Around 5 billion videos are viewed on YouTube every day, with almost 300 hours being uploaded every minute. With the growth of the video as another source of content is important that companies understand that video marketing can become a powerful tool for them in their business strategies. However, what a lot of companies still don’t understand is that video marketing is not the same thing as filming and producing a commercial for TV. Is the very opposite of that in fact, is about creating something that can be attractive to your consumer, something that connects to their likes. It’s not about selling your audience a product or service but about providing to them something meaningful.

A lot of companies don’t start this type of strategy because they are afraid of the cost, but the videos created don’t have to be big Hollywood productions. A brand can start green with just a video filmed on a phone and edited on a simple software, the content is more important than the production itself, but the point is that they should start doing it. Besides being sources of engagement between brand and consumer on social media platforms video marketing has shown up in other digital marketing areas too. Landing pages who have videos on them have reported being able to convert up to 80% more. Video marketing gives your company a face and voice that other types of marketing strategies just don’t.

In addition, the videos created don’t need to be hosted only on YouTube. Almost all social media platforms have embraced video as another way for users to share content. Facebook is another big competitor to YouTube when it comes to video content. You can add videos up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds on Twitter and 60 seconds on Instagram.

When developing your video strategy some things that should be taken into consideration are, as I said before, videos produced should be consumer focused. That means that it should be centred around a story and not a sale. That can be with a story about how the company came to be, who are the people that work with the brand and even what other things the company does that are not related to their clients or customers, such as events they produce, charities they support or even the company’s beliefs and mottos.

Another thing to be taken into consideration is that videos created shouldn’t be long. They should have the necessary minutes to retain your audience. You also have to remember that the first 10 seconds of every video is important because that’s when the user will decide if they will continue watching the rest or skip to another type of content.

The whole focus of video marketing is the informality of it all. Your audience wants to connect with you and your company on a friendship level and you can’t achieve that if the videos are formal or professional. Videos that make the user laugh or even cry are more successful than those who just inform the user about something. Use the emotional side of your target audience to your benefit.

Video marketing is a booming and updated approach to “in your face” online advertising. Consumers are getting more and more tired of seeing ads they didn’t ask for, of being asked to purchase a specific product they don’t care about. Nowadays customers tend to buy products or services more because of the connection they have to the company or brand. The reason for that is because a lot of companies sell the same or very similar products, what will be the deciding factor is how you portrait your brand to your target.

Finally, have fun with it. Create something that you think your audience will like but also that you are proud of. If, in the end, you don’t like the content you developed chances are your user will not enjoy it as well. And with that, let’s start filming!