4 clever ways brands are using video online

Video, social media, live stream, branding, retention
Oct 11, 2018
Video Production

Seeing is believing.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a video worth?

Video is big in marketing right now. It seems everyone is using it. YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram: video content is saturating the online space. However, the difficulty is knowing how to stand out amongst this sea of content as a business. 

A survey of 311 marketing professionals and consumers online revealed that out of the 63 per cent of businesses using video as a marketing tool, an outstanding 82 per cent feel that video is an important part of their marketing strategy.

So, in what clever ways can you use video to make your business stand out from the competition?

Tutorial and training videos

YouTube is full of make-up tutorials and videos showing you how to change a tyre. Video is the perfect medium for teaching, through the audio and visual aspects, which is why many companies are using it for things such as HR and safety training.

The key to creating a good tutorial video is to get the message across in the simplest, clearest and most attention-grabbing way possible.

If you’re contemplating or developing a tutorial or training video for your business, here are some questions to consider:

Video, social media, live stream, branding, retention

FURTHER READING: Add a little drama to grab your audience’s attention

Client testimonials

Everyone trusts a review from a previous customer or client because they’re real-life recommendations and are viewed on the same level as a personal recommendation. 73 per cent of consumers say that positive reviews increase their trust in a business (which has been on an incline since the first survey in 2011).

Check out this great example from Red Lily Renovations:

(You can read about how effective that particular testimonial was, here.)

Genuine body language simply cannot be translated through text, and having a video to show the benefits that other clients and customers have received as a result of your product or service is the most credible way to do it. Using some form of imagery has been shown to increase your click-through rate significantly. These are the top reasons for using videos over a ‘text-imonial’:

The kinds of questions that consumers or other potential clients will be asking themselves when watching testimonials are:

When creating pieces of content for your website, these are the questions that they must answer.

Live videos

The “live” feature on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook is now being used in some most creative and attention-grabbing ways.

(Here’s a recent live stream from Western Australia’s Black Swan Theatre Company, for their season launch. You can read how successful it was, here.)

Connecting with your audience is quick, easy and cost-effective when using this technique. Some of the best ways that live videos can be used include:

Here are five questions to help you work out if your live stream was a success:

When used correctly, live videos can be extremely powerful in spreading a message for a business.

Using video, live stream, rebranding, social media, retention

Teasing a new product

Building up excitement for a new product is a fantastic way to drive engagement and start conversation. Using videos to reveal snippets of a new product allows your audience to feel included through an exclusive insight and keeps them in suspense.

Here is an example of a well-designed product reveal video: Nightingale teaser

Creating a series of videos that uncover just a little more about the product each time will keep the audience intrigued. The product doesn’t necessarily have to be tangible, but revealing exclusive aspects or features of it will create excitement around it. It also draws as much attention to the brand as possible, while driving traffic to the company site and social pages.

So, where do you start and what do you reveal?

  1. Product features – some features can be touched upon but not all; we want to keep some a surprise!
  2. Benefits – letting our audience know the benefits of the new product will show how it will help them and how they can use it.
  3. Early access testimonials – before the product is launched and has been product tested, videos showing those who loved it will draw in others to purchase it once it launches.
  4. Call to action – include a call to action to let the audience know what the next step is (whether that be a link to pre-order the product, or the site on which the product will become available).
  5. Keep it short and sweet.

Having multiple videos going up prior to a launch will build up suspense around it and create excitement to an audience that will likely be interested in the product. Targeting the niche market online will be the best way of reaching that key group.

If you want to know more about producing high-quality videos for your online platforms, then get in touch with Lush – The Content Agency. We’re Western Australia’s full-service content marketing agency.

By Sachi Kocheta