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Did you know that 84% of people say that they have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand video? Similarly, 74% of marketers and small business owners surveyed by Wzyowl have seen a better return on investment when using a video compared to a static image.
Marketing videos allow businesses to give consumers a quick overview of their product or services in an interesting manner that keeps viewers engaged. A study done by Databox found that 60% of marketers agree that videos drive more engagements as compared to static images. It’s a no-brainer then that videos are a must-have for your next marketing campaign!
That being said, video production is a large scale project that requires a fair bit of planning. Before you kick-start the process, here are some suggestions and tips to help you find the right topic to cover in your marketing videos!
The key message is the core of your marketing video; it is what you want your audience to understand and remember about your brand. Marketing videos with a strong key message enable you to effectively communicate with your target audience, and get follow-up actions if required.
An example of a video with a good key message would be The Last Customer by Coca-Cola as part of their Christmas Campaign. The video shows the routine of several workers (gift wrappers, grocery baggers and waiters) during the busiest days of the festive season, giving us a perspective of how a time that is all about family and friends, might be different for others. Coca-Cola then surprised these workers with gifts for them, to say “thank you” for their hard work and effort.
Through this visual portrayal and narrative, Coca-Cola positioned itself as a brand that is generous and human.
As marketers, most of us are already familiar with the awareness/consideration/conversion marketing funnel model, which can be used as a tool to help you find out what you should be covering in your marketing videos.
This refers to when a challenge or opportunity is defined for the viewer. Videos that fall in this category are aimed at attracting potential customers, introducing your brand to them and making them aware of your product/service.
Check out this 30-second YouTube pre-roll ad by Zenyum Singapore, which summarises what Zenyum has to offer for consumers. Such as affordable prices, personalised treatment plans and fast results.
Example: Zenyum Invisible Braces
In their video, Zenyum introduces their brand as one that provides clear, transparent aligners that can help straighten teeth telling potential customers that Zenyum is a convenient, invisible and viable alternative to traditional braces and retainers.
For this objective, videos mainly target audiences who realise a problem and are looking for solutions. These individuals are actively researching and asking around for recommendations.
Example: Dyson vacuum
Throughout the video, it focuses on showcasing the unique selling points (USPs) of the vacuum. Spotlighted were features such as being cordless, having convertible functions and an LCD screen to display battery or cleaning mode - things other competitor vacuums may not provide.
Videos in this category focus on the unique selling point of a brand's products/services and why their brand should be chosen over their competitors.
Example: Shopee
Shopee’s use of catchy tunes in their marketing videos are a great way to get audiences to remember them, and the services they provide. With Shopee’s key message of “buy everything on Shopee”, it ties into this marketing objective. By showing off their unique selling points (USP), Shopee positions itself as the better brand against its competitors. It is also a great call to action for consumers to make purchases on Shopee.
Thus, if a potential customer is looking for an e-commerce website to purchase items, Shopee would be one of the platforms that the consumer might consider amongst all the other e-commerce platforms.
By referring to the marketing funnel model, you will be able to define the purpose of your video. It sets the direction and goal of your video, in particular, what you want your video to do for your brand or product/services and what you want your audience to do/feel after watching the video.
Another factor to consider is your target audience. Try to segment your audience using various demographics such as age, gender, income, education, and psychographics (interests/habits).
Make sure you choose a video topic that’s relevant to your target audience. You’re not going to use the topic of TikTok trends to reach a Gen X audience, are you? As different demographics react and respond differently to various types of content, only choose those that can help you achieve your objectives.
Nike Women's Better For It campaign video is one example that hits the right topic with the right audience. Using a comedic approach to express the “inner thoughts'' that women tend to have when exercising. Through a woman’s point of view and the thoughts they have when working out, the majority of the target audience (women who exercise) would be able to relate to the situations in the video.
It encourages women to get over their insecurities when exercising by showing the unglamorous side of working out and successfully completing their goals. Showcasing the problems that consumers face, allows the brand to be perceived as empathetic by consumers, which would influence their decision-making process.
Now that we know our marketing objectives and target audience, it’s time to look at some examples of the various topics you can cover in your marketing videos:
To advertise new products with their benefits and features, you can consider using an informative video. For example, Apple's product launches are usually accompanied by a video commercial that highlights new features and benefits. Throughout the video, features of the Apple Watch Series 6 such as fall detection, blood oxygen application are highlighted throughout.
Your marketing videos can also be used to educate and teach your target audience how to use your brand’s product or service. Wix has a whole series of video commercials that showcase the various functions Wix has to offer that allows its users to create an ideal website.
Nike is one brand that isn't shy about touching on social issues like racism and bullying in their advertising campaigns. Good to use when you want to show your brand’s personality and what they stand for, usually on social issues that are happening around us right now. One example would be their “Equality” video commercial, where they align themselves with the minority African American athletes and highlight equal opportunities to compete regardless of race or skin colour.
This approach is ideal for targeting specific communities instead of a broad audience - the reason being that it’s much easier to use an insider’s joke of a small community, as opposed to finding a common joke that appeals to a wide range of communities.
Just like this Dollar Shave Club advertisement which is targeted at men who are looking for a cheap shave. The advertisement itself hits all the right notes with dry dad humour that relates to the target audience.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have emotional videos. Thai Life Insurance commercials are a great example of commercials that capture viewers’ attention by bringing them on an emotional roller coaster. When done correctly, emotional videos are a prime example of how a good understanding of your target audience can help structure your whole video concept and draw in audiences to watch a longer commercial without clicking the “Skip Ads” button.
Videos are a great way to reach out to a wider audience, but good video content is what keeps viewers interested and engaged. Choosing the right content based on your key message and target audience is the key step you need to take to start creating more effective videos that can meet your marketing objectives.
Keep these messages in mind and your marketing video would be one to look out for!
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