If you are not entirely sold on the value of reaching out to your customers through video marketing, it is possible that you are not entirely aware of its benefits. So, here is a little taste of what you are missing out on. There are many quantifiable advantages to using video marketing.

No matter what kind of business you are running, it is important to build a relationship of trust with your customers. Videos are a great way to put a face and voice to your brand. That creates a certain level of extended intimacy which becomes a bridge between the customer and the brand.

On a more commercial level, videos are actually great when it comes to search engine optimization. You can use them to build backlinks, increasing engagement in terms of likes and shares on social media which can work wonders for your brand in terms of search rankings.

Videos can also help you bring traffic back to your website. And then there is the Google universe. When you push videos on YouTube, you approach the Google universe from yet another angle. So, use the right keywords and tags and you score more brownie points. That is why videos are great for search engines. They are engaging and not boring like long text pieces.

It keeps people on a page for longer and as mentioned before, YouTube is actually considered the second-largest place where information is looked up, second only to Google. Videos are a great way to improve the visibility of a website and it increases your website rankings on Google.

If you’re not sure what page rankings are, here is a quick primer on the subject. There is a lot of information out there on the internet, right? So, Google wants to make sure you get useful information and not spam based on the keywords you enter into their search bar.

To make it efficient, Google uses a ranking system. It is like grading your website based on the quality of information you provide. A combination of several algorithms is used to make that decision.

Each of those factors like relevance, keywords, and how fresh your content carries a certain amount of weight. After a lot of testing and quality control, these rankings are given to websites. Google, for example, has a set of guidelines to help content creators make their websites better.

If you like numbers and want statistical backing to understand how video can boost your marketing strategy, this is what you need to know. Videos are extremely good at capturing the attention and imagination of your customers. Audiences are likely to remember 10 percent of what you feed them three days after watching them. And that number shoots up to 65 percent if what you show them is relevant to their query.

74 percent of all traffic on the internet is said to be from video content. This was in 2017. So, those numbers have definitely gone up by now. Video marketing is definitely one of the most effective tools not only to give out relevant information and advertise yourself but also hold the attention of existing customers and attract new ones. In fact, at least 4x more customers prefer video to text.

If you are into email marketing, simply adding the word video to the subject lines makes a ton of difference. How much? Well, you can expect a 19 percent increase in the opening rate of emails and if you supply links in the email, you can expect a 65 percent increase in click-throughs if you add videos to the content.

Now, here’s the kicker. About 65-85 percent of your customers are likely to turn into paying customers, which means they are going to buy something if you convince them via video as compared to text.

Now let’s talk about your goals with video marketing. Every marketing strategy needs to have tangible and achievable goals when you start planning the campaign. So, let’s look at what you need to keep in mind before deciding on the strategy.

Your videos must be geared towards attracting as many eyeballs as possible. Now, that might seem obvious but you must never lose sight of the fact that cheap gimmicks for eyeballs will only get you so far. Always remember that trust is key. That is the one thing that will lead your customers towards brand loyalty.

But while you need to keep one eye on the views, you must also remember to target your audience efficiently. Because video views are not the end goal. They are only the first step in getting your message out. So, if 100,000 people watch your video, those viewers might still not translate into customers if you are approaching the wrong demographic.

Now, once you figure out who you need to talk to, make sure you see to it that your videos are viewed by as many unique users as possible. This means that 1 person watching it 10 times and giving you 10 views will still mean you were able to reach only one person. But 10 unique views means your video reached 10 unique viewers and in turn 10 potential customers. This is an easy thing to keep track of through video metrics that most if not all platforms offer.

Speaking of metrics, you must use these analytics to your advantage. As they say, the devil is in the details. So, make sure you look at the breakdown of your audience. Study the categories by gender, location, age, etc. This gives you an understanding of who likes your videos and is sticking with your marketing strategy.

Now let’s look at the content of your videos. You can’t keep saying the same thing over and over again in all your videos. The bottom line is, of course, going to be the same. But the message must be packaged in different ways. If viewers return to see more content, they will want to get new information, right? Make sure each video is original in its own way. This also creates a bond and inspires loyalty, which is one of the end goals.

Once you have their attention, you need to get them to engage with your material. One way to do that can be by encouraging them to comment on the video on social media platforms. You can leave a prompt for the same at the end of the video.

This can either be a direct and generic request or a targeted question that makes them want to comment. Some brands also like to pose provocative questions but don’t be obviously clickbait-y. Never assume that your audience does not understand manipulation.

When they do respond, you can track the engagement too. You must also encourage them to share your videos on social media. Give them a prompt in the video itself, make the sharing buttons easily accessible. Let them bring more audience to you. In the olden days, this was called word of mouth. Your viewers are likely to pay more attention to friends recommending videos than targeted advertising. That’s just common sense.

You must also remember to add click throughs on every platform that ultimately bring the viewers back to your website and turn them into customers. That’s going from passive (viewing) to active (purchasing).

Keep tabs on the metrics to see which prompts, technically referred to as a call to action, are working. Also ask them to sign up for upcoming events, newsletters, info guides, and whatever else you have to offer. This gets them deeper in the trenches of your content.

And finally, measure the number of people who have come from various sources to your website and stuck with the marketing to make a purchase. That is, after all, the end goal.