By now, most businesses have seen the statistics that show video marketing resonates more deeply with customers. If you haven’t, here are a few: 92 percent of marketers who use video say it’s an important part of their strategy, 86 percent of businesses use video as a marketing tool and 89 percent report that video provides a good return on investment.
These trends have only accelerated over the last 18 months and it’s clear that video is the storytelling and communication medium of today. For small businesses and entrepreneurs in particular, it enables audiences to gain deeper insight into how a product or service works and find out more about your company and what you have to offer. So, video is no longer a “nice-to-have” marketing tool — it’s essential. But for many, the barriers to creating professional-quality video are still too high.
While you’re looking for ways to keep your budget in check, there are a number of tools that make video creation easier and more affordable, without cutting impact. Here are a few tips to integrate video into your marketing strategies:
1. Tap into stock video
As businesses churn out hundreds or even thousands of marketing campaigns per year to connect with their audiences, stock video clips are an efficient and cheaper alternative to costly video production. Though video has traditionally been more expensive than still images, iStock’s new subscription plan, Premium Plus Video, gives subscribers on-demand access to millions of video clips at a price that fits any budget. Available in monthly or annual download plans, Premium Plus Video allows customers to license video for as low as a few dollars per clip. Subscribers will also be able to rollover unused downloads and enjoy the same rich royalty free rights included with all iStock content.
2. Use free video editing software
Business owners understand that video marketing is vital to the growth their bottom line, but video creation can be time-consuming, costly and complex. These pain points deter many small businesses from creating video, leaving customers and dollars on the table. With a simple user interface that eliminates needless complexity and doesn’t require any previous design or editing experience, the iStock Video Editor guides users from start to finish of the video-creation process. Combined with the depth and breadth of iStock’s photographs, videos and illustrations, creators can find the right look and choose the right message for any business with customizable colors, fonts, layouts, logos, templates, and calls-to-action to develop everything from social media ads to promotional marketing material in just minutes. In short, the iStock Video Editor helps you create the content you need to drive conversions, tell stories and make an impact.
3. Maximize the reach of your videos by adding keywords.
No matter how slick your visuals are, if they aren’t seen by your target audience, they won’t have the intended outcome. Including SEO keywords is a simple, yet often overlooked, step for video optimization, and it is essential for successful digital marketing. Start by conducting a keyword search on your video’s topic — there are a few tools, like Keywords Everywhere, that will generate words to use and let you know how often they appear in search engine results. Once the keywords have been selected, use them in places like the video title, description (keep it short!), file name, and any promotional content posted on the web or social media. It’s important that the keywords flow throughout the content, which will result in a greater chance of appearing in search results.
Grant Farhall is the Chief Product Officer of iStock.
Video marketing stock photo by New Africa/Shutterstock
