Marketing + Video

10 Digital Video Advertising Best Practices for a Competitive Edge

Are you looking to jump-start your digital video advertising efforts? The marketing world is buzzing about the importance and dominance of video content marketing. Not only that, search engines and social media channels are putting more emphasis on video content and prioritizing video-related posts in their algorithms. But all this talk of video marketing has the potential to leave anyone’s head spinning.

If you know enough about video marketing to be dangerous, but need some guidelines and guardrails to keep you on point, take a few minutes to think through these video marketing tactics and best practices that will help you nail down your video content creation process and engage even more customers.

1.  Make sure your video content is high quality and engaging.

Right out of the gate, let’s start with the somewhat inconvenient truth of video marketing: it has to be entertaining. Now, we are not saying you need to be dancing on TikTok to be effective, but we are saying there needs to be some level of entertainment value in the marketing videos you produce. Otherwise, people won’t stick around to the end of your message.

There are many different kinds of videos a small business can use for marketing ranging from branding videos that build trust and authority to educational or entertainment videos that make meaningful and emotional connections with your target audience. Producing a variety of videos you can use on different platforms is ideal.

2. Keep your message clear and concise.

There is much truth in the saying “if you confuse, you lose.” Your audience needs to be able to discern what you’re saying and why it matters to them within seconds of watching your video. If the message doesn’t make sense or isn’t relevant, they’ll keep scrolling.

This is why persona research and development is so critical. Create content that connects with and appeals to your audience and they will be more likely to engage with your brand.

3. Create videos specifically for the platform where they’ll be viewed.

There are so many places to share your video content with the world. You can share marketing videos on your website, PPC ads, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon listings, online review sites (like Yelp),  OTT apps, kiosks around your building, and even digital billboards.

Truly, there aren’t many places where you can’t use marketing videos. Just be sure you know how to create content that suits the platform. User expectations play a big role here, e.g. a person searching on YouTube is probably looking for a longer-form video that one scrolling Instagram reels.

4. Repurpose your video content.

The great thing about video content is that you can use one piece of content in many different ways. You’d be surprised by how many different ways one great video can be used to market your business. The catch is this: one single video may not work on all platforms—and we don’t just mean technically. You need to have a plan to edit and post-produce existing long-form content to fit into various contexts.

For example, take an in-depth brand video produced for your website and break it into smaller parts that are more suitable for a social media audience. Or you may have a great explainer video that can be repurposed on Instagram reels but you may need to edit the video into shorter clips to make it work.

Read More: 7 Ways to Repurpose Video Content Across Platforms

5. Make sure your target audience sees your video.

Simply posting a video is usually not enough to get it seen by the right people. There are a variety of considerations to understand before you post to ensure that your video gets the traction it deserves.

You may be familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) in terms of written content on websites and blogs, but SEO applies to videos as well. As always, keywords are extremely important but there’s more to optimizing videos than that.

In fact, there are entire strategies for video optimization to consider per platform, down to the minutiae of which song you choose and the length of the video down to the exact second. A thorough understanding of how to optimize for the platform you’re using will do wonders for your video’s views and engagement.

6. Tell a great brand story.

People love stories, so make sure your digital video tells the story of your brand in a way that is interesting and engaging. Show the faces of the people who are the heart and soul of your company. Include visuals of the people and places where you serve and demonstrate the impact that your work has on the community and the world.

Videos like these that our team produced for Roy Pitz Brewing Company show not only the product but the in-depth details of the people who make the product, down to the glass blowers and farmers that grow the ingredients.

7. Include testimonials from customers and staff.

Testimonials are a great way to build trust and credibility with your audience. Including interviews with both customers and staff is a great way to add depth and transparency to your messages. Prospective customers will appreciate hearing from a variety of people as they make decisions about doing business with you.

Read More: Why Testimonials Are Essential to Your Marketing Plan

8. Don’t forget the call to action.

A call-to-action (CTA) is essential in helping your viewers take the next step in the sales process. But keep in mind that the CTA may need to be tailored to suit the platform.

Craft a CTA that makes sense within the context of the sales funnel. If the video content you’ve created is targeting the bottom of the funnel, it’s more appropriate to try and close a deal or get some sort of commitment, while content created at the top of the funnel may need to be focused on nurturing the relationship and building trust between you and your viewers.

For example, a marketing video on a sales or landing page on your website is a better spot for a “schedule a meeting” CTA while a shorter social media post may benefit more from a CTA along the lines of, “Like this video? Here are three more we think you’ll like, too!”

Read More: Video Marketing 101: From Basics to Benefits Here’s What You Need to Know

9. Test, monitor, and adjust as needed.

Once you’ve launched your marketing videos into the world, monitor your digital video advertising campaign closely to see how it is performing. Keep track of your click-through rate, conversion rate, and other important metrics.

Test different versions of your online video ads to see which one performs the best. Try changing the headline, visuals, or CTAs to see which one attracts the most leads. And don’t be afraid to make adjustments based on the results you are seeing.

10. Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box.

As digital video advertising continues to grow in popularity, it’s important for marketers to stay ahead of the curve and adopt best practices that will give them a competitive edge. The importance of video marketing cannot be understated, and we are here to help with whatever you need. We believe that implementing even a few of these best practices can help give your business a competitive edge.

That said, it’s not unusual for business leaders to be nervous about stepping outside of the box and using creative means to convey the company’s mission and vision. We want to encourage you to take that risk. In this day and age, it is critical to leverage the latest trends and technology in order to effectively promote your brand using video.

It helps to have a team with experience in video production and marketing on your side when you venture into new waters. We would love to be a sounding board and answer any questions about video marketing you may have. If we can help in any way please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to hear from you!