5 types of video content to improve your content marketing strategy

Summary

How do you improve your content marketing strategy?

First, by choosing the most effective medium. And in the digital world, that medium is undoubtedly video: the data says so.

The second step is to learn how to use this tool according to your objectives.

Among the types of video content, these five are the most central and most valuable:

1. Educational videos, which are essential for building trust with customers.
2. Company culture videos, which tell the story of a brand’s personality.
3. Teaser videos, which are great for creating anticipation on social networks.
4. Personalized videos, which are adapted to the characteristics of each client.
5. Videos made by influencers…even, and increasingly, when it comes to micro-influencers.

All marketing challenges are won (or lost) around three main cornerstones:

1) The content

2) The means through which this content is conveyed

3) Knowledge of the target audience

It’s crucial to focus on how to improve your content marketing strategy. At the same time, however, there is no such thing as the perfect content for everyone.

There are many variables in the field and they change depending on the industry, the companies, the objectives of each campaign, the sentiment of public opinion, specific targets, etc.

The discussion on the medium, however, is different. Here, we have one certainty, and it is this: in the digital world, the most powerful and effective medium is video.

It’s not just us who think so, but the data and numbers. We’ll take a look at this in the next section.

What about the target audience? This is an increasingly decisive point, involving data-driven dynamics and personalization.

But let’s proceed in order. This post is about how to improve your content marketing strategies.

We’ll first look at some data on the popularity and communication effectiveness of video. Next, we’ll identify 5 types of video that companies can and should learn to make the most of to engage customers’ attention and improve engagement and loyalty.

Let’s get started!

The effectiveness of video in the digital world – Some significant data

We promised to focus on the data, and so we will:

• According to Cisco’s Annual Internet Report, which covers 2018-2023, video will make up as much as 82% of global online traffic by the end of 2022(cisco.com).
• 78% of people watch online videos every week. 55% watch them daily (socialmediaweek.org).
• The average user spends about 7 hours per week watching online videos (statista.com).

This data is enough to get a very precise idea of the diffusion and familiarity of people with video.

Now, instead, here is a data that perfectly demonstrates its effectiveness and the ability to attract attention and stimulate engagement

• A user viewing a video understands and believes 95% of the message contained. For pure text communications, this percentage drops to 10% (insivia.com).

Finally, here are some statistics focused on the use of video in digital marketing, an increasingly intense and widespread use:

• Today, 86% of companies use video as a key tool in their marketing mix. In 2020, the percentage was 85%. In 2016 there was 61% (smartzer.com).
• 87% of marketers said they were satisfied with the ROI related to their video campaigns (hubspot.com).
• 94% of video marketers say video has helped increase audience understanding of their products and services (hubspot.com).

These facts speak for themselves. But you can read the most important video marketing statistics and trends for further insight.

In the continuation of this post, we’ll look at the 5 types of videos that we believe are the most valuable, and innovative, for all those who want to improve the content marketing strategies of their brand in the digital world.

1. Be useful – educational, tutorial, and explainer videos

The ultimate goal of any marketing strategy is, after all, always to increase sales, therefore revenue and turnover.

But this does not mean that every campaign must have sales as a direct and immediate objective. It’s always a path of approach, in stages, which must not be perceived as invasive by the customer.

That’s why a fundamental role in improving one’s content strategy is that of education, the ability of a brand to inform its customers, to be useful, even in apparently disinterested ways.

First, you have to form a relationship: the sale comes later, accordingly. It’s a matter of trust.

Educational videos go precisely in this direction.

It’s about teaching something (not in a pedantic or know-it-all way, of course); it’s about acting as a reliable authority in certain fields, as opposed to the confusion of data and information in which we are all immersed.

Think of the spread of video-tutorials. By now we all make extensive use of them: there are for every type and every taste: from make up, to DIY, gardening, gaming…the examples are endless. Learning how to manage all of this is fundamental for brands.

But that’s not all: there are also explainer videos, which are focused on the clear and effective explanation of a product, a service, or any kind of process. Often, these are productions made directly by the companies, which usually prefer an animation tool: clear, simple, and direct.

To be even more specific: videos are also a formidable means of providing more or less wide-ranging audiences with updates and trends related to the industries in which each individual company is involved. It’s a great way to show that your brand always has its eyes open, looking to the future, and is not too focused on itself.

2. Convey Personality – Company Culture Videos

Today’s digital consumer is increasingly observant. Before buying, they want to know who you are, “how you behave,” and what your values are.

They want to recognize themselves as a brand.

This explains the fundamental role of company culture videos. This is an effective and contemporary way to tell your vision and mission, beyond slogans.

It’s also a way to show the people who work inside the company.

For example, to illustrate how the company focuses on issues such as sustainability, innovation, safety and social responsibility.

It’s a way, ultimately, to bring out the personality of your company, even before your products. And to make the customer understand why he should choose you instead of a competitor.

3. Engaging – Teaser videos on social networks

Video marketing strategies on social networks deserve a separate discussion, because this is a very broad (and ever-changing) topic.

Here, we want to quickly address a type of video that, more and more, is exploited as a powerful weapon by marketers, especially on social networks.

We’re referring to teaser videos, often used in the preliminary stages of a campaign with a very specific goal: to capture attention, arouse curiosity, or create a sense of anticipation and mystery around a product.

These are short videos, often very short, so perfect for Instagram, but also for TikTok, a social platform that is having a really exponential growth, especially among young people.

Everything is played on the effect of suspense, creating surprise and tension.

Of course, it is essential to study a well-managed follow-up strategy, to address the tension and engagement in a coherent and functional Customer Journey.

What is certain is that companies that use this type of strategy are immediately perceived as original, courageous, and innovative.

4. Be tailored – Personalized videos

We have already mentioned the importance of the audience, the target. And here we are dealing with a decisive point.

Thanks to digital tools, data collection, and subsequent interpretation, it is now possible to address not just one target, but as many targets as there are customers. The shift is from one-to-many to one-to-one.

In fact, there are specialized platforms such as Babelee that allow companies to create videos that are adapted to the characteristics of the individual recipient, based on their characteristics and navigation choices.

Interactive videos, which can be distributed through the most diverse channels, even when we’re talking about endless audiences.

This is the turning point of personalized videos.

Here is some data on their effectiveness:

• Personalized videos attract the attention of the viewer by 35% more than standard videos (hubspot.com).
• There was an 8-fold improvement in click-through rate, for some campaigns that used personalized videos (qoboweb.com).
• People who view a personalized video are 40% more likely to switch to purchasing a product and service than those who receive a traditional video campaign (webeo.com)

5. From mega to micro – The role of influencers

Another huge topic is that of so-called influencer marketing. A topic on everyone’s lips…the reasons are obvious as these two figures show:

• On average, influencer marketing showed return on investment of $6.50 for every dollar spent (adweek.com).
• About 70% of millennials are somehow directed in their purchases by “influencers” (startupsmagazine.com).

Again, the most powerful medium in the hands of influencers is video. Brands are well aware of this and have learned to make the most of the large social following that influencers bring with them.

Here’s a tip: don’t limit yourself to hiring so-called mega-influencers. Instead, learn to take advantage of the effectiveness of so-called micro- and nano-influencers as well, who certainly have fewer followers, but are perceived as more authentic, close, and reliable.

So, how do you improve your content marketing strategy?

With the most effective medium in the digital world: video, by using it in the way that best suits your purposes. And, by learning to get as close as possible to the individuals who make up your target audience.