Your company or non-profit wants to engage your audience with content that resonates with them.
You’ve tried blogging and email marketing.
You’ve tried paid ads on Facebook.
You've tried infographics and eBooks.
You think you’ve done it all, but everything you’ve tried hasn’t yielded the results you want.
After putting your time and effort into writing the perfect blog, it can be incredibly disheartening to see that only two people have read it, especially when those two people are your parents. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything...
Internet marketing, just like web development, is constantly evolving. When we talk about internet marketing content, we typically refer to blog posts, social media ads, or some other form of static content that is sent out into the web.
While these methods are still very practical for reaching a wide audience, there is an undeniable shift occurring.
The Future Of Marketing
Short-form videos and podcasts have seen an explosion in growth. Here's why:
- Short-form videos generate 1200% more shares than text and images combined when they are published through social media channels.
- Mobile video consumption increases 100% on YouTube each year.
- 64% of people are more likely to purchase a product after watching a video.
- Including video in an email increases click-through rate (CTR) by 200-300%.
The growth trends from major live video streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon have all been positive, so the outlook seems bright for this form of marketing.
How To Create Short-Form Videos For Your Business
Now you may be asking yourself, “What makes a short-form video effective?” or “How can I get started?” Luckily, this process is much simpler than you might think.
You don’t need fancy cameras or lighting. You don’t need a full-blown video production studio. Everything you need fits into the pocket of your skinny jeans.
Your smartphone allows you to film high-quality videos, edit them, and share them out to your social media platforms easily and seamlessly.
A few apps that you can use to immediately build your online video presence are:
- Facebook Live
- Snapchat
- Instagram Stories
- Google Hangouts
Read Our Blog: How To Use Snapchat & Instagram Stories For Business
One example of a person I follow who currently utilizes videos to great success is John Sonmez from simpleprogrammer.com.
John Sonmez is a programmer and entrepreneur who has successfully grown his blog and YouTube channel exponentially by utilizing short-form video content. I am a huge fan of his channel and I recommend everyone take a look at how he has leveraged videos to grow his business.
His channel has grown so much that he has reached millionaire status and has become a thought leader in not only the software development space, but also the internet marketing arena in a relatively short amount of time.
Some things I’d like to highlight about John’s videos are that they aren’t completely polished with huge production values or high-end studio backdrops. He utilizes basic cameras or smartphones to film himself speaking off the cuff about topics related to personal development, marketing, and programming.
Many times you’ll see him filming short videos during his daily run or in his car during a commute (neither John nor I advocate using your phone while driving, kids). You will also notice that in John’s first videos, he wasn’t very comfortable on camera. This skill developed over time and now he is full of energy and is an entertaining speaker.
The point is John has been able to transform his company into a huge success with minimal equipment and without being scripted.
Your audience will also appreciate your candid vibe. Most of them will connect more with you if you bring that real human energy to your videos as opposed to a more scripted approach.
For things like tutorials or other educational pieces, it might be wise to practice your video so that they flow better. But for marketing pieces, these off-the-cuff videos may prove to be more effective.
Another person who does a great job of utilizing videos to expand his reach is Dylan C. Israel from Coding Tutorials 360. The premise of his channel is to educate new coders by filming himself completing online coding resources. This channel has multiple benefits.
First, it helps his audience grow their knowledge and skills in a field that is very in-demand and rapidly changing.
Secondly, it has helped set Dylan up as an authority and thought leader in this space. As a result, Dylan has actually been able to leverage his channel to obtain full-time employment with a company because they noticed his online presence.
Video is the future of marketing. With technology being so accessible, any person or any business can create high-quality video content to send out to their audience with relative ease.
So take the plunge and have fun. It might be the difference between your company reaching new heights and audiences, or your company staying stagnant.
If you’d like to learn more about how to add video to your marketing tool belt or if you’d like to discover how to grow your client-base through inbound marketing, contact ROI Online. We’d love to hear from you!
