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Best Video Production Trends That Will Carry Into 2020

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Video has made a huge impact in the marketing world. In fact, video is oftentimes mentioned as one of the fastest growing categories in marketing. Many say that video is growing at an incredible rate and the number of hours being watch is astounding. We take issue with some of this. We take issue that video is growing so fast. We concede that video is growing rapidly, but we also believe companies like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon are driving the viewership and hours watched. When it comes to productive business video and video marketing, the number of hours has increased, but we don’t believe it’s as quickly as the overall video world. There are several components that drive video interactivity, and that’s what business owners want. Getting people to watch the video is one thing, getting people to act is another. In this post, we’ll share with you the top 4 Video Trends that any business should be keenly aware of before 2020.

If you asked what some of the video trends would be two years ago, you would have heard stuff like 3D video or 360-degree video or Virtual Reality video. All those types of videos have a place, but they certainly weren’t the trend for the year 2018, 2019, and probably won’t be for 2020. If you want to be on the cutting edge of trends related to video, you can get very experimental, but it’ll be tough to get a high (or mediocre) return on that investment. That starts by understanding what is important when measuring ROI. Is it search results on any one of the search engines? Or is it calls or orders? Whether the business is a product or service business, it doesn’t matter…video content can help. By varying the marketing campaign slightly, one can get slightly different results. The key is to have some online video because there is online activity happening 24 hours a day.

Marketing agencies will push you to build the brand according to the marketing strategy…and this is critical and why stuff like 3D video or 360-degree video is just hype and cool stuff…but not necessarily for you. That type of video typically needs a lot of planning, a larger budget and more time to get the perfect video. The issue at hand is on the consumption side of the equation. How do people view a 3D video if they don’t have a 3D television? Or how does one view a Virtual Reality video if they don’t have the headset? That’s why we don’t think it’s the right tool for most businesses.

The reality is people are using all kinds of methods to access answers to their questions, including voice search and artificial intelligence. Most digital marketing agencies will tell you that you must have all the bases covered by having digital pieces that support stuff like voice search and the like. For a small business, a medium sized business or a large business, it’s tough to know how to exactly create brand awareness or to have a budget for stuff you don’t know will be worth the investment until much later. More so, even the largest of companies that invest in these types of videos are finding that it’s tough to measure whether it’s worth the work and the investment. Typically, they’ll use one of those videos to get some chatter or shares online. Does that convert to new sales? Probably not.

What are the best video trends to follow for success?

With the above in mind, what are the marketing trends and the video trends that will provide the best results to the most amount of businesses? Here’s our list:

Explainer Videos. This may seem to be elementary and unexpected when talking about trends, the explainer video does several things for the business. It provides transparency for the viewer that helps them feel a level of comfort to take action. Businesses that provide a level of frankness in their messaging can provide a disarming feeling and a sense of integrity. For example, in this video below, the viewer gets a sense that the company can deliver what it promises with it’s Primula cold brew coffee carafe. Want one after you’ve watched this video? Click the link!

 

Bite-Sized Videos. Our potential clients typically ask us how long their video should be and then blurt out that they think it should be short. While that may be the case, it’s not always the case. Sometimes longer videos are better. For example, a long video might be helpful when its answering a question, explaining something complex, or providing better insights into who or what something is. Think of these types of videos as a silent level of customer service. But, shorter video can be highly effective when used appropriately. We find shorter videos are more productive when used in marketing materials and social media. No one wants to watch a long video that sells to the viewer; therefore, keep a sales message video a little shorter than you think. Below, this video is shorter (relatively speaking) but allows the viewer enough time to understand how and what the product is and does.

 

Product Videos. Product videos will most likely never go out of style. These videos help the viewer understand what the product does and how it solves a problem without having to purchase it. Once the viewer understands, they can make a will informed decision to purchase it. We’ve heard from many sources (such as from Impact Learning Center & HubSpot’s Importance of Product Videos for E-Commerce, and there’s more) that video increases product conversion to sales by an incredible amount. This happens because of the educational and informational way that product videos will present the product.

