The importance of video marketing is at an all time high. According to Hubspot, 81% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video, and 76% of marketers say it helped them increase sales. The list of statistics goes on and on, but the bottom line is that your business should at least consider implementing video marketing.

But as with any marketing expense, it’s important to ensure that the investments pay off. Simply creating a video because your competitors are doing it or creating a video that focuses purely on aesthetics can lead to a lot of wasted money and time while also not providing any value to your company.

So to help you out, here are 5 essential tips for creating effective marketing videos:

1. Understand your audience

The first step in video marketing success is understanding your audience. Begin your video marketing brainstorm with a buyer persona, a real or fictional character that embodies your ideal customer. Matching your video to the needs, interests, and world views of your buyer persona is the most important key to success for your marketing videos.

How you speak to your buyer persona will affect every aspect of your marketing videos, including the overall message, the characters in the video, the music selection, the filming locations, and even the editing styles.

2. Establish Clear Branding

After understanding your audience, the next step is to ensure that your branding is clear. Companies with clear branding, mission statements, and distinct reasons for doing what they do will have an easier time creating effective marketing videos that companies that don’t.

Prior to creating any marketing video, take time to define your brand story, your “why.” If you’re stuck, a good production company like ours can help guide the process.

What do you hope to accomplish with your marketing videos? Establishing a clear set of goals will help guide your content and ensure that you have proper calls-to-action within the video.

Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Are you looking for direct conversions? Are you trying to inform your potential customers with content marketing or education? Get even more specific and determine your metrics for success. Consider measurable metrics like conversions, video views, social media activity like shares, likes and comments, video watchtime. and other stats available in your different analytics reports.

Without a set of clear goals, it’s easy to get caught up in creating something beautiful but ultimately ineffective.

5. Know the Difference between Storytelling and Feature Selling

As you dive into the scripting and planning of your video, understand the difference between feature selling and storytelling.

Feature selling is an approach that focuses on the actual features of your product. These videos are centered around topics like the materials used to create a product, what the product does, or the process of creation. They focus on the “how” rather than the “why.”

In contrast, a storytelling approach focuses on creating a narrative, connecting with the target audience on an emotional level and placing the target audience at the center of the story as the hero. This approach focuses on the “why,” and connects your beliefs and world views to those of your target audience.

An example of portraying an emotional narrative in a marketing video cane be seen in our 12 Movement brand videos:

The approach you take in your marketing video will depend on your product, the placement of the video, your target audience, and what you think will resonate with them the most.

Following these tips will help you set your marketing videos up for success. They’ll help you hone in on connecting with and speaking to your target audience. This allows you to focus less on what all of your competitors are doing and focus in on what will work best for you. Let us help your business succeed. For more information on getting started, contact Rise 8 Media today.