Leverage This Marketing Strategy To Gain An Edge in 2023

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As you know, marketing in our currently powerful digitally-driven world offers a lot of opportunity and frustration. From a performance standpoint, marketers are expected to live up to KPIs more than ever before. To power the brands that employ us, we must be more strategic and adaptable to data-driven insights than we used to be. You can increase performance at your brand with the data to back it up by leveraging video during all stages of the funnel.

Conversely, with internet advances, brands can reach millions of potential consumers in a short amount of time through content. Think of “the old days” when marketers had to rely on things like direct mailing, commercials, radio spots, etc. Marketers had to work harder and perform without data-driven insights. Their job was more of a guessing and hoping game.

With the right technology, we no longer have to guess when it comes to what is and isn’t working in our marketing strategies. Data-driven insights are crucial, and the data points to the fact that brands need to produce and promote more videos than ever before.

From short-form social media videos to in-depth product demos to engaging TV commercials, video content can be a little overwhelming. With industry nuances to special equipment, many marketers are letting video slide by and hoping for the best in the content they’re producing. However, I’m here to tell you that videos for marketing purposes are simpler than you think. The reason is because there are fantastic studios, like Overit, that specialize in video content and dedicate a whole team for the brand partners.

Whether you want to go the production studio route or not, there are some best practices when it comes to video content that you and your team should keep in mind.

If there is only one takeaway you get from this article, let it be this: Video content nurtures all stages of the funnel, from brand awareness to increasing customer loyalty. You just need to be strategic in your approach and understand your buyer’s journey.

Let’s dive into why video is so crucial and show how it nurtures all stages of your funnel.

Why video?

Video content is nothing new. What is new, however, is that your target audience expects your brand to have videos on various platforms for them to learn more about your brand. In fact, 72% of consumers prefer to learn about a product or service via video instead of the plain old written word.

Think of it this way. Are you a visual learner? Most people are, and that’s why video is crucial to your marketing strategy at all stages of the funnel. From brand awareness to retaining loyal customers, video is arguably the most important tool in your toolbox.

Your competitors are likely outdoing you with their use of video content. There is a reason why 99% of marketers who implemented video in 2022 will implement it again in 2023. It clearly works, and you must ensure your video strategy is buttoned up going into 2023.

Don’t just implement video to increase sales. If done well, video will naturally accomplish your goals. Video also increases SEO. After all, 31% of marketers report using video content to improve SEO. It makes sense — a video is more engaging and hooks your audience faster than a blog post.

Defining your audience and strategy

You likely already have some ideas for engaging videos and are ready to get started. But your video marketing content needs to be strategic, starting with getting a solid pulse on your current audience and goals.

Revisit or create buyer personas. I like this free template from HubSpot.

You need to identify things like:

Which platforms do your current consumers spend the most of their time?
What common pain points does your audience experience that your brand can solve?
Do you have powerful client stories that you can make into videos?
What makes your brand unique when compared to your competitors?
What makes a customer become a returning customer?
Which industry news topics are valued by your target audience?

The key to defining your audience is understanding how their behavior changes according to where they are in the funnel. So the list of six questions I just listed should be asked in each stage of the buyer’s journey. For example, your target consumers may spend most of their time on Instagram to learn about new brands, but when choosing which brand they will purchase from, they may gravitate to YouTube.

Defining audience characteristics in each funnel phase will power your video strategy on a new level you never thought possible.

Awareness

With most consumers reporting that they want to learn about brands through video, video during the brand awareness phase is crucial. Videos for brand awareness are usually thought leadership videos strategically placed where you know your target consumer spends their time. Often this is a video placed on social media.

An awareness video shouldn’t be overly-promotional because consumers are savvier than ever and know when they’re being “marketed” to. Instead, try a thought leadership video that speaks to a pain point you know your target audience experiences.

Experiment with a quick, quippy video on social media and a more thorough long-form video on a landing page attached to your website.

Consideration

When consumers have decided they need your product or service but have not decided if they’re picking your brand or your competitor’s brand, they are in the consideration phase of the funnel.

Assets like video case studies or testimonials offer social proof and influence a consumer’s purchasing behavior.

In this phase, you want to be relatable. Don’t get hung up on beautifully produced video content. Focus on showing your human side and aim to come across as conversational. You want to give consumers in the consideration phase a reason to convert into customers.

Conversion

Speaking of conversion rates, this is when a potential customer is about to purchase but is doing their due diligence when it comes to your brand. They will explore your website, your social presence and peer reviews. Since consumers prefer video content, it’s your job to place video content where consumers can find it if they go looking for it.

Video content that converts can be a product demo, a case study or even an entertaining video about your brand’s values. Your goal should be to make your audience feel like they’re part of your brand. Personalization when applicable is key.

Retention

Not everyone looks at retention as being the final phase of the funnel. But I do. Retaining a current customer is more profitable than constantly seeking new customers. Hence retention is part of my funnel.

Video content that keeps current consumers engaged and wanting to return to your brand for more includes customer recognition videos, videos exemplifying new products or services and even company values videos.

Be sure to nurture your existing consumer base with your friendly and thought leadership videos and watch your retention rate soar higher than ever.

Final thoughts: How to leverage more video in 2023

Even before you read this post, you probably were already planning on leveraging more video in your marketing strategy for 2023. Hopefully, this article helps with your efforts so let’s review the key takeaways.

Partner with the right video production studio to get the most out of your video strategy. This has alleviated the burden for many marketers wanting to do more with video. Equipment, time spent editing video, strategy, audio, and more add up quickly, and brands are finding that they have more success by partnering with a production agency.

Revisit your buyer personas so that you can strategically place video content on the right platforms at the right time. Remember that behavior changes when your target consumer moves through the funnel, so consider each consumer in the four phases.

If you approach video marketing as I’ve outlined, you will gain a competitive edge in 2023.

This article was originally published by Entrepreneur.com. Read the original article here.