What are your favoured social media and online platforms and over the past few years what have you noticed about them?
In an age where these platforms continue to evolve, video marketing has, as one would expect, also grown exponentially.
And it is absolutely no coincidence that video marketing and social media are mentioned in the same breath above.
Although, video marketing as a concept is fairly youthful. Having only entered the mainstream in around 2010, its growth was fairly organic — that was until a unison with social media offered a natural progression.
The play button is the most compelling call-to-action on the web.”
– Michael Litt
These platforms quickly realised that video is a key player to driving engagement, hence an explosion in video based interaction.
For example, we’ve all posted ‘Instagram Stories’... right? And although these represent one of the more fundamental forms of video interaction, the premise remains.
Essentially, all of these platforms have made the process for posting videos truly accessible as it drives engagement for them.
Versatility in video
A tool to build customer rapport, a platform for visual how-to’s, right through to promoting new products — video marketing comes in many guises.
And with nearly 61 percent of companies saying that video content is a key component of their marketing plan, it seems there is good reason:
According to Hubspot’s report on animated video statistics, 84% of customers make purchases after watching an explainer video
Video content is 1200% more successful than other content as videos generate more shares and likes than both text and image content combined. (LearnHub)
66% of people said they’d prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service. 18% would rather read a text-based article, website, or post. (Elite Content Marketer)
(stats from Explain Ninja)
As with many mediums, audiences now have a relatively short attention span. If the video they are watching isn’t floating their boat, an alternative video is just one click away.
It has never been easier and quicker to find something to watch, and people can forage endlessly in the boundless online buffet until their hunger is satisfied.
For context: if you tried to watch every video that will be crossing global IP networks in one month (in 2021) you would need to spend a full five million years. (Cisco)
But this suggests that as a video marketer, your window is slight. You may only have one to two minutes to stake your claim for investment — primarily an investment of time, hopefully leading to one of monetary value (if it is a physical product you are selling).
Although, an audience needs genuine protein to feast on. A few nicely edited images may not cut the grade. You now need to tell a story.
People want and need to understand what you are selling, and this can be achieved with a compelling narrative enveloped by engaging visuals.
Hitting the right note: musical software
Consider then, how music software and hardware for professional and amateur musicians is promoted through video marketing?
Arturia has been making such equipment for over twenty years and in their own words, they ‘dare to create original and different instruments, imagine new experiences and reinvent products’.
Therefore, once a new product arrives, Arturia needs to make sure that their intended audience is both informed and encouraged to invest.
In his previous role as Arturia’s Marketing Manager, Bryan Borcherds played a big part in creating the messaging and content that was directed at their audiences. He still thrives from working with different people and knows exactly what this medium has become.
“I enjoy working with people, artists, musicians, and the communication (involved). To know that someone is making music because they were inspired to give it a try is very satisfying.
“And videos are a part of every product launch, and to also maintain interest. It will continue to become more important too.”
He believes there is great value to be found in using videos to promote products, although as with most things, there are challenges associated with creating them.
“Videos are an important way to increase awareness, evaluate, and also learn from and be inspired,” he added.
“But, deadlines can be tight because the product teams will always want to make it the best that they can possibly be, but that’s a worthwhile cause.”
Translation of ideas
For him, the process for creating a video started internally but then these ideas must be translated to the video production team.
“I came up with the concept and the ‘what and why’ and then spoke to the (external) video team to share the thoughts about the style, location, and so on.”
And having worked with Loftworks on many occasions he appreciates their input to help create the reality.
“The Loftworks team are very good at setting up and looking for potential issues before the filming starts – like background noise, an unwanted item in shot, etc.
“And at understanding our requirements, and are open to offering suggestions too as to things that will lead to a better end result,” he continued.
“But the best support comes from the editing stage, where they really know how to create a story from the edit, something that flows.”
Video marketing as a concept will only get bigger, with Cisco stating that by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017.
And why wouldn’t it?
