communication. You can promote the need and importance of performance management reviews or use video in your onboarding initiatives to introduce new hires to the company’s mission, values and structure.

A tip from Zaran: Having your company’s leaders in front of the camera can boost trust, engagement & morale within your organisation! Not sure what kind of internal video you need? We can help you decide! Contact us here and let’s work together.

Educate your customers through videos

There are two ways to use educational videos to promote your company. You can establish yourself as a leader in your niche by sharing how-to knowledge. For example, if you are a construction company, consider posting short videos explaining how to use power tools or how to fix a common issue at home such as a leaking sink. Another way you can educate your audience is by increasing awareness of global or local issues, causes or movements and explaining how your service or product relates to them. For an NGO supporting sustainability, this can be a video showing the harmful effect fast fashion has on the environment and how your organization’s efforts promote second-hand shopping.

A tip from Zaran: Consider an animated how-to video. You can include motion, text and various sound effects to make the video more engaging and fun to watch. Teach your clients the best practises for your product/service and the benefits they can get & how!

Share testimonials

Satisfied customers are your best ambassadors. Consider featuring people who are passionate about your product or service in short videos. Capture them explaining how they found you, how your product or service has helped them with a problem and why they recommend you to others. This type of social proof content can boost not only your brand’s trustworthiness but also your sales as research shows that two out of three people are more likely to make a purchase after watching a testimonial video.

A tip from Zaran: This can be a great marketing campaign! We can help create such a campaign from scratch.

Thank your customers

Having a loyal audience is important for every business. You can use videos to thank your customers for being a part of your company’s story and success. Consider posting such content when you have reached an important milestone or after a campaign for which you have asked your audiences for help. You can also create “thank you” videos around anniversaries as a look back at how far your customers and your company have come together.

A tip from Zaran: “Thank you” videos are a great way to strengthen the relationship with your existing clients as well as increasing brand awareness towards new clients – it shows that you care and definitely makes your brand stand out.

If you have enjoyed our expert tips and are curious to know more, feel free to contact us below. We will be more than happy to have a chat with you about all things video content!

What comes to your mind when you hear “marketing content”? 

Social media posts, blog articles, Facebook updates, e-books, newsletters? Yes, that’s right. All of these are excellent examples of content that you can include in your marketing strategy.

However, there is one type that has recently become more crucial than all of the above and it is video.

Video is the new king of content.

In the last four years, businesses that use video as part of their marketing have increased by 24%, rising from 61% in 2016 to 85% in 2020. This spike is not hard to explain. Videos have come to play a central role in marketing campaigns because they are an excellent investment and keep your audience engaged and connected to your brand. Therefore, if there is one type of content you want to keep in your marketing strategy in 2021, it is video.

Video has a great Return on Investment (ROI)

At the end of 2020, 93% of marketers, an all-time high, indicate that video is an integral part of their marketing strategies and almost 90% of them say that video content gives them a good overall return on investment.

How come the numbers are so impressive? Video content has a few aces up its sleeve. All major social media channels use, and optimise, for video with YouTube and TikTok being exclusively video platforms. Facebook and Instagram also push video content to their users. In the last few years, the popularity of video has been growing so much that 68% of marketers share that it has a better return on investment than Google Ads.

Video generates leads, and sales

One of the reasons why video has such a high ROI is because it generates leads. It is well-known that video content increases conversion rates. It also plays an important part in the shopping experience. Videos that explain how a product or service help satisfy customers’ needs, or that show features of products and services, can convert a fan into a buyer. In fact, 70% of consumers who have watched an explainer video about a product have ended up purchasing it.

Video is easy to consume

The secret to why video generates leads that convert to sales lies in one of its characteristic features – it is very easy to consume. While it takes effort and time to get information out of lengthy blog posts, presentations and printed marketing materials, videos can be enjoyed with a minimum investment of energy. Videos are the perfect means to engage the so-called lazy consumers. As a matter of fact, 66% of people prefer to watch a video about a product than to read about it. These statistics are also supported by marketers who say that video content generates better leads compared to blogging. In addition, videos can be accessed anytime and anywhere, as long as an Internet connection is present, making this type of content easy to find and easy to consume. 

Video is the most shareable type of content

Sharable content is entertaining, helpful, interesting, and most importantly – emotional. Video can be all of these. Its ability to capture and convey feelings and emotions is one of the reasons why it is shared so much. If you want to generate positive word of mouth for your brand, video content is an investment worth making as nearly 50% of people say they are more likely to share video on social media than any posts or images. Furthermore, 89% of millennials trust recommendations by their close circle more than what a brand says about its products and services.

Video content helps build trust

One of the most important feelings that you can generate with video content is trust, which is becoming more difficult to create (84% of millennials distrust traditional advertising) even though it is an integral part of your relationship with your customer. One way to foster this connection is by channelling a feeling of authenticity and humanity about your brand. Video content can be used to communicate the brand’s vision and show how it is applied to every part of your business. Combine storytelling and video content to tell an inspiring story about your company. Through this type of content, fans and customers can meet your team, see how products and services are brought to life and get a sense of your company’s culture and values, and thus, become more likely to trust your brand.

Video turns your brand into an experience

Apart from communicating emotions and feelings, videos have the power to visualise complex concepts and abstract ideas. They can give an online service a physical shape in the mind of the viewer. Furthermore, video can present your brand in ways written content simply cannot. By adding sound, movement and colours you can turn your brand into an experience. Additionally, video can improve the way customers interact with your business. Explainer videos, for example, can be used to create a better experience during the purchasing process and replace time-consuming customer service calls.

Video helps connect with and attract potential customers

Do you know that the average person spends around 16 hours watching online videos per week? If you have a blog and are wondering where your readers are, the answer is simple. They are watching YouTube, scrolling Instagram reels, exploring TikTok or engaging in video content on Facebook. If you want to connect with new people and attract more customers, you should add video content to your marketing strategy. To get even better results, you should optimize your content for mobile since statistics show that 51% of all videos are played on mobile devices.

Video is multi-purposeful

Yes, video is widely used in marketing campaigns. However, this type of content is also an excellent way to deliver information inside of your company. Video can be used in leadership messages and human resources presentations to help with engagement and cultivating trust within the organization. At the end of 2020, 31% of companies report that they use video content in sales and almost 30% include it as part of operations and administration support.

Are you ready to use video yet? Let us help you.

The advantages of video are undeniable. And yet not everyone is using it. In fact, 80% of marketers say they would use more video content if there was an easier way to produce it (Bitable, 2021). Here at Zaran, our mission is to make the process of video creation simple and enjoyable. Let us do all the work so you enjoy all the benefits.