Story Videos/TV Style Videos. This type of video is one that feels like a television show and not a sales tool. For business, the three videos above are important, but they also are very promotional in nature. That can be good and can create results, but sometimes at the cost of irritating the viewer because they must sit through the promotional nature of the video. A trend we’re noticing with our clients is the acceptance of slightly longer videos that tell a story. For example, the video below shows the viewer what is about to happen and the challenges they may face. It provides a little conflict to the story. Then, we do a mid-point check in. This allows the viewer to see the project complexity and the challenges first hand. Ever wonder what your contractor would be doing during your project? This gives a glimpse into the construction world and what a high-quality construction contractor would be doing. Finally, the reveal. Here’s what the contractor did to complete project and how the project turned out. Obviously, the concept showed how the complexity was overcome by the competent team. This company was able to boast and show how they completed a difficult task. Who would you call after viewing this if you were a restaurant?

 

Another example of this type of video is the ChairSpeaker video. This video shows (in a slightly comical and relatable way) how those who have lost their hearing often times feel left out of conversations when they try to watch television with a headset that helps them hear. The ChairSpeaker solves this problem by providing a product that helps the hearing impaired stay engaged in conversation while still being able to watch and listen to television (just like everyone else).

 

SEO Videos. SEO videos are used to help improve search engine optimization while answering questions the viewer wants to know. These videos are typically topical in nature and typically answer a question that someone has typed into Google or Bing. For example, this attorney answers why Uninsured Motorist insurance is important to anyone who owns a car and drives on the roadway. The purpose of the video is to answer the question and to serve as an indicator to Google what their website is all about. We also might recommend doing some additional live videos with a mobile phone and answering questions with viewers on Facebook or YouTube. This serves the same purpose, only on those social media sites. Google and the like love content. Anytime a business website can provide more content it gets rewarded.

While this may sound like a boring list and one that doesn’t include the coolest, latest and greatest technology, it does include video options that will create a return on your investment (if used properly). One of the biggest changes we are seeing in the industry is the use of videos that feel like a television show and not a sales tool. This is nothing new, but we’re seeing it used more and more… and we think that’s a good thing. It requires a little more flexibility and planning, but if done correctly, it can provide the viewer with an experience that is much different than the typical sales piece. We will always go back to the point of how it is used. One of the ways we recommend using that type of video is prior to the call. Let the prospect find the video and understand who you are in a different light; thus connecting with your purpose and style before the call. This goes a long way to create an emotional bond prior to making the phone call.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss some possible video ideas for you and your business, give us a call or drop us a line via our contact us form. We’d love to find a creative way to make your business stand out from your competitors and get more business!

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How To Create Videos That Work For Your Business

vector art with website and video

Create Videos That Work For Your Business

When creating your marketing strategy it is critical to incorporate measurable benchmarks. In the past few years, video has become the “latest craze,” but does it work? Is video effective in making your business more money? Can you really sell more by incorporating a marketing video into a marketing mix? This article will help you identify components and activities that will improve your video effectiveness and help you create videos that work for your business.

Let’s start with what your video should do. If you’re going to create video content, there should be a purpose behind it. The goal shouldn’t be to just have a video…the goal should be to create a compelling video that will improve conversion rates by incorporating a call to action. This doesn’t always mean a blatant, “Buy this now,” rather, it can be a subtle illustration of next steps. It depends on the marketing campaign and the type of video. Regardless, your video should tell a story. Sometimes a story means a simple equation:

Current Situation + Problem Results = Problem Solved

Or, it could be:

Personal Challenge + Pain Caused = Organization Solved My Problem

These equations are not as literal as that, but essentially we’re sharing a current problem or situation and showing what the results of that problem are along with how a product or organization has solved it with it’s product or service.

When creating marketing videos effectively using that equation, one must understand the target market and the pains they are experiencing. By placing the product or service into the “problem solved” category, the viewer is more likely to understand how it works and why they should purchase or call.

Once the strategy is worked out, the next step is to understand the structure of an effective video. First, you’ll want to structure the most important part of the video toward the beginning of the video. We don’t mean blurt out the most important sentences regardless of their message; we mean structure the content to incorporate the most important components as early as possible. The reason for this is watch time. By measuring both whether someone watched the video and for how long they watched, marketers can use various tools to improve conversion. Knowing that viewers typically leave the video at the 36 second mark is important because any message after that point is usually not heard (and the 36-second number is just an example…usually every video has a different drop off point).

If the video is incorporated as a blog post (as in the video below), the goal is to learn how a search engine ranks the video or blog post. If the blog post and video answer a commonly asked question and can be incorporated as a landing page that is found via search, the length of the video can be longer. These videos tend to have longer watch times because the viewer arrived there searching for more information. This tactic is smart video marketing for any small business.

