Video marketing is the main marketing today, so establishing a video marketing strategy is important. It you aren't making videos, your marketing efforts may be left behind compated to what your competitors might be doing. Both large and small brands are using videos as their main form of marketing. Reports show that video retailers grow revenue 49% faster than non-visual users.

High demand for videos makes sense because it creates a deeper connection with your customers. This is different from text and still images, because your audience sees your style, tone, and surroundings. It creates an intimate relationship with them that builds trust in you.

The beauty of developing a video marketing strategy is that you make it easier for the viewer to relate with the information you're trying to convey. Video marketing is a sure way to get there. This means that there are six ways to strengthen your video marketing strategy.

1. Identify your target audience with your video marketing strategy

It's not just about videos; it's about reaching the right people. Yes, everyone wants to make a viral video, but is your message and production values good enough to make people want to watch? And more importantly, share it with their friends? So the target group is important. By identifying your target audience, you can now focus on the people who need what you have to offer.

How can you identify your video marketing audience? Examine their demographics (gender, age, location, language, income group, education). Determine what you're trying to achieve with the video. Is it about brand awareness, sales, growing leads or creating leads?

What channels would they use for their videos? Every company wants a positive return on investment, but no company can do it if they don't attract the right people . So if you can determine how to reach  your target audience, and follow them, the process will become easier.

2. Tell your brand story

There's no point in creating video content if you're not telling your story. Video content allows you to be more expressive, so you don't have to hold back.

Storytelling can take your message to the next level. It's the same as "dating" the audience and sharing your experiences with them. But what exact stories can you share? There are several forms of storytelling. Some things you can share are:

• An inspiring message that captures positive feelings,
• Customer success stories,
• Personal experiences,
• Show the behind-the-scenes of your creative or production process, or
• Emerging trends or factual reports.

3. Optimize Your Video Thumbnail with a Smile

The video thumbnail is by far the most important item to entice visitors to play your video or not. The reality is that we rate books according to their cover, so you need to dress up your video for it, giving it a compelling playable thumbnail.

The best way to make sure people will decide to watch your video is to use a thumbnail image of someone smiling and making  eye contact. Why? People are connected to other people. Would you rather open a book with a plain text on the cover or a photo of an attractive spokesperson smiling at the camera? The latter is more convincing and the same theory applies to videos.

"Smiling is an external manifestation of happiness and helps us connect with others," says Dr. Adrian Furnham, an organizational and applied psychologist.

4.Use social proof

Social proof is a key factor that people use to decide with whom they'd like to buy from. People look at what others have done which is why reviews and testimonials can be so powerful for businesses. Simply put, social proof helps people make decisions when they are unsure based on the experiences and choices made or made by others.

Social proof can also express likes, voices, views or comments about your videos. It can also be very effective to share customer testimonials and case studies in your videos. You can add feature video to your products on the website through WooCommerce product video plugin and ask your visitors to share on other social platforms. Depending on your budget, you may also want to consider engaging experts or influencers in your video marketing strategy.

5. Be an Effective Editor

“Create a compelling opening for your videos, and then use programming, branding, and packaging techniques to preserve and generate interest in the entire video,” Jarboe said.

Surveys show that small and mid-sized enterprises know that video is important and understand the direct link between search and video, so everyone intends to dedicate additional resources in 2021.

6. Include a call-to-action

It's important to add specific invitations to the activity that you want people to follow after watching your videos. Your call-to-action (CTA) is where you can tell your viewers what you want to do next. Without a CTA, most viewers will not take any further action on your video, even if they enjoyed and benefited from it.

Adding a simple and powerful CTA to your videos will help encourage meaningful engagement with interested viewers. When they watch your video to the end, it shows they have a clear interest, and that's the time to motivate them with your CTA.CTAs can take different forms and have different goals. Encourage your users to engage in a variety of professional activities, such as:

• Ask a question that they can answer in the comments below:
• Redirect them to other content
• Suggest another related video
• Send them to the landing
• Direct them to your website
• Let them subscribe to your newsletter or YouTube channel
• Ask them to connect with others through social media
• Offer a free trial so they can try to drive

Pro Video Marketing Tips

Here are some additional tips to keep in mind when creating videos for your company:

• Shorten your videos - Unless you have something important to share, try saving videos in less than a minute. Even for a complex topic or demo, try to limit it to 7 or 8 minutes.
• Use a good light so that the viewer can see your face - A useful trick is to face a window, and have a camera above your view so that it is focused on you.
• Be professional - Approach your video the same way if you go to a client's office and talk to them.
• Be realistic and humane - Avoid strict scripts or templates for live videos, as this will hinder your authenticity. Often your true self will allow your viewers to emotionally connect with you and want to learn more.

This guest post was submitted by Rebecca Roberts.