The consumption of online video content is continually increasing. According to Cisco, video is expected to make up over 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2019. Video is undoubtedly a great way to market to both businesses and customers in a stand-out and highly engaging way. The ability to tailor and position your messages means businesses can really focus on diversifying their video content to appeal to a wider range of people, or alternatively to smaller more relevant segments of people.

With video content on the rise, we’ve put together a list of our top 10 effective video Marketing content ideas:

Answer your customer’s most frequently asked questions

In any business or industry, you’re likely to hear the same questions from customers or Potential Customers over and over again. Video is a great way to effectively answer those questions in a highly engaging and shareable way.

Try sitting down with those who deal one-on-one with your customers, whether it be your sales team, receptionists or customer service and complaints department, and compile a list of the questions and queries which come up most often. These people deal with your customers directly, and so hold valuable insight into what they want to know.

You may choose to create one video per question and address them elaborately, or answer multiple questions per video in more of a Q&A style. Alternatively, businesses with an existing viewer base may host live streamed question and answer sessions via platforms such as Periscope or Meerkat.

Do an office / site tour

As we’ve mentioned in our Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2016, marketing is becoming increasingly more personal. And with a huge emphasis being placed on bridging the gap between brand and consumer, we need to ensure our customers see us as more than just a brand.

Video is a great medium to do this, as simply letting your existing and potential customers take a virtual look around your office or work site can do wonders when it comes to helping them see you as a real business with real people.

Interview your best customers

If you have a customer that you have a particularly good relationship with, ask them if they would be willing to talk with you in a short video to share what they like about your business and why they might recommend you. A short video message or interview showcasing positive thoughts about your business promotes honesty.

Customers can relate to other customers, so feedback from a fellow customer will be trusted. The same feedback being offered by a promotional figure or business representative may be received with skepticism.

Demonstrate your product or service in action

Explaining your product or service in written words can be difficult. Showcasing the true benefits and features of what you’re offering to your customers is important.

Video is a great way to accurately demonstrate your product or service to your potential customers, and really sell it to them without putting forward a blatant advertisement. Create a short video showing how your product works and demonstrate some of the thinking behind your services in action, place focus on how it is going to benefit them.

Educate your audience about the benefits of your services

Video marketing provides a great way to establish your brand as an educational resource. Educating your consumer base is inarguably important, and as outlined by Mark Quinn of The Business Insider, there is a distinct difference between marketing to your customers and educating them.  Outlining features, benefits and advantages about a product is merely providing insight into what you value about your own product. This does not necessarily educate the audience on how it will solve their problems, the problems which likely initiated the search for said product.

So try utilising video to offer your customers a clear and engaging piece of visual content which really helps them to understand how your product will benefit them. The bed may be solid wood, have pull out storage space, adjustable elevation and be easy to build, but will I sleep comfortably?

Customer testimonials

Most businesses are actively requesting, using and repurposing customer testimonials as a part of their marketing strategy. Testimonials are undoubtedly a great way to showcase positive aspects of your brand from people who are trusted by your customers.

Video is an effective way to present quick, easily consumable and engaging content with your consumers. Offering testimonials in video form is a great way to show potential customers the positive points of your company, and to solidify the opinions of existing ones.

Try encouraging your supporters to create short video testimonials about your processes, products or services which you can promote and share across a multitude of platforms. Allowing others to see how much your customers enjoy your business can have can have a significant positive effect.

How-to’s

Create video demonstrations showing your customers how to do a basic aspect of your service or use your product. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in your field whilst subtly promoting your products and moving people closer to the sale.  You could even make a how-to video series, showcasing a different product or aspect in each installment.

People are eager to learn, especially on a topic that they’re familiar with, passionate about or have shown interest in. So present it to them in an easily digestible and interesting way by utilising video.

Feature other professionals from your industry

More often than not, business owners know and engage with other people within their industry. Creating a short video with an industry professional who is not necessarily linked directly to your business encourages your consumers to form a more validated opinion of your brand, as what you put forward is being backed up by another reliable source. This person does not necessarily need to be well known by your customers, they just need to be able to showcase their expertise.

Announcements & Updates

While both are important, videos tend to get much more engagement compared to written posts. It makes sense that people are more willing to take a minute out of their day to watch a quick video that catches their eye than read a lengthy article or post – even if they’re on the exact same topic. In such a fast paced world, we’re all looking for ways to get information as simple and quick as possible.

The next time you go to write a company update, share a business announcement, offer a new product, or introduce a sale, try switching things up and sharing a short video update instead. Focus on making the videos short, while keeping them informational and engaging – this way they’re memorable and easy to digest.

You can share your videos wherever you would share a text post. Try embedding one within a blog post, sharing them on social media, including them in email newsletters or adding them to supplement the written content on a relevant page of your website.

Behind the scenes

Video is the perfect way to take your customers behind the scenes and give them a better understanding of what’s involved in your work.

Use the opportunity to introduce some team members, show some basic processes and perhaps share something unexpected or exciting. Its not necessary to go into detail, just ensure it scratches the surface enough to provide some insight into what you do and how you do it. The video should be brief and light, but interesting.

It’s not often that we are given the opportunity to view the inner workings of a business. So, behind the scenes videos are a great way to spark conversation between customers and your brand, and potentially open up to a wider range of clients.

Video marketing is clearly on the rise, making it that much more important for businesses to implement video content into their marketing strategy.  We’ve given you just a few ideas, so don’t be scared to get creative – the more interesting your videos are the more engagement they will get.

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