Why Video is an Essential Part of the Marketing Mix

Video production in Hong Kong is booming and it’s easy to see why. We are hard-wired creatures used to interpreting everything around us visually. It makes sense if you think about it. Sight is our primary sense and has been since Neanderthal man used it to spot prey in the distant undergrowth or pick-up signs that predators were about to attack. It kept us safe and alive and allowed us to thrive as a species. 

Obviously, we no longer need sight to defend ourselves or hunt for food (unless you consider grocery shopping hunting) but we still value sight more than any other sense as it still allows us to comprehend everything that is going on around us. 

The importance we place in visuals has started to play an increasing role in marketing strategies. Video is the new king of advertising as audio and today traditional news outlets have become multimedia channels where video and text are meshed in seamless story experience. And take a look at YouTube. According to their own statistics, there are over 2 billion active YouTube users consuming over 1 billion hours of video content each day. In fact, YouTube is now the second most popular search engine behind Google, highlighting how people look for video content before any other kind.

But it’s not just YouTube and social media driving video content and marketing. Specialist agency Unbounce reported recently that marketers who incorporate video into their campaigns experience 34% higher conversion rates. That’s a huge amount and not something that can be ignored.

With facts and figures like these, the market for video advertising is huge and that’s the real reason why video production in Hong Kong has begun to boom over recent years.

What is a video marketing strategy?

Like any other form of marketing, video requires a strategy. You could have the snazziest video out there with Keanu Reeves waxing lyrical about what you do and still not reach an audience. Video is a more expensive form of marketing due to the costs involved in production so before you unleash your creative juices you really need to understand how you can use it effectively. 

Have a plan that focuses on the only thing that really counts: your audience. Customers have become viewers and readers and it is essential to provide them with the type of video content that they are looking for. Authenticity, emotion, value, entertainment, learning are necessary. It’s not about being viral. It’s about being relevant.

Look at how your competitors are using video successfully and steal some of their ideas, not necessarily in their video content but in how they use it. Don’t throw your video marketing out into the world willy-nilly or you may waste valuable time and money.

What are the benefits of video production and marketing?

Still not convinced about video marketing? Then let’s break down some of the benefits:

Video improves customer understanding

People these days expect to get what they want, when they want, and wherever they want. This need for immediacy makes getting a message across on your website or in advertising difficult. After all, how can just a few lines of text explain you to somebody when they will switch off after the first couple of words? Video can help as it allows viewers to see what you do and what you offer in action. Research undertaken by marketing expert website QuickSprout has shown that video increases a person’s understanding of a product or service by a massive 74%.

Video content can help you build trust

Video marketing is a great way to tell a story and build a personal connection between yourself and the consumers you reach. Customers are tired of the endless sales pitches and marketing messages and instead want to feel involved in the things they see. There’s a reason that pop up internet marketing died. People got tired of its intrusiveness, lack of personalised content, and the fact that it in no way entertained or interested them.

A good video doesn’t annoy. It entertains and explains in a way that customers can get engaged with. If they are drawn in, then they will make a connection with you and your brand and are more likely to stick around to experience more of what you offer.

Video is mobile friendly and can expand your reach

How many times have you heard about a video going viral? I bet you’ve watched a few yourself after hearing about their popularity. Have you ever heard of a piece of internet text going viral? Or an advertising picture spreading across the internet? The thing is text and pictures are generally boring (unless they are combined in a funny meme). Video, at the end of the day, is just more entertaining that’s why more people watch it. Plus, with so many different sites jumping on the video bandwagon, there are many different avenues to expand into these days. And the beauty about all these sites is that they allow your content to be consumed anywhere, at any time, and on any device due to the mobile-friendly nature of the internet. 

Get an easy SEO boost

Most businesses are drawn to video marketing due to the easy boost it provides to their SEO efforts. Search engines, including Google, favour video content these days and if you want to get your webpage on the fabled first page of search results, including a video is a necessity. Have you ever noticed that the top section of all search results on all major search engines is now dominated with video content? That’s where you want to be. Making sure you upload a video with a keyword rich title to your website, YouTube channel, or other video hosting service is an excellent way to get your potential customers attention.  

Ok, I’m sold. Any tips for making a great marketing video?

Making a great marketing video is no easy task but there are a few things you can do to make it easier. Here are a few ideas to make sure your marketing videos really sing:

Make sure your video tells a story and is interesting 

Nobody will watch your video if they don’t find it interesting. Making an entertaining video isn’t complicated. All you need is a great idea, a great story, some quality actors or voice actors, and the right production tools. Ok, it is a little tricky but getting started shouldn’t be. You know what you want to say, so say it. Write out the first draft of a script or, if you have the talent for drawing, create some story boards to sketch out what you want your video to say. This will form the basis of your video and can be referred to as your production progresses.

Make sure your video grabs peoples’ attention

The internet is stuffed to the rafters with content these days and when a consumer searches for something that interest them, they can easily be swamped with a million and one different people offering their own take on a solution. That’s why any video you produce for marketing purposes has to be unique enough to grab attention. Make sure your video is different to your competitors. Look for what you do that makes you unique and really emphasise this. Add humour or some other emotional prompt to draw them in.

If your video is well produced, then you already have a leg up on the competition. Poorly made videos are a sure-fire way to turn users off and send them scuttling along to the next message.  

Prompt customer engagement

Another great advantage video has over other types of content is that it comes with built in ways to prompt customer engagement. Getting people to share, comment, or like a video is a powerful tool in content marketing. People who are engaged are far more likely to cross the line between potential customer and actual customer. 

Including prompts to subscribe to your video channel, like your content, or share it with their friends when you produce your video is an easy way to promote engagement.

Make your customers feel something

Video is unique in how it easily creates an emotional connection between its content and those viewing it. If you can tap into the emotions of your audience then you’ve found something that will make them think about what you do in a deeper way to what they might otherwise. 

When producing your video, make sure you make a connection with your audience. Try to stir their emotions and make them feel something. What they feel is in many ways irrelevant and negative feelings like anger and fear can be just as useful as happiness and laughter.

Use a good video production service

Video production in Hong Kong is a growing marketplace and the choice of production services available to you as a marketer are huge. But not all production services are created equal and making sure you use the best money can buy is essential to getting a great quality product. We here at the Hong Kong Fixer are dedicated to boosting your audience with story focused aesthetic video content based on years of collaboration with international media. Our production processes are second to none. Head over to our website today and take a look at what we can do for you.