Tag Archives: video marketing

Are you going to invest in video content in 2020?

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Are you planning to invest in video content marketing?

Are you planning to invest in video content marketing?

Lots of blog posts and articles are talking about the age of video content marketing from 2020 onwards.

To be frank, I have been reading about video content marketing and why it is important for your content marketing success for a few years now.

A couple of years ago Cisco predicted that by 2022, 82% of Internet traffic will be video.

This is not surprising.

Internet connectivity is cheap and easily available these days.

An increasing number of people have mobile phones that can show videos from multiple video streaming websites like YouTube and TikTok.

From gadget reviews to learning French to solving high school maths, videos are watched for every possible purpose under the sun.

TikTok videos are atrocious but still it is the fastest growing video app in the world.

Facebook allows you to upload videos.

Twitter allows you to upload videos.

Instagram allows you to upload videos.

You can send videos using instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram.

Countries like India with big populations have begun to dominate the web and in these countries, people mostly watch videos.

Even illiterate people can watch videos because for watching videos, you don’t need to know how to read and write.

When formulating your content marketing strategy, I will never suggest you to go by numbers.

Simply because more people are watching videos doesn’t mean that you should focus more on video and less on text, or less on images.

You have to know what your audience prefers.

If you want to target people who drive a lot then you neither want to give them text nor video, you want to give them audio, something like podcasts.

If you want to create content for devices like Amazon Echo or Google Home then you want to target content that is easier to read, answers questions and gives precise information that is useful to people.

Video is going to be of no use in this case.

Trends are good.

They give you an idea of how technologies are evolving and how people’s tastes are changing and what type of content they prefer.

But when it comes to creating and publishing content specifically for your own audience, focus on what your audience prefers.

My prospective clients are looking for a content writer – someone who can write.

They’re not looking for someone who can create videos.

Hence, I write.

Looking for a copywriter to write your video script?

I’m not interested in creating videos.

Does it mean I shouldn’t create videos or I am advising you against using videos for content marketing?

No.

What I’m saying is, put maximum energies into content your target customers and clients prefer and then if you have extra resources, then try to focus on other channels and other content formats.

For example, sometimes I try to create videos explaining various content writing and content marketing concepts.

This helps me expand my brand presence.

Is creating and publishing videos for content marketing difficult?

It depends on what type of videos you want to publish.

If you simply want to talk to people, you can use your mobile phone and then a decent video editing software like Filmora to fine-tune the video.

You can show your customers and clients how you work in your office, again, using your mobile phone.

Most of the mobile phones these days allow you to make very decent videos.

Office 365 has PowerPoint which allows you to create almost professional-looking videos.

What I’m trying to say is, you don’t need a very big budget to use videos for content marketing.

Having said that, I would like to repeat, create and publish content according to your target audience.

Should you start investing in video content marketing?

Not because people are saying it, but because you feel your audience will appreciate video content.

I’m not undermining the importance of creating and publishing videos.

As I have mentioned above, I too sometimes create videos, but I do so for brand visibility, not expecting work from YouTube.

I know that people looking for a content writer or a copywriter are not going to go to YouTube and search for “I need a professional content writer”.

I know that they are going to look for a content writer either on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or LinkedIn, or maybe Twitter.

On the other hand, if I sell a blender and I want to show what a strong blender I have got, I know a series of videos will certainly do a lot of good to me.

So, again, think carefully, and then decide.

How Velcro used a funny video to communicate a legal message – a good content marketing example

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Good content marketing example: Trademark video from Velcro

Good content marketing example: Trademark video from Velcro

Velcro is a product. Just like many famous products, it is also turned into a generic word. Anything that works like Velcro, becomes velcro. People say, “It’s a velcro”.

Just like they say, “It’s as a xerox”.

Companies who have patented the names have no problem as long as people use their names to actually use their services. For example, when you “Google” something, you actually mean using Google to find something. You don’t mean “googling” and then going to Bing.com to find something. This is why, Google may not have any problem when you say to your kid when you don’t know the answer to a question she has just asked, “Google it”.

But Velcro was facing problems, but it seems it does. Many companies are manufacturing products that do the work that Velcro does and people call these products “velcro” also.

So, the lawyers of the company created this video to raise awareness about their trademark with the hashtag #DontSayVelcro.

An amusing thing about the video is that it has been sung by the lawyers of the company, explaining why other similar products shouldn’t be called Velcro. They even say that they are going to sue you if you call your product Velcro.

Predictably, they received a ton of replies and some of the replies were less than charitable, which prompted them to create another video, thanking people to leave such replies.

Before watching the video, did you know that Velcro is actually a company that made this product 40 years ago and patented it? If you didn’t, this video gives you this piece of information in a very jovial manner.

This is a very good example of content marketing and also putting your message across without sounding very “lawyery”, considering the sort of reputation lawyers enjoy all over the world.

It also shows that no matter how “uninspiring” your product or brand message is, you can reach out to millions of people by simply making an original and entertaining piece of content, in this case, YouTube videos.

Content writing for video marketing: text content is thriving in videos

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content-writing-for-video-marketingWhen you think of video marketing, you think of, well, video. Content writing isn’t exactly on your radar. This Marketing Profs blog post says that text content is thriving in video marketing, video in a mobile-first world.

Video is everywhere. YouTube obviously is a video streaming website where everybody wants to upload videos, but even Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram these days encourage you to upload videos.

Wherever there is content, there is marketing. The same is the case with video marketing. Since it is so easy to record and upload videos, it is a channel nobody wants to leave untapped.

But does everyone wanting video mean that there is no place for content writing or written text? As the above link suggests, text doesn’t just exist among videos, it thrives, and it makes sense.

Why is there so much video being consumed?

A simple reason might be that it’s easier to watch videos on mobile phones and most of the people access content on their mobiles these days. It is difficult to read just text, especially for long.

Watching the video is very easy. Your mind doesn’t have to process anything. Images, sound, storyline, narrative, everything is there. You just need to keep your mobile phone in front of you and the message is delivered.

Since millions of people are watching video every minute, video marketing these days is one of the biggest components of content marketing.

Content writing for video marketing

Ever seen written text in the videos that you watch on your mobile phone? There is rarely a video that does not contain text.

Text is especially important when people in the video are not talking. Some videos are totally mute. The entire message is delivered through content writing or through the text randomly existing or appearing in the video.

This text often tells you a story about a journey, about a brand, about the struggle of a human being, or any other compassionate topic. The above link says

Popular publishers like Buzzfeed, NowThis, and The Dodo have perfected this type of text-reliant video content. They create it regularly and successfully. They truly “speak” video on the mobile social media feed.

In fact, every second video that goes viral these days has written text in it and the entire message of the video depends on that text. So, it is very crucial how the text is written.

When writing content for video marketing one just has to make sure that very small phrases are used. People don’t want to read long strings of text when watching the video. The text should be a part of the video, not cover the video entirely.

Why written content does well in video marketing?

The concept of video making has gone through a change. Any media that animates is video. You don’t need your conventional handy cam or even the video mode of your mobile phone.

You can simply put together a few images, make them glide or merge into each other and use some interesting text with them and there you have it, a nice video.

Even if you use a PowerPoint presentation to create a video you can creatively use text to enhance your message. Take for example this video I created to explain what is content marketing:

Although there is animation and there are moving objects in the video, the underlying message is delivered with written content. Everywhere you see words.

This happens in every video. When you go to YouTube, you don’t feel like looking at video unless the text around the video convinces you (or if the thumbnail is irresistible).

So, in the age of video marketing, if you think content writing is not required, think again. It is required more, actually.