8 Video Marketing Strategies that Reel in an Audience

8 Video Marketing Strategies that Reel in an Audience

Have you ever gone fishing? Casting your line out into the water, waiting patiently for a bite? Video marketing is a lot like fishing. It would be best to have the right bait and tactics to catch your target audience and reel them in.

Just like novice anglers, many businesses struggle with video marketing. Creating videos that engage viewers in a sea of content feels daunting. But with the right strategies, you can hook your audience and make a big catch.

In this article, we'll explore proven video marketing strategies to capture attention and drive action. You'll discover how to:

• Craft compelling video content that speaks to your audience
• Optimise videos for search, social media, and conversions
• Promote videos across channels to maximise reach
• Measure video performance with key analytics
• Continuously improve your video marketing for better results

Follow these strategies, and viewers will bite hard on your hook. Let's dive in!

Why Video Marketing Matters Today

Here are some key statistics on the power of video marketing:

• 73% of people would rather watch a video explaining a product or service than read text. (Wyzowl)
• 95% of customers say video helps them make buying decisions. (Spiceworks)
• Videos on landing pages can increase conversions by 80% or more. (Saleslion)
• YouTube drives an average of almost 5 billion views per day. (Global Media Insight)
• Over 4 billion video views occur on Facebook daily. (99 Firms)

Video dominates today's digital landscape. With billions of videos watched daily across platforms, video marketing presents a massive opportunity to reach and resonate with your audience.

Well-planned video strategies can:

• Increase brand awareness: Videos attract attention and make your brand memorable.
• Engage customers: Video's visual/auditory nature fosters deeper engagement.
• Improve conversion rates: Video content encourages viewers to take action.
• Enhance SEO rankings: Search engines favour pages with videos.
• Generate shares on social media: People love to share quality videos on their networks.

In a sea of distracted viewers with short attention spans, the video breaks through the noise. Leveraging video's unique storytelling power is no longer optional – it's essential to connect with today's audiences.

Mapping Out Your Video Marketing Strategies

Like any successful fishing trip, a good video marketing strategy requires preparation and the right gear. Here is a step-by-step process for mapping out an effective video game plan:

Set Your Goals

Before casting your line, be clear on what you want to achieve. Potential video marketing goals include:

• Increase website traffic
• Generate more sales leads
• Promote a new product/service
• Engage social media followers
• Educate customers
• Build brand awareness

Align video goals with broader marketing objectives. This focuses efforts and helps measure success.

Understand Your Audience

To create captivating videos, you need to know your ideal viewer. Buyer personas and market research help uncover the following:

• Demographic details like age, gender, income
• Psychographic factors like values, interests, personality
• Content preferences – video styles, length, topics
• Common questions, concerns, motivations
• Platforms and habits for consuming video

Analyse audiences across the buyer's journey. Videos appealing to first-time viewers may differ from those catering to loyal customers.

Choose Video Styles & Topics

With audience insights, determine the types of videos to produce. Popular styles include:

• Product videos – Showcase features, benefits, and use cases
• Testimonials – Real customers share their experiences
• Behind-the-scenes – Give insider peeks at company culture
• How-tos/tutorials – Demonstrate product use, solve problems
• Live video – Interview experts, stream events, encourage interaction
• Animated videos – Explain concepts, tell stories humorously

Brainstorm specific topics that align with audience needs and marketing goals. Think variety – combine different styles for well-rounded content.

Select Video Marketing Channels

Research where your audience actively watches and shares video content. Top options include:

• Website – Host videos on landing pages, product pages, blog
• YouTube – Open a branded channel to publish videos
• Social media – Post natively or advertise on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok
• Email marketing – Add videos to email campaigns, newsletters
• Paid ads – Promote videos through search, social media, and YouTube ads
• Live events – Share recordings of webinars, conferences

Choose channels matching viewer preferences. A multi-channel strategy expands reach across critical platforms.

Craft Video Optimisation Best Practices

Optimising video content for each channel improves discoverability and viewership. Tactics include:

• SEO-friendly titles and descriptions – Include keywords and compelling hooks
• Closed captioning – Makes videos accessible and boosts SEO
• Transcription – Enhances SEO and usability
• Interactive elements – Calls-to-action, end screens, cards
• Native thumbnails – Customise thumbnails for each platform

Optimisation makes videos stand out among search and social competition.

Develop a Video Content Calendar

A content calendar helps plan consistent video output to engage audiences continually. Elements to include:

• Video topic and style
• Target keywords and metadata
• Production timeline
• Planned to publish dates
• Promotional strategy

Maintain a good mix of planned evergreen videos and timely content tied to events, trends, or seasons.

