Don’t Miss The Bus: Create Leads & Build Loyalty With Video

Author: Steve James

y-youtube-imageWhen our friends at Hubspot asked me to contribute as a guest “instructor” for their brand-new back-to-school e-book: “ABC’s of Inbound Marketing,” I jumped at the chance to cover “Y” – Youtube. I want to help marketing professionals understand how important and easy incorporating video into your marketing strategies can be and the success you will experience from increased lead generation and stronger customer loyalty.

Expanding on my lesson regarding the power of Youtube, here are just a few reasons why video can make a huge impact on your inbound marketing plan:

1. More than 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices every day.

2. It can be done simply and budget friendly.

  • There is no need to produce long, drawn-out videos for most content topics. In fact, the most popular videos are only 10 – 15 seconds long. (Source: iab Survey)

  • Videos can be recorded as simply as capturing interviews, events and more on your mobile phone or iPad and then uploaded to YouTube. Video content can also be created as elaborately as hiring a professional film crew. Think through what content will change frequently and what content will be long-standing material. Don’t invest in a professional crew if the content will change. Consider making the investment if it is material that serves many purposes and won’t be out of date soon.

  • Quick videos captured on mobile devices and uploaded via social channels are suitable for many marketing opportunities. Great content is created and oftentimes increases credibility because the videos don’t appear to be professionally produced or sales-y in nature. Here are 6 avenues to consider when incorporating mobile video into your marketing strategies.

3. It can be shared through many different communication channels.

  • Video content can be easily shared among all of your social channels including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ blog posts and now, Instagram. Sharing interesting video content among your social platforms is one of the top ways to be recognized by your followers.

  • Videos are the most likely content to go viral, increasing the number of views with no extra cost to your business.

4. It creates an emotional connection.

  • Marketing videos are a fundamental shift from traditional advertising in that through storytelling, an emotional connection can be created that influences consumer purchasing behavior.

  • Using video to thank customers or business partners is another great way to incorporate customized content that targets a specific audience. It can, however, cause confusion when the message is not relevant for certain viewers. Using an unlisted video link that can be distributed via email or targeted messaging is a good option for sharing in these circumstances. Here are some more ways to create thank-you pages, links and video to keep users engaged.

5. People stay engaged for longer periods of time.

  • Incorporating different forms of content helps to keep viewers engaged but did you know that visitors will spend 100% more time on pages with video included? (Source: MarketingSherpa) In case you are still not sold, view 19 more reasons to include visual content in your marketing strategies.

Creating video content and using channels such as Youtube allows marketers the opportunity to connect with people online more than ever before. It also provides and easy and cost effective opportunity for businesses to enhance content distributed among other channels such as email, website, blog, social and more.  By connecting with customers in a visual and oftentimes, emotional way, companies strengthen brand loyalty and generate new business through video’s viral effect. How can you get the most out of Youtube and start incorporating video in your marketing strategy today?

Learn about the “ABC’s of Inbound Marketing” in this free, interactive e-book – featuring a collaboration of inbound marketers from around the country.

Download ABCs of Inbound Marketing

 

Topics: video marketing, Content Marketing, Inbound Markeing, HubSpot, Video


About the Author:

Partner at Stream Creative.

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