Even before the pandemic, the video was a massive channel for marketers, with the average person spending an average of 84 minutes a day watching online videos. The world is in lockdown has only increased this.
But what about post-COVID? How can brands use this important and essential channel to connect with customers in 2021?
Here, we look at four tips you should know to build video into your marketing strategy this year. Let’s get started!
Make Your Message Concise and To-the-point
After 18-odd months of the pandemic, it’s safe to say that the general public is weary. Between lockdowns, social distancing, and confusing and changing restrictions, the world — and your audience — is tired.
As such, they haven’t the time nor the patience to watch a long, dense video with a complex message.
Customers want answers. They want the bottom line. They want to have your message presented without the fluff.
Now, more than ever, your video marketing should be concise and to the point.
Your scripts and an on-screen copy are an obvious starting point. Basic writing for the web principles apply here — keep it short and sweet.
Avoid unnecessarily long words and complex jargon. Or, if jargon is a necessity, include a definition on-screen when the word is used. This keeps the viewer informed without interrupting the narrative flow.
Your visual narrative also plays a part here, naturally. Use a visual anchor to give your viewer something to hold onto.
For instance, it could be a presenter, speaking and describing what is happening on-screen. Alternatively, you might use animation to illustrate your point. Use the same narrative throughout (i.e. don’t switch from a presenter-led format to an animation halfway through). This keeps the narrative seamless and the viewer locked in.
Finally, a word on length. As a rule of thumb, two minutes is the ideal video length. However, depending on the channel you use, your message, and your unique audience, this may vary. But for a general audience, two minutes is just enough to keep their attention.
Retain Customer Attention with Engaging Narratives and Styles
As mentioned above, consumers are weary. And just as they want to get to the point in video marketing, they also want to get to the point in an interesting, engaging way.
Dreary corporate videos are anathema to COVID-fatigued consumers. Even a two-minute video can become unbearable when it’s delivered in a stiff, uninspiring style.
Even when discussing serious topics, you should bring life and energy into your video marketing.
Take this example from the UK-based bone marrow charity, Anthony Nolan:
Despite discussing a serious (and even uninteresting to some) subject, it does so in an attractive, visually appealing, and engaging manner. A lively, positive narrator combined with a fun animation makes for an engaging narrative that keeps viewers hooked.
There are myriad video editors available that are easy to use, letting you create engaging graphics and animations that keep your viewers hooked. There is no video that can’t be made more engaging, even if its message is otherwise dry or uninspiring.
Rebuild Trust with Authoritative Videos
Confusing restrictions, political tumult, profiteering businesses — the public’s trust has been considerably worn down over the past 18 months.
Combined with conflicting news stories over panic buying, vaccines, and so on, it’s only natural that they will be wary, or at the least questioning, over a brand’s marketing.
In a post-COVID world, it is essential that you deliver trust and authority across all your digital presence, including video marketing.
Just as you would with your written copy, back up your statements with authoritative sources. On the video, reference the primary resource by name (e.g. “the FDA says…”) or include a logo or footnote from the resource when referenced.
Including a real person in your video can also significantly improve its trustworthiness. Faces also increase the likelihood of someone believing a statement, so it’s worth using a presenter-style format when making important claims.
Create Videos that Address the New Reality for Your Customers
What mattered to your customers a year and a half ago doesn’t necessarily matter to them today.
Your typical customer segments have likely changed during the pandemic, with their needs, desires, and pain points shifting over the course of the past 18 months.
This means reassessing your customer segments and determining what issues matter to them now and, crucially, how your brand can resolve or mitigate those issues.
In this interview with Orion’s Method, Sean Cannell shares his tips on building influence with video, highlighting, in particular, the importance of identifying your audience and then defining a value proposition for that audience.
This is worth noting — go back to the basics when you readjust your video marketing strategy post-COVID. Consider each segment and assess how their situation has changed.
There are, of course, myriad ways to do this. As a brand, you know the research methods available open to you — surveys, social media, search data, and so on. But the best way to understand what has changed for your customers is to simply ask.
Reach out to your customer base with a phone call, email, or social post. Ask them candidly what has changed and what their priorities are post-COVID.
It’s a simple approach, but one that yields the best results and, in turn, will help you create a value proposition that informs your video marketing throughout.
If you’re looking to build video into your marketing strategy in 2021, you’d do well to bear the above tips in mind.
Post-COVID, the goalposts and how we approach them have shifted. Video, while still a powerful marketing channel, requires a different tack than it did in 2019.
What matters now is concise messaging and visually appealing narratives that keep customers hooked. Reassess your customer segments and revamp your value proposition, then build videos that capitalize on that to build trust and authority with your audience.
Bear these tips in mind and your video will attract, engage, and retain well into 2021 and beyond.
