Watch This: Should Video Be Your Marketing Solution?

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Read Time: 3 Min

First, I’d like to openly acknowledge the irony of decrying the effectiveness of written blog posts using a written blog post. I promise I’ll make some valid and—dare I say it—eye- opening points within.

Are you tired of spending resources to create long-form internal promotional content? Are you not seeing a return on the investment? Do you feel like you’re just creating content for the sake of creating it? Does it lack any real substance?

If so, you’re not alone! Many companies struggle with how to create an impactful content strategy to promote themselves and their products. But the solution may be easier than you think.

I’ll walk through why video is a powerful marketing tool and show a recent video marketing project we did to help differentiate one of our clients, Mark VII, from other companies in the manufacturing industry.

 

Why Video?

Video is becoming increasingly important in today’s marketing mix. On average, videos are getting twice the level of engagement of other post formats, especially long-form content like this blog. In fact, 80% of viewers will watch a video on a webpage, whereas only 20% will read copy. A smart video strategy can better position your business and keep your audience interested and engaged.

As easy-to-use video services started to become more accessible, companies began clambering to create as much video content as possible. Content was king, and everyone wanted to “go viral.” The excitement around video marketing was great, but misguided. It doesn’t matter how beautiful or poignant or edgy your video is. If it doesn’t get in front of anyone, you’ve just wasted a lot of time and money. So, in reality, distribution is king.

When Mark VII came to us looking for a way to talk less about their products and more about the people within the company, we knew that video content—supported by a robust ad campaign—was the best way to achieve their goals.

 

Video Marketing Example

Mark VII’s People Campaign was an effort to tell the story of the people behind the scenes who actually build the equipment that Mark VII sells to its C-store, car wash operator, and auto dealer customers. Most of Mark VII’s customers would never have the opportunity to interact with this group of people, so we decided this was an opportunity to present them in an engaging and unique way via testimonial video.

We interviewed six Mark VII factory workers from different departments and created a video specific to each one as well as a compilation video of everyone. Then we hosted these videos on landing pages and directed people to them via GIF ads that showcased images and copy specific to each employee and their role.

We found that people engaged with the videos, often sharing and commenting on them. This same campaign could have been run with simple write-ups for each employee that lived on the landing pages, although it’s highly unlikely people would have engaged with it in the same way they did the videos.

 

The bottom line is that videos help control the narrative as well as the presentation of the narrative. With simple marketing video like this, there isn’t a great need for interpretation. Conversely, long-form copy requires people to digest the information and interpret it on their own, often in their own tone of voice, which may differ from what was intended.

Video is an engaging and exciting way to tell stories. Videos come in all shapes, sizes, styles, and budgets. No matter what your desired outcome is, there’s probably a video solution that could work for you.

See our recent work here. And don’t hesitate to reach out.

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