Most companies have taken a beating from the pandemic. The social restrictions that keep us safe and curb the spread of the virus has hurt the global economy.
While 11.1% of marketers believe marketing isn’t important during this period, most marketing departments are getting pumped with funding as companies strive to remain relevant and keep the interest of their customers during the pandemic.
Image Source: MarketingWeek
As a result, marketers have to make strategic shifts in their methods to adapt to the new paradigm.
Content marketing is still a viable strategy to put valuable resources in front of your customers.
How about social media marketing? It still works.
And when it comes to video marketing, what do you stand to gain? Is there a specific reason you should pay more attention to it?
As a matter of fact, there are a lot.
Why video marketing is essential for your marketing strategy during the pandemic
One underlying similarity during the pandemic in every affected country all over the world is that people are staying at home.
They have all the time in the world to consume content. That’s why 80% of them are consuming more content now than before the pandemic. This is an excellent opportunity for brands to get more valuable content to their customers.
But why should it be video?
1. People prefer video over text and images
According to Livestream, 80% of your audience would pick videos over blog content. And 82% would choose to watch a live video instead of engaging with a social media post.
It’s best to augment your content marketing strategy with videos.
One brilliant way is to create a video version of your blog article, and place it on top of your blog post. Apart from appealing to 4 out of 5 people who prefer videos, it would reduce your bounce rate.
Image Source: Hubspot
2. Videos inspire engagement
Videos stimulate the visual and auditory parts of our brains. That’s twice the mental stimulation than other forms of content. It creates a connection faster than text and images.
You can remember your favorite scene in a movie with vivid colors and realistic audio easier than the last thing you read.
eMarketers estimates that people will spend 100 minutes daily watching videos by the end of 2020. People’s natural gravitation towards video content shows that it’s much more interesting to consume and engage with than other forms of content.
3. Video have a higher click-through-rate (CTR)
Did you know that simply adding a video to your email instantly bumps up its CTR by a whopping 300%?
LinkedIn said that video ads outperform non-video ads in engagement. Taking advantage of this is a surefire way to drive conversion faster than any other means.
4. Live videos drive stronger emotional connections
No matter what you are marketing, live videos have a way of inspiring trust and connection with your viewers.
The vulnerability of livestreaming puts you on the side of your potential customers. Seminars, Q and A sessions, demos, etc., shows your audience you’re ready to show them everything unedited and uncut.
It’s a type of vulnerability that makes your brand trustworthy.
Think of Elon Musk unveiling the Tesla Truck, and ‘messing up’ with a bulletproof window that wasn’t supposed to break. Yet, pre-orders just 3 months after the unveiling are up to half a million.
Image Source: TechCrunch
How to use video marketing to boost conversion rates now
There are amazing ideas out there for how to use videos in your marketing to improve results. Whatever your KPI’s are, videos have a way of bumping up the results.
But which ones work best during the pandemic?
Obviously, a video ad for buying new leather car seat covers wouldn’t work so well. The demand is down. So, brands should focus more on deepening connections with customers and sharing goodwill instead of selling.
Brands who do this will reap the benefits when the economy gradually recovers.
You may be thinking “but Google is slashing their marketing budget by half because of the pandemic, who am I to increase mine?”
Of course, Google is slashing its marketing budget. They’re concerned about losing money. Google makes 70% of its money from advertising. And for reasons they can’t control, ad revenue is expected to go down as many brands reduce their ad expenses. Odds are, this isn’t exactly your business model.
You don’t have to increase your marketing budget to accommodate your video marketing strategy.
All you have to do is make slight adaptations to the existing marketing strategy to get the most out of your current expenses, even if you’re slashing it.
Here are some adjustments you can make using video marketing that are guaranteed to boost your conversions during the pandemic:
1. Add videos to your current CRM communication
Earlier in this article, we mentioned that including videos in an email can improve click-through-rate up to 3 times. Videos are an efficient communication medium. Stimulating two senses at once gives it that advantage.
As a marketer, you can use this to enhance your brand’s relationship with customers in your communication medium.
Aside from emails, you can use videos in your social media content. You can also create specific videos that answer common questions (like a video FAQ) and use them in your live chats.
Image Source: Campaign Monitor
2. Use videos on your landing pages
Videos on your landing pages increase conversion rates by 80% or more.
An example is a short explainer video outlining the benefits that wait at the other end of your call-to-action button.
The options are endless when you keep in mind the goal of the page. A compelling video sales letter can lead to a video that converts without the help of the rest of the page.
Image Source: Unbounce
3. Record testimonials in video format
Pictures on your testimonials make them better, more trustworthy, and believable.
What can make this even better is adding an emotional connection to credibility using video testimonials.
Have your past customers share their experience before using your product and after. People will connect better with this.
Image Source: Thera-Smart
4. Host live video events
Live video events, when done properly, enjoy some of the highest engagements of every form of marketing.
It feels more participatory when you address your viewers directly than when it feels more like a news broadcast. Take a lesson from watching influential twitch streamers. Their comments sections are usually buzzing.
5. Run video ads instead
LinkedIn, in an article by TechCrunch, said “video ads earn 30 percent more comments per impression than non-video ads.” Also, members of the professional social network spend 3 times longer engaging with video ads than static sponsored content.
You are more likely to convert an engaged viewer than one who passively scans through your text or image advert.
How to make high converting videos during the pandemic
When you start making more videos and incorporating them into your marketing strategy for your brand during the pandemic, there are some things to consider.
This consideration is necessary because the video marketing of this period is different from when everything was great.
1. Decide on what you want to achieve with the video
Starting with a clear goal in mind (and preferably, on paper too), is the best way to start a successful video creation project.
Maybe you want to let your customers know:
- The measures you’re taking to keep staff and customers safe
- The changes you’re making to the way you’re doing business, or
- That you support them and care about them
Once you have this clearly stated, everything will fall into place and you can reduce errors and unnecessary diversions.
2. Make a video with an agenda
With your clear goal in mind, build a plan to take viewers from 00:00 to an ultimate goal.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be to buy a product or a service.
You could create curiosity about a product you have in the pipeline, suggest they check your latest blog post or inspire them to reach out to their loved one.
Regardless of what it is, your video should have a purpose, and therefore, direction. Without a purpose, it will feel like a waste of time.
3. Make your videos mobile-friendly
55% of people are getting updates and news from mobile devices.
Most of your viewers will find your video when they’re on their smartphones or tablets.
Make your videos easy to download and host it on a powerful platform such as YouTube. YouTube is so well-advanced that they can deliver your video in poor network situations.
4. Sell your brand, not your products
Don’t take a knee-jerk approach to video marketing during the pandemic era and think you must sell something. Focus on customer retention and brand promotion.
The videos that go viral these days are simple emotional videos, usually relevant to the tough time we are all going through.
5. Keep in touch with customers
There’s a deeper meaning to keeping in touch now. Talk to your customers without being afraid of being vulnerable.
Let customers know that your company is also going through some challenges in delivering your services or products. They will understand.
They will also feel stronger ties to you because going through hard times together builds stronger bonds.
Conclusion
As families are building stronger bonds during this period, you can build stronger bonds with your customers and boost brand awareness by leveraging the strong emotional connection that video marketing affords you.
Even if you’ve slashed your marketing budget due to the pandemic, you can adapt your marketing strategy to suit the new dynamic in a way that conversion rates stay up and never come down.
What you need is this strategic approach to video marketing.