How to Use Video Content to Build a Positive Brand Image

Brand building and content marketing go hand in hand.  

If you want to be recognized as an authority in your niche, you need to create impactful content that resonates with your audience, tells your brand’s story, and maximizes your online reach.

But with thousands of startups spawning every single day, it gets progressively harder to cut through the content noise and share your message to the online audience. According to marketing experts, 2017 is the year when startups should explore newer content types.

Why Videos?

A study published by Animoto reveals that 1 out of 4 consumers lose their interest in a brand that doesn’t offer video. But it’s not just a matter of staying relevant. With videos, you can also convey emotions in a way that’s impossible with plain text content.

Emotions lead to action – and action leads to conversions. This is why landing pages with video content are known to convert 80% better.

Most importantly, it’s now easy to incorporate video content in your marketing and branding strategies. Below are some of the best ways to get you started:

1. Live Behind-the-Scenes Video

If you want the online crowd to trust your company, they need to know the people running it. Streaming a live video of your office, corporate event, or company outing is a great way to introduce your team.

Remember, consumers nowadays love a company with a fun-loving culture. A live video makes a statement that you’re open to ideas that liven up your organization.

Another advantage of behind-the-scenes videos is that they’re relatively cheap and easy to make. All you need is a stable internet connection, a good smartphone, and knowledge on how to use Facebook Live.

Just be careful when letting employees take the reins with this strategy. Treat it as an employee advocacy program and don’t forget to set rules on what they can and can’t share publicly.

2. Interview an Influencer

Since it takes a lot of time to build your brand’s credibility, you might as well “borrow” the authority of other influencers – at least for the time being.

Apart from pitching guest blogging opportunities, you can also invite influencers to face-to-face interviews. Not only will this improve your relationships with them, you also get to leverage their existing online reach for exposure.

To look for suitable influencers you can invite to your interview, you can use tools like BuzzSumo. These work by scouring the internet for popular authors and content based on keywords. You must then focus on developing an outreach strategy that will get their attention and deliver results fast.  

Lastly, consider services like GoTranscript for the full video transcription of your interview. From an SEO standpoint, video transcripts and captions can make your interview more rank-worthy to web crawlers. They can also improve the experience of users who want to skim the interview, or simply don’t want to turn up the volume of their device.

3. Host a Webinar

Although webinars can be slightly harder to promote, especially for new brands, they do have a much more straightforward approach. With webinars, you have the opportunity to tackle important topics in your niche with great depth. Not only is it helpful for the education of your audience, it’s also a great way to showcase your expertise.

The main challenge of hosting a webinar is writing a compelling script. Your opening statements must capture their attention, which is why you can either start with a relatable story, a question, or a humorous animation.

When it comes to the main content, just remember to maintain a conversational tone, segment the topic into key points, and use real-world facts and statistics to support your arguments.

When it comes to your technical needs, then you can rely on a platform like ClickMeeting. It is a free, comprehensive webinar software that allows you to craft professional-looking invitations, registration pages, and additional branding content using a drag-and-drop interface. If you’ve mustered up enough confidence and improved your speaking skills, you can also take advantage of the “Webinar Room” to start hosting live webinars.

4. Do a Product Reveal

With videos, you can give your audience a close, firsthand look on how your new product works. It helps build hype, raise brand awareness, and drive up sales when they’re finally available for purchase in the market.

A rule of thumb is to cover the real life uses of your product and try not to delve too deeply into technical specifications. The more relatable the scenarios are, the more attention it can grab in the social space.

If you’re selling a service or piece of software, then an explainer video may do the trick. Platforms like Animaker and PowToon should offer you the tools and functionality you need for this.

When it comes to creating your video’s script, below are the tips you need to remember:

  • Get straight to the point. The faster you can deliver your value proposition, the better. A good strategy is to summarize the message of your video in one sentence and tell it within the first 30 seconds. For Facebook videos, statistics show that the sweet spot for marketing videos is between 30 and 60 seconds.
  • Know your audience. Ask yourself: are you targeting teenagers or business executives? Depending on your target audience, you can choose to write the script colloquially or professionally.
  • Use stories. Be relatable when introducing the origins of your brand or sharing a situation that warrants the use of your product. Resorting only to numbers, statistics, and facts is a surefire way to lose your audience’s interest.

Conclusion

Today, marketers have adopted various forms of visual content to spice up their content marketing strategy. Video marketing may seem like a very intimidating area to tackle, especially for startups on a limited budget. But with the right approach, it can help you build a standout brand and get your message across the noisy online world.