A cat video can get a million hits, but how do you make a marketing video for your brand go viral?
To be honest, we don’t know, but what we do know is that investing in video marketing is crucial for any business today. Videos are like the cool kids of the digital content playground. They're engaging, memorable, and let's be honest, you’d rather watch a two-minute video than read a two-minute article (no offense to this blog post).
But why are videos so popular?
Well, they combine motion, color, music, and sometimes cats doing funny things — basically, everything that grabs and retains our goldfish-like attention spans. In fact, recent data suggests that 72% of consumers prefer to learn about a product/service through videos and that marketers achieved a 34% higher conversion rate by including video content in their campaigns.
And so, more and more brands are investing in video content because, in a nutshell: it works.
But here's the kicker: creating engaging videos that showcase your brand and its products in the right light requires you to tap into the right sources that will make your video marketing assets pop.
In this post, we will dive into the top five sources you should consider when compiling footage and assets for your video marketing campaigns.
But before we dive in, let’s first take a quick look at ...
What is Video Content Marketing and Why Should You Bother
Video content marketing is a dynamic strategy that involves planning, creating, and sharing engaging video assets to promote your brand or its specific products/services. It's an essential component of the modern digital marketing mix that leverages the power of visual storytelling to connect with audiences, enhance brand awareness, and drive engagement.
Here are just a few of the many reasons why you should go all in on video:
- Boosts Brand Visibility
With social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube pushing short-form video content that keeps viewers hooked, investing in quality video content can significantly boost your reach.
- Makes Google Happy
Embedding videos in your blog and website content can help retain and engage visitors and thus, boost your SEO.
- Builds an Emotional Connection
Ever teared up watching a commercial? That's video magic at work, creating a bond with your audience.
- Versatility
From explainer videos to behind-the-scenes, video content comes in various formats, fitting perfectly into whatever marketing strategy you have up your sleeve.
- Drives Action
You can end videos with a clear and compelling call-to-action, gently nudging viewers towards doing something, such as checking out your website or product catalog.
Clearly, video marketing is a powerful tool that can take your brand’s visibility, engagement, and audience connection to the next level.
These days, you can even create YouTube shorts from existing videos using AI. So much win for video content.
Different Social Media Platforms for Video Content Marketing
Social media platforms are diverse, each offering unique opportunities and audiences for video content marketing. For instance, YouTube stands as the go-to for in-depth video content, appealing to users seeking tutorials, product reviews, and entertainment.
Instagram and TikTok cater to audiences preferring quick, visually appealing content, with TikTok emphasizing creