Editor’s note: Hey, hey! Our team at Blackwood has launched a podcast called The Big Brand Theory! This episode, our host, Ryan Zerfas, spoke with Zac Nelson, who currently works for Transpo, but has been doing video work since the early days of YouTube. If you’d prefer to listen to the episode where Ryan & Zac talk about video marketing, you can do so at this link. Enjoy!!

A lot of times, videos are just more effective at conveying a message than a written word might be. As marketers and communicators, we are all constantly trying to find the best way to communicate with our particular audiences; video marketing is something that has grown exponentially as technology has improved, and it currently stands as one of the most effective ways to reach an audience. While it’s not for every business, it’s definitely worth considering for every business. It doesn’t always have to be expensive, and though it’s a learning curve, business have seen extremely promising results from utilizing video marketing as part of their strategy. Let’s take a closer look.

“As a communicator, one of the first things you learn…is that people don’t just care automatically.”

- Zac Nelson

“Catapult Your Business Through Video Marketing,” 2020

Your audience expects you to know so much more than them because they don’t spend all of their time thinking about what your expertise is in – you do. Your job, then, is to help your audience hear and understand what you have to say – the goal is to compel your audience so much that they forget it’s a video. That may sound simple (or a little cryptic, maybe), but more often than not, you really have to spell out every detail if you want your audience to understand. 

Not only that, but you have a limited amount of time to make it happen. In 2015, it was determined that the average human has an attention span of about 8 seconds…which is a very short amount of time. (It’s even more shocking once you learn that in 2000, the average attention span was about 12 seconds. And we thought it was short then! 😳) 

Should every business be creating videos as part of their marketing strategy?

Maybe, but not necessarily. Video has to serve a purpose – it can’t just be a disorganized mess. Don’t make videos just to make videos! Video marketing in general is meant to provide an effective channel to reach your audience; therefore, you can’t decide to make a video and decide what the point of the video will be later. Rather, your video has to serve a specific purpose, and ideally, bring measurable results to your business.

But why should video be used as a marketing channel in the first place?

1. We know that it works.

Plain and simple: we’ve tried it, and we’ve gotten results. That’s not exactly an explanation, though – there are a couple of ways to tell when your content is working.

The first way is to make sure that you’re saying something important. This is something that our team at Blackwood believes, too – you don’t want to just fade into the noise. If you’re adding value to your industry and being a knowledgeable voice in your space, you’re definitely going to see more profitable results than you would if you were posting with no direction. 

Video Marketing: The Big Brand Theory - Blackwood Creative

The second way is to determine what your audience is comfortable with – and usually, it’s a lot more than you’d expect. Don’t worry about getting too out-of-the box. People really like weird stuff, believe it or not. Which commercials do you remember the most? Is it the Dorito time machine? Have fun with your content; don’t be too concerned about staying completely bland and, dare we say, overly professional. Your audience knows what fun is – it’s okay to laugh every now and then!

Video Marketing: The Big Brand Theory - Blackwood Creative

2. The industry cares about video.

Because people are doing it and seeing great success from it, video marketing has proven to be a viable way to get results and see growth for your business. Plus, social media channels like Facebook tend to push video content to be seen by more eyes, especially if it’s optimized correctly. 

Also, show off the team behind your company, not just your logo! People prefer to see the real faces of who is helping them out; it’s far more personal than your logo would be, and you get to give your audience more of a glimpse into who’s serving them. 

If you’re able to show people themselves within a video, they’re going to love it. Aside from the most camera-shy people, people absolutely love to see themselves on camera, whether it’s literally themselves or a representation of their community. People want to feel seen, and they’ll remember what makes them feel the best. If you can make that impression on your audience, you’ll be golden.

“Facebook is like – the place – so what Facebook says, as a marketer or communicator, you gotta listen to.”

- Zac Nelson

“Catapult Your Business Through Video Marketing,” 2020

If your current marketing strategy just isn’t cutting it anymore, you’ve come to the right place. Our team of experts here at Blackwood Creative would be more than happy to work with you and help you meet and exceed your business goals. We’re in the business of building remarkable brands – yours could be next. Reach out to us today!

Interested in listening to this episode and more of The Big Brand Theory Podcast? Visit this web page for streaming options!

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