How to Use Video Effectively in Your Inbound Marketing Strategy

A behind the scenes shot on a shoot for Mikasa.

For the last 4-5 years, video has been all the rage in online marketing.  A few years ago, Google all but mandated video exist on a website in order to maintain rankings.  Their reasoning in making this decision was sound. Since more people were watching video than reading copy for their information, Google wants to make sure its users are getting the experience they crave.

Inbound marketing, as a process, is a bit newer to the scene.  And it has quickly taken over as the de- facto method of attracting consumers to a brand.  The process of identifying the brands ideal buyer, and then targeting them at each stage of their buying process, translates to more potential customers engaging with a brand, more often, ultimately leading to increased conversion rates.

In my 24 years of content creation, I have never found a marketing strategy that marries so well with video production.  By using video throughout the inbound process, consumer are 85% more likely to consume the information than by reading copy alone.  This initial number effectively jumpstarts the inbound funnel.  By giving people the information they are looking for during each stage of their buyers journey, in a format they want, they are more likely to consume, retain, and act on the information you provide them.

So, let's take a look at the three places to use video in your inbound marketing strategy to get the best results.

Digital Advertising/Social Media

Let's face it.  Your buyers are browsing the web and are using multiple social media services. Common sense dictates you reach out to them in these two places.  By using a video, all kinds of good things happen.  First, the eye is attracted to motion.  Using motion to attract the eye helps your ads compete with all the other stimulus your buyers face.  

Second, since buyers want to be informed through video, giving them the information is likely to get them to actually watch it.  

Third, these  :15-:30 second videos are letting buyers know what they will get if they click on the ad. Where are you sending them?  Why would they want to go there?  How do they know it's not a secret Russian page attempting to...well, you get the picture.

Blog Post

Behind the sceens of a music video shoot.

After you have convinced your client to click with a stellar digital video ad, this is where they end up. But, where are they?  Inbound marketing best practices recommend you try to get the buyer on to your brands website as soon as possible.  Once they are on your website, they are more likely to visit additional pages, putting you in a position of authority with solutions to their recently discovered problem.

The blog post is the payoff for clicking on your ad.  This is where you need to deliver on the promise you made in your :15-:30 second ad.  If you promised to inform them of how to do something, this is where they need to learn that information.  Did you promise a sweepstakes?  This better be the form. Using video to deliver the payoff is a great way to retain the buyers attention, but also to introduce them to other factors, such as the culture of your business and the key players.

Home Page

A screen grab from a Mikasa Wedding video.

As buyers are navigating your site, they are likely to visit your home page.  A video here is the perfect opportunity to present you business in its best light.  This video should be about why you do what you do.  Why do you make the best off-road tires on the market?  Because you want to make money?  Not the best answer.  But, if you want to help off-roaders conquer terrain never explored, to see things never seen, to push their vehicles to the max, then you might just have something worth watching.

Conclussion

Video is a powerful marketing tool.  And inbound marketing is a powerful strategy to attract buyers to your brand.  The real power comes from combining these two to create a dynamite brand experience for the buyer.