 

Make the video compelling and fun to watch. Who would ever want to sit through a boring video? If the goal is to get the viewer to take action, then boring it cannot be. Crafting the right video idea takes creativity… and that’s where the magic happens! When you hire a professional video production company, they should be able to create a concept that matches your branding guidelines yet still captures the viewer’s attention to result in the viewer taking action. This video was fun:

Another question to ask: Can you watch it on your phone? Google has pushed the transition to be mobile friendly for the past couple of years and we don’t think it’s going to stop. You’ll often be quoted some astronomical number of hours of video being watched online every year. Recently we saw an article say that YouTube mobile video consumption has been increasing by 100% every year in the last couple of years. We think that’s probably true…but the videos being watched aren’t marketing videos. They’re including all video, which means the live streams, the content that is long-form video, even Monte Python movies are available for viewing if you like. So, don’t think you’re missing out on all of it, but you should have some video for other reasons. SEO.

SEO, also known as Search Engine Optimization is content that increases the brand, the keywords, the data that says this is what this website is all about. In other words, if you have a business that sells yard products (mowers, parts related to mowers, rakes, trimmers, etc.) and you consistency posted blogs about car repair rather than mowing equipment, Google might confuse your site with a auto repair shop. It’s critical to be consistent in your keywords and content. Same goes with your video…and since Google owns YouTube, you should do the same with your videos.

When you finish your video, you’ll want to incorporate a link or a reference about where to find more information. If your video ends up getting shared several times, you’ll want to make sure the video guides the viewer back to the page they belong…where the content resides.

If you’re creating a business video, you’ll want to inform and educate the viewer. Information and education is king with YouTube and Google because more people search for and watch those types of videos. If you can, you should be offering advice and tips instead of being 100% promotional or marketing in nature.

Music is critical to how we feel during and after we watch a video. Think about the last great movie you watched (or next time pay attention to the music more than anything else). You’ll find that music is almost a character by itself. Without the atmosphere the music creates, you don’t have much of a scene…unless silence is important to the message.

What should I do next? If the viewer has to ask this question after watching your video, you’re missing the call to action. It should be blatant, straight forward, and clear. It should tell the viewer what you expect them to do once they’re done watching. Sometimes it makes sense to put the call to action earlier in the video so if they understand enough and wish to take the next steps earlier than the end, they’ll know what to do. Like this…

 

What Types Of Video Get the Best Results?

Video Tutorials – By sharing with the viewer how to do something they want to learn how to do, you give them the feeling you’re professional and worth their investment. If they see you as someone they can trust because you’re talking about something they’re trying to do or fix, the likelihood of them calling you increases the longer they watch.

Behind the Scenes – If you do stuff that’s interesting or different than most people understand, you might consider a behind the scenes video. They get people interested in what you do to make the magic happen. If what you do is truly magical…you probably don’t want to share your trade secrets, but sometimes showing a little of the magic and make a huge difference in getting them to take action to call you.

Frequently Asked Questions – The best type of video for SEO is the Frequently Asked Question (or FAQ). This type of video answers a question the viewer is searching for and wants to know the answer. If you can give them the answer and still leave them wanting more, you’ve hit the sweet spot.

Animation – Sometimes, with some products, it makes sense to create an animated video. The reason animated video makes sense for something is when you can’t see inside a product to understand what it does. Here’s an example.

 

Social Media Videos are highly productive for funneling people to a landing page. Our recommendation is to use a short version of the video to bring them to a landing page with a longer form version of the video. But don’t forget that call to action!

Other Tips to Successful Business Videos

Marketing or Promotional Videos – These should be short and to the point. No one wishes to watch a video to be sold to, but a short promotional video can make a difference between a purchase or an empty cart. Just keep it short. What’s short? 20 seconds for some items. 45 seconds for other.

Professional – If you’re looking to be taken seriously (think professional services), we wouldn’t recommend shooting something on your phone and using (unless it makes sense because it’s about something happening right now). Professional services videos should have professional video.

Landing Pages – If you’re creating a funnel for your video, consider using a landing page for your video. It works very well.

Need help? Give us a ring!

 

 

Source: Small Business Trends – 25 Tips for Creating Great Marketing Videos