Today, most businesses are utilizing video marketing. A State of the Video Marketing 2022 report from video content creator Wyzowl found 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. In our own Packaging Supplier Marketing Trends and Best Practices 2022 survey, PMMI Media Group found 77% of respondents are currently utilizing or plan to invest in video marketing. In 2023, we predict further video adoption as manufacturers catch up with the broader B2B segment.
Why video
In considering why video has become such an important part of marketing strategies, there are three reasons that stand out to me. First, video humanizes the brands they represent. Advances in mobile phone cameras and lightweight editing tools mean more people have access to create video and can film outside of studio at locations such as plant facilities and trade shows. To help ease the minds of camera-shy on-air talent, follow simple tips such as drafting a script and filming short takes that can be edited together.
A second benefit to video is that it breaks through the clutter of marketing content. While most marketers utilize video in some form, the overall amount of video produced is still much less than other more saturated channels such as email.
And third, video helps audiences digest content. Just because someone opens an email or clicks on a webpage, it doesn’t mean they’re paying enough attention to fully consume the message. Sharing content through multiple channels offers more ways for the message to penetrate through and video is certainly an engaging channel.
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What to film
Video is a great tool to showcase locations viewers might not otherwise see like plant facilities and corporate offices. A plant video can help show your product in action while filming on location at your corporate office can further humanize your brand. Consider adding small touches such as highlighting office staff leading into an executive interview video.
Videos are always a great way to show product detail and 64% of our survey respondents said they currently use video to showcase product demos. Other types of educational video include broad ‘how to’ content relevant across the industry and specific product detail for customers post-purchase.
Content doesn’t need to be long, and in fact, for social media, shorter snippets are best. A 15 to 30 second clip introducing a new product, highlighting an employee, or promoting an upcoming event is a great way to jumpstart your video marketing strategy.
Sometimes, video is longer and more highly produced. At PMMI Media Group, we recently worked with a video agency to create a two-minute overview video with shorter clips for use on social.
Where to promote
Video can be promoted through just about any channel, but two that are a particular good fit are social media and a company website. With social media, platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn advocate for video as an engaging content type and reward companies for using video with higher impressions than non-video content.
A company website offers a home for video of all types from company overview, to testimonials, to a library of tutorial videos. And incorporating video on your website adds significant value. According to research by ComScore, media measurement and analytics company, websites with video increase their average visitor time on site by two minutes. Regarding search rankings, Forrester Research found video content is 50 times more likely to organically rank on Google vs. plain text results.
Other channels to promote video include events and email. With events, video can serve as either an anchor during event programming or supplemental content such as a looped video at a trade show booth. Including video in marketing email can help increase engagement and even just adding the word “video” to an email subject line has been shown to increase open rates.
More than just marketing, sales teams are also incorporating video into email. With tools like Loom, Vidyard, and Wistia, sales team members can easily record, send, and track videos sent to customers and prospects to supplement introductions, proposals, and feedback requests. For example, including a video RFP response along with a written submission can help you stand out from the competition.
Incorporating more video into your marketing strategy will take practice and commitment. The good news is, it’s easy to start small and a short video is the perfect format to share on social media. If you’re looking to set future goals, most marketers are creating video content monthly.
Key tips for posting video on social media
· Include captions as up to 85% of people watch social media videos without sound.
· Aim to keep length to 30 seconds or less. (Note: When creating longer video, plan to break it into smaller segments for social).
· Don’t forget the copy! Include a compelling headline and limit body copy to 150 characters or less.
· Expand your reach by including mentions (of brands or people) and hashtags.