Track Video Performance Metrics

Finally, put metrics in place to monitor video results. Key analytics include:

• Views – How many times was the video watched?
• Watch time – Total duration viewers spent watching
• Audience retention – How much of each video viewers watched
• Traffic sources – Where views came from (organic, social, ads)
• Conversions – Registrations, sales, or other goals achieved

Regularly analyse metrics and optimise efforts based on what resonates best with your audience.

Following this strategic video marketing framework sets you up for success. Now, let's explore specific techniques to catch more viewers.

Crafting Compelling Video Content

Just like lures and bait, the content itself is crucial for attracting your audience and driving engagement. Here are proven tactics to hook viewers with stellar videos.

Identify The “Hook” Upfront

In the first 5-10 seconds, videos must capture attention and convey why viewers should keep watching. Some hook tactics include:

• Open with a compelling question or surprising fact
• Start in the middle of a dramatic scene or story
• Highlight an enticing benefit viewers want
• Have a spokesperson directly address the audience
• Use striking animations, graphics, or b-roll

Spark curiosity right away to kick videos off strongly.

Tell A Story

Humans relate to stories. An entertaining, educational, or emotive narrative makes videos more meaningful. Storytelling elements to incorporate:

• Have a logical beginning, middle, and end
• Build tension and interest with rising action
• Share the story from your audience's perspective
• Use imagery to show rather than tell
• Have a clear takeaway or moral

Stories help ideas stick in viewers' minds better than merely stating facts.

Keep It Conversational

Viewers feel more engaged when videos speak directly to them in a natural, friendly voice. Tactics like these add conversational flair:

• Use “you” pronouns to speak directly to the viewer
• Ask rhetorical questions to get audiences thinking
• Share everyday anecdotes and analogies
• Include subtle humour to add personality
• Use casual language rather than overly formal speech

The right tone makes videos more relatable and enjoyable to watch.

Diversify Shot Types And Angles

Simply having a talking head on screen quickly loses viewer interest. Mix up shots and perspectives to add visual variety:

• Close-ups show emotions and details
• Wide shots establish settings
• Over-the-shoulder perspectives add intimacy
• Creative camera angles showcase products dynamically
• B-roll captures action in the environment

Advanced cameras aren't needed. Even basic shot composition techniques go a long way.

Incorporate Quality B-Roll And Graphics

Supplementing the core footage with engaging B-roll and graphics boosts production value. Useful B-roll includes:

• Relevant scenes showing environments or activities
• People interacting with products or services
• Point-of-view shots put viewers in the scene
• Moving animations or text on the screen

Graphics like charts/graphs, screenshots, and titles/lower thirds can also enhance information presentation. But don't go overboard—quality over quantity.

Structure Content Strategically

Without structure, videos quickly become disjointed and confusing. Organise content using frameworks like:

• Problem/solution – Highlight an issue and present the solution
• Before/After – Show how a product/service improves something
• Advantage/benefit – Explain key benefits viewers gain
• Chronological – Take viewers through a step-by-step sequence

Logical progressions make videos easy to follow and retain.

Close With A Clear Call-To-Action

Every fishing trip has a goal: to make a big catch. Videos also need clear next steps to turn views into measurable actions. Some CTA tactics include:

• Have a motivational voiceover urging viewers to act
• Use graphic end screens with clickable buttons
• Link to related videos or blog posts for more info
• Provide links/contacts to purchase, sign up, or inquire

Without a defined CTA, viewers may watch without taking intended actions.

Following these best practices, videos are optimised to capture attention, convey information, and inspire viewers to take action.

Optimising Videos For Maximum Impact

Crafting compelling videos is one thing. Making sure target audiences find and watch them is another. Here are proven optimisation strategies for improving video visibility and performance.

Research And Apply Relevant Video SEO

Ranking videos on Google and YouTube search is hugely valuable for discovery. Key optimisation elements include:

• Keyword research – Identify popular search terms and long-tail varieties related to topics. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner and TubeBuddy's keyword explorer.
• Optimised titles/descriptions – Place primary keywords near the start of titles and descriptions. Include secondary semantic keywords, too.
• Closed captioning and transcripts – Videos with captions rank higher in searches. Enable automatic captioning or provide transcripts.
• Video sitemaps – Sitemaps with video URLs help search engines index videos.
• Tags – Assign accurate, descriptive tags to each video for better categorisation.
• Surrounding content – Embed videos in blog posts and webpages with contextual text and links.

SEO-optimised elements improve video findability and viewership from search engines.

Customise Video Thumbnails

Most videos get 80%+ of their views from search/recommended results, where custom thumbnails make the critical first impression. Effective video thumbnails:

• Stand out visually with colour schemes aligned to the brand
• Convey the video's topic or benefit
• Use simple, uncluttered designs focused on one key element
• Include compelling textual headlines

Test different thumbnail styles and fonts. Analytics reveal which thumbnails earn the most clicks.

Analyse Audience Retention

YouTube Analytics shows the audience retention graph: the percentage of viewers remaining on the video over time. Study this to pinpoint:

• Where viewers lost interest and dropped off
• The most engaging sections viewers replayed

Then, refine video content and structure based on these insights.

Promote Videos On Social Media

Social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are fantastic video discovery hubs. Share videos natively or via ads. Best practices include:

• Post 1-2 times per week max per platform to avoid oversaturation
• Write detailed captions explaining the video's benefit
• Use hashtags to improve discoverability
• Tag other relevant accounts in posts to expand the reach
• Run video ads with eye-catching images and clear messaging

Add social sharing buttons on videos and sites to make it easy for visitors to promote videos.

Repurpose Video Content

Extend mileage from high-performing videos through repurposing:

• Turn a video into a blog post summary with an embedded video
• Extract an audio version featuring a voiceover for podcast listening
• Create mini clips showcasing highlights to share on social media
• Re-edit versions tailored for different platforms and audiences

Repurposing saves production time while circulating content further.

Consistently optimising and promoting video content multiplies the return from your efforts.

Tracking Video Marketing Performance

How do you know video marketing is working if you don't track performance? Monitoring key analytics helps assess progress and inform strategy improvements. Here are crucial video metrics to follow.

Video Views

The number of times a video is watched indicates whether it's gaining traction—benchmark views against internal goals and past performance.

While more views are better, remember that quality over quantity matters most. One hundred engaged views from your target audience are more valuable than 1,000 disengaged random views.

Traffic Sources

Where views originate reveals optimal channels for reaching your audience. Traffic source breakdowns show:

• Direct traffic from emails, websites
• Organic search on Google, YouTube
• Referrals from social media, links
• Paid ads views

Double down on channels driving the most relevant views.

Audience Retention

This metric indicates how compelling videos are to viewers. High retention means people are interested enough to watch most or all of the video.

Low retention signals that content misses the mark. Review analytics to understand where viewers lost interest and improve those sections.

Social Engagement

Analyse likes comments, clicks, and sharing on social platforms. Engagement shows viewers enjoy the video enough to react and spread it.

Compare engagement rates per platform to identify where viewers are most responsive.

Conversion Rates

Ultimately, video marketing aims to drive conversions aligned with business goals, such as:

• eCommerce sales
• Email list sign-ups
• Free trial registrations
• Content downloads

Tie videos to calls to action to track how well they convert visitors.

ROI

Calculate return on investment by comparing conversion values to production and promotion costs. This determines the revenue impact of videos.

High ROI indicates that video marketing drives significant value. Use this to justify budgets to management.

Monitoring performance regularly steers efforts in the optimal direction and uncovers opportunities for improvement.

Mastering Video Marketing: Wrap Up

Well-executed video marketing attracts, engages, and persuades audiences better than any other content format. Following the strategies outlined in this guide, you can develop captivating videos optimised for impact across channels.

Here are the keys to video marketing mastery:

• Set specific video goals aligned with business objectives
• Research your target viewer preferences and media habits
• Produce a variety of engaging video styles and topics tailored to audience needs
• Distribute videos across websites, social platforms, YouTube, ads
• Optimise thumbnail visuals, titles, and descriptions for search visibility
• Promote videos consistently through organic and paid tactics
• Analyse metrics to understand what content and channels perform best
• Continuously improve videos based on fundamental data insights

With these steps, the video becomes a powerful hook to capture qualified audiences and accomplish marketing goals.

Now, it's time to start reeling in viewers with strategic video content. Just take it one catch at a time. Before you know it, you'll have boatloads of engaged prospects hooked on learning more about your brand.

FAQs About Video Marketing Strategies

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about developing effective video marketing strategies:

Conclusion

Video marketing offers an unparalleled opportunity to captivate modern audiences and drive business growth. By crafting compelling videos tailored to your goals and audience, distributing them across the proper channels, and continuously optimising based on data, you can build a robust video strategy that delivers incredible results.

Use these proven video marketing techniques to tell engaging stories, reach new customers, boost conversions, and stay ahead of the competition. With strategic planning and consistent execution, your brand can reel in bigger audiences and success using the power of video.

The time to start fishing for viewers is now. Grab your camera, bait your hooks with these best practices, and prepare to make a big video marketing catch!