Getting Started with Video Marketing

Video has experienced a rise in popularity for the past few years for various reasons. One of the primary reasons is that audiences are naturally attracted to the medium. With major advancements in technology, shifts in content consumption, and evolutions in publishing platforms, it has become a mandatory communication tool to connect with audiences. To find out on how to create a wholesome good brand or product video with the least tools needed, this guide includes everything you need to know to get started on your video marketing (especially short form ones).

What Makes A Good Brand Video?

A good brand video should clearly communicate what the brand is about, what the unique value proposition the product or services have to offer and why the brand should be considered over its competitor. A brand should be able to highlight its own brand positioning statement.

Here are some tips on how to start with video marketing.

When Planning

Know Your Audience

Defining your target audience means understanding who they are and what works for them. It allows you to understand what your community wants and what motivates them to act. Furthermore, it gives the insight you need to create a video with the right personality and style to entice your target audience.

Craft a Clear and Simple Message

Only include simple messaging and exclude the irrelevant information. The message should be a sentence that begins with what you want to communicate and ends with what you want your audience to remember. Remember this, KISS – Keep It Short & Simple.

Show, Don’t Tell

Show off what your product or service can do instead of just talking about it. Facts are useful, but they won’t help people picture themselves being a part of your team. Keep your audience captivated.

When Promoting

Promote Through Social Channels

Rather than simply uploading your video to YouTube then sharing the link on your social channels, upload your video directly to the given social platform. This will enable you to take full advantage of the autoplay function some social channels have like Facebook.

Create Several Video “Lengths”

Outline several lengths of the same video to leverage them across multiple platforms. The content can also be repurposed for various postings.

Have a Call to Action

Every piece of marketing a company produces should include a call to action. It is important that the people who engage with the brand carry on to take action or continue engaging. An example of a Call to Action could be a link to drive traffic to your website.

Types of Videos

Videos, especially short form ones, have been dominating the social media landscape for awhile. Brands and companies have been pushing out videos as a form of marketing – which can drive tons of engagement on social media and may be able to help you gain more visibility. In general, there are 3 main types of videos – Awareness, Engagement & Education

Awareness

To get on your customers’ radar. These videos have high-entertainment value and broad appeal to attract as many people as possible.

Portfolio Showcase

Portfolio videos/reels are showcases of what the company does or projects taken. These videos will help you show your work, attract new clients or leads, and land that dream gig.

Here’s one that we have done for ourselves!

Company Culture / Meet The Team

Company culture videos give viewers a sense of the organisation’s values, mission and team members. These videos help viewers to understand why the company is different and strengthens their brand loyalty. These videos can also be used for recruiting purposes to show potential employees what your work environment is like. Don’t just describe your great company culture, show them how it works.

Here’s how London-based branding agency Rooster Punk used their office dog, Amelie, to show off their company culture and office.

Behind-The-Scenes

People love being in on the behind-the-scenes action. These videos can feature exclusive insight into a process, or what goes on in the company. The value of this content humanizes the company.

A creative way to showcase your company’s behind-the-scenes is by hopping onto the trend! Remember the Mannequin Challenge trend that went viral in 2016?

Round-Ups

Lists curated around a theme, such as “The Top 5 Cafes You Have to Try in Singapore” or “Top 5 Cities to Visit in Japan”.

Engagement

To spark a reaction, whether that’s a like, comment or share. Videos in this category usually play to the viewer’s emotions.

Announcements / Reveals

To launch a new product, event, store etc. This helps in getting the message across and build excitement.

Here’s how Apple did it announcing its big news from Apple’s big event in less than two minutes, introducing iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

Promos & Deals

Promotional videos allow you to offer your social media followers an exclusive deal. What’s a best way than to grab their attention with an eye-catching video promoting a sale, event etc?

Texas Chicken Singapore totally hit the spot of video marketing with a really humorous and relatable way to promote their Sambal chicken!

Breaking News / Trending

Great opportunity to jump into the conversation. It can also be the company’s own breaking news or a reaction to a significant event/cultural movement.

Vlog

A vlog is diary-style and typically filmed by one person in front of their camera or webcam. This could be a one-day takeover of YouTube/Instagram account – showing the audience around the office, interviewing other team members etc.

Education

To teach your audience something. This could lead to a conversion of people buying your products.

Explainer – Product Explainer, Feature Explainer

An explainer video walks the viewers through a process or answers a common question. This is great for building brand credibility and getting the audience’s trust.

