Video Marketing: A Practical Guide for Videos in the Marketing and SEO Mix

What is Video Marketing?

Video marketing is a subsection of online marketing or a form of content marketing in which video clips are presented on one's own website, video platforms, or other websites. Publishers do not have to produce the videos themselves. In video marketing, clips from other companies, producers or private individuals can be used for marketing purposes. The prerequisite is that copyrights are not infringed by the publication or distribution. Using video marketing to achieve better rankings in the search engines, such as Google's video search, is referred to as video SEO.

Why Video Marketing?

If there is an ongoing content trend in online marketing, it’s video. Why? The widespread use of smartphones certainly plays an important role. After all, it is easier to watch videos than to read texts on a small screen. Since we also like to be entertained, video clips play a central role in the everyday internet life of the younger target group. According to a survey conducted by ARD and ZDF, young people between the ages of 14 and 29 watched an average of 26 minutes of films on YouTube or other platforms per day in 2018. According to the same study, even 30 to 49-year-olds watch six minutes of videos on the Internet per day. It’s quite clear that video marketing provides a chance for you to reach a large number of eyeballs on the internet. Video’s influence on e-commerce and media dominance on the web is clearly shown by many different studies.

Video Marketing = Content Marketing?

Since video clips are also content and the goals are similar, video marketing is, of course, a form of content marketing. Videos can perfectly complement texts or images in the content marketing mix.

Goals of video marketing campaigns

Video marketing can be used to link very different goals.

Goals related to website performance and SEO:

• Increase time spent on a website

• Increase traffic to a website

General marketing objectives:

• Increase customer loyalty

• Product launch and product clarification

• Supplement customer service

• Advertising on other websites and video platforms

• PR video for lobbying or branding

• Increase conversions

Video content should be selected based on the goal you want to achieve through video marketing.

Which video format should you use?

There are many different "formats" that you can start off with. Here is an overview of the most common types of video content:

1. Image films/brand video

These video clips are mostly shot as PR videos for companies and thereby focus on the company, staff, and products. These images can also be used to better convey feelings or a certain spirit.

Figure 1: Image film for Toshiba 2019

2. Product videos

Online shops, in particular benefit from integrating product videos. Product videos often act as "sellers" and they can explain the special features of products and provide different perspectives.

Figure 2: [Introducing iPhone 11 Pro](http://Figure 2: Introducing iPhone 11 pro - Product film by Apple) - Product film by Apple

3. Explanatory videos

As the name suggests, these video clips explain products, facts or services. Explanatory videos often contain animations or drawings. The objective of explanatory videos is to clearly explain complex things in a few sequences.

Figure 3: Causes and Effects of Climate Change

4. Interviews

With expert interviews, you can strengthen the reputation of your website or your company. You can show that your company is an expert in its field. Experts can also be staff from your company.

Figure 4: Interview with Izzi Smith - How to win with featured snippets

5. Tutorials/How-to videos

If you have ever started a Google search with "How do I ...?", you are sure to have discovered this form of video content. From baking to DIY to car tuning, these videos provide clear tips for anyone who wants to do something themselves. These videos can also help relieve the burden of FAQs for customer support.

Figure 5: How to Make the Most Amazing Chocolate Cake

6. Social video

Social videos are short clips made usually using a smartphone that are specially designed for social media networks such as Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram Stories.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von KIND Snacks (@kindsnacks) am Jan 21, 2020 um 6:57 PST

Figure 6: Social Media Video for KIND Bars

Tips for creating clips in online video marketing

Why should you consider videos in your content marketing strategy? They increase attention. The attention span for people on the internet is short and users want to reach their goal quickly. If they cannot reach their goal, they will simply leave the website. Just like texts, videos have to "captivate" the user and keep their attention span high. Thereby you prevent, for example, high bounce rates during video access.

The following video marketing tips will help you maintain the attention of your users:

1. Duration: Use short videos. Experience shows that only half of all users watch for more than a minute anyway. Less than one out of ten people remain for five minutes. A video length of one minute is therefore optimal. Where the explanation of facts requires longer time, it makes sense to divide longer video clips into shorter sequences.

2. Targeting: Content, including video content, only works when it is target-oriented and meets the user's needs. That is why a precise target group analysis should be an integral part of the preparation for your video marketing campaign.

3. Create a suspense curve: Utilize videos which create a suspense curve. This increases the chance that users will stay longer to experience the resolution.

4. Address emotions: Feelings trigger actions in users. Use music in the video that taps into users’ emotions.

5. Create authenticity: Especially with image films or explanatory videos, it is more important to remain authentic than just to deliver a "high gloss format." Your users will appreciate these clips and be more willing to share the content.

Video SEO – What should you pay attention to

Video SEO should be an important integral part of your video marketing efforts. After all, your clips or content pieces should be easily found by Google. With the help of Video SEO, you have the option to increase the visibility of your video formats and thereby generate more traffic on your website.

Important SEO tips for your videos

• Use a suitable and short title for your video. It should describe the content of the video and can contain a main keyword of the URL where the video will be embedded

• Embed the video on your website in thematically suitable texts. You can either embed your videos in the CMS or utilize a publication platform - you can also select tags that match the video content in this area to increase the video’s reach.

• Ensure that your video can be seen on all devices and is responsive.

• Use Rich Video Snippets so that Google can utilize the structured data to display your videos e.g. as a featured video.

• Create a thumbnail that encourages the users to click.

• Use a video transcript or subtitle. This way the content of the video can be understood by search engines.

• It is best to include only one video per URL.

• Make sure that the videos do not adversely affect the performance of your website. This applies, in particular, to video clips that you host on your servers. With the Page Speed Report from the Ryte Suite, you can quickly find out whether the videos have a negative effect on your loading times.

• It is best to insert your video content "above the fold" so that the video is visible without having to scroll and can be played right away.

Video marketing strategies – How to achieve more reach with your videos

Video marketing lives from the fact that online videos are not only viewed but also shared by users. That is why social media plays a crucial role in your marketing mix.

It is therefore recommended that you not only present your video clips on your website but also publish them on your social media channels or through influencers. Video platforms such as YouTube, Dailymotion or Vimeo offer additional reach.

Viral marketing and video marketing – the perfect symbiosis

Viral video marketing is a special type of video marketing. Here you try to achieve a fast and "viral" reach with a, particularly attention-grabbing video. The demands on the video content are greater here as "virality" cannot always be calculated exactly in advance. Characteristics of viral video hits are unexpected twists in the clip, provocative content or something completely new with which a brand surprises its customers.

Figure 7: Volvo Trucks - The Epic Split feat. Van Damme

There is no exact manual for viral video marketing. You should rather have prior experience with publishing video material in order to be able to assess your user's behavior.

Video marketing – just try it!

There are many different uses for videos. Since the technology for video recording is becoming cheaper and video content is becoming more freely available, you should take the chance to reach even more users through video marketing. If you comply with the important aspects of video SEO and ensure your content fulfills the needs of your target group, you can’t go wrong. After that, it’s time for testing, testing, and optimizing.

Have fun!

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