The best time to launch your business was 5 years ago. The next best time is now. That proposition is inspired by the wise old Chinese proverb “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” And in the case that you’re a budding entrepreneur, there has never been a better time to invest in video marketing.
Videos are manna from conversion heaven
So you’ve heard that videos are good for business. But don’t take our word for it. Here’s some proof: according to Entrepreneur.com, “Where both text and video are available on the same web page, 80% of people would prefer to learn about a product or service via video”. Oh, and to top that, internet video traffic now makes up 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic. So as far as marketing methods go, video conversion rates and video’s return on investment is excellent. Online store StacksAndStacks.com says their website visitors were 144% more likely to purchase a product after seeing a video of the product than those who didn’t. Indeed, across a broad range of industries, there is a significant 65+ higher conversion rate for businesses that use video as this graphic below demonstrates.
Real videos, real results
Now, that’s enough of the abstract numbers. Let’s look at some real-world examples of the wonder-working power of videos in marketing. This video helped launch the startup DollarShaveClub.com with it’s viral video which became literally an ‘overnight success’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI.
The company CEO had this to say on Inc.com about the runaway success of the video launch in 2012:
“…our servers were totally unprepared for the amount of traffic that flooded in. Our first video went live at 6 a.m. PT on March 6, 2012….The next day … we had 12,000 new subscribers, and within just a few days, three million people had watched the video. Since then, we’ve produced another; collectively both have been viewed more than 25 million times. It [our marketing video] was a fantastic way to come out of the gate and raise awareness of our mission. I don’t think you could have accomplished that any other way.”
So if video marketing can help the DollarShaveClub startup signup 12 000 new subscribers in a day with a razor-sharp video advert, just imagine what a cutting edge video can do for you…
Well, let’s nudge your imagination a little. According to Inc.com, the company soon grew to 1.1 million subscribers, an eye-popping $615 million valuation, and recently, a $1 Billion all-cash acquisition by Unilever.
Get the point?
Another great video marketing example is this one on the topic Artificial Intelligence for marketing agency HubSpot, racking up an impressive 400 000 views on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJeNghZXtMo.
The success of this HubSpot video is due in part to the appealing animation, clear subject matter. It’s also thanks to the way it provides answers to the poorly understood issue or ‘pain point ‘ of Artificial Intelligence.
Top 3 tips to make a video that could sell ice to an Eskimo
There are loads of ways to promote your new business and product, but of all the ways you could, video marketing offers probably the best return on investment (ROI).
The reason is because video marketing has been proven to help start-ups launch since it can help build instant rapport between your business and your target audience. There are many different types of marketing videos out there including advertisement videos, interviews, how to’s, explainer videos, product presentation videos and more. So once you’ve decided on the aim, format and general content of your video, here are 3 important tips to launch your video successfully online:
1. Keep your videos short
Short videos work the best, especially for social media- under 2 minutes is generally best.
2. Make your video ‘mobile first’
- Because most videos on Facebook are viewed without sound, make sure you use captions.
- Use a square format where necessary to suit social media like Facebook and Instagram.
- Ensure the video looks good on a small screen so keep text and images large enough.
3. Add a specific call to action
- A ‘call to action’ is just a term for something that requests a response from the viewer, such as a click to purchase button, a newsletter subscribe button, or another form of interaction. Ideally the video engages the viewer and motivates them to do something that will benefit the company.
- The best place for a call to action is generally in the middle of a video since this gives time to explain what your service or product is, and captures your audience before they might lose interest in case they don’t watch until the end. Furthermore, considering a subtitle translator to provide multilingual captions can significantly expand your reach and help your message resonate with a more diverse global audience.
So follow these three tips and you could be selling ice to an Eskimo via video advertising in no time.
How to become an instant video producer without going to film school
So you’re excited about the opportunity that video marketing presents and you want to get started! But, between starting your company and plotting world business domination, you never made it to film school. Fortunately for you, that’s not a problem. Enter Renderforest a cutting edge online video production platform that makes it easy for startups to make professional quality videos . That means you don’t need to go to film school or to hire an expensive video production agency to make it from scratch. Rather, Renderforest makes use of AI technology and an extensive database of video scenes and over 400 video templates.
This platform makes it possible to produce high-quality marketing videos and publish them instantly. Simply choose your video type, upload your content, add your text and logo and publish online in minutes. Some video formats to choose from include explainer videos, product demos, social media promotions and more. It’s been used by large companies like Vodaphone, Booking,com and Salesforce as well as small startups.
To logon and start using this affordable video maker, simply follow the link here.
There are several other platforms like PicsArt which is a popular online video editor.
It’s a wrap!
We’ve only scratched the surface of the incredible world of video marketing, but hopefully this has given you a good idea for why video should be a primary marketing tool for any startup. Also, now that you’ve seen some examples of successful marketing videos, and since you have access to a video editing tool like Renderforest that takes the hard work out of video production, you can start making your marketing videos at the best time ever. That time is now.