An example of a simple yet interesting explainer that explains what Typeform does in a nutshell.

Tutorial

A how-to/tutorial video shows viewers on how to get something done. This type of video is mostly searched-for among viewers.

And of course, if you haven’t watched or knew about the recent trending Dalgona Coffee recipe yet, I guess it’s the time to explore and indulge into that.

Case Study / Testimonial

When it comes to conversion, you cannot beat case studies and testimonials, all thanks to social proof or the psychological phenomenon that causes people to want something when they see others using it.

Interview / Q&A

A video of someone interviewing another – interviewing an expert, or questions from the audience and answer them on-camera.

Filmed in a single shot, Vogue did a series of 73 Questions Answered by Your Favourite Celebs.

Styles of Videos

When it comes to video marketing, there can be tons of styles to match your video with. Certain types of videos appeal to some marketing objectives better than others. You have to know what kind of style fits best for your video. From animation to live-footage, these video styles carry their own purposes.

2D Character Animation

2D animation is one of the most popular and broadly implemented types of video animation in use for video marketing today. It is highly versatile, allowing for insane customisation that when done right, leads to an emotion-evoking piece that can appeal directly to its intended audience.

Motion Graphics Animation

Similar to 2D character animation, motion graphic animations are primarily characterized by being engaging, dynamic and straightforward. It is an ideal type of explainer video for companies trying to showcase complex products or services, like the tech industry, as the style works wonders at visually synthesizing huge amounts of information quickly and effectively.

Here’s one that we did to explain why we created Just Startup!

Whiteboard Animation

The whiteboard style is a classic animation style that provide the perfect platform to delve deeper into a product, service, or process’ details. It consists of simulating black-line graphics being drawn on a white background, illustrating the concepts or ideas in play.

2.5D Animation

The main draw behind this type of animated video is to simulate a 3D environment. The technique consists of layering objects and lightings to create a more sophisticated and fluid piece. Most importantly, it combines all the benefits of a motion graphics animation video with a different visual style that delivers a unique, professional and engaging piece.

Klaus, an original film by Netflix, is technically a 2D film, but it looks much more like a 3D film, which we would call it 2.5D. It leaned heavily on computers after the drawings were done to synthesize the missing depth.

3D Animation

3D animation stands out for delivering a state-of-the-art, high quality finish. Its unique aesthetic feel makes it easier for some audiences to get immersed in what’s being shown.

Here’s a little visual pleasure of Oppo’s 3D Motion Graphics Ad.

Live-Action

A familiarity to us, live-action video is a good idea if you are looking to establish a connection between specific individuals from your organization and your potential customers. It is a common style for testimonial videos, and it has also been used in explainer videos when showing the human side of the company.

For Furkids Animal Rescue & Shelter, they came out with an adorable way to showcase the cats and animals that are under their care. A totally spot-on example of a low-budget video marketing!

Live-Action with Graphic Elements

These videos combine live video footages integrated with 3D elements that are tracked to the video. This is to create the interaction between the graphics and the video, with added features of dynamism, rhythm, and visual display creating a more enjoyable journey for the viewer. Having live-action footage helps to portray the ‘human side’ we discussed on the live-action entry, while the graphics can add a new layer that can be used to strengthen the message in play.

Stop Motion

These pieces use a technique for photographing an object as it’s moved in small amounts, creating the illusion of motion when played. While unique and interesting, the major drawbacks for this style are its cost, and the lack of flexibility to change or fix problems halfway through the production process.

Typography

This style is based around the animation of typographic fonts to express ideas. By clever implementation of fonts and animation, these types of explainer videos can furthermore do a great job of underlining and reinforcing specific passages and make them etched in your audience’s memory.

Typography are mostly seen on lyric videos. The Rolling Stones – What To Do is the perfect example of having typography accompanied with compelling visuals.

Screencast

Screencast consists of digital recordings of screen captured footage with a back-up narration. It is a common tool for startups, especially in the tech sector, as it does a great job in communicating a process through video at a low cost.

Conclusion

Your videos need not be professional calibre to effectively draw traffic to. However, if the quality and content of your videos is poor, there is a lower chance for viewers to share or even watch them till the end. Make your videos the highest quality you can, using the skills and equipment you have at hand! Your visitors will then watch them, enjoy them and then share them. In addition, attention to small details makes the difference. We hope this will be a great start on your video marketing!

Enjoy the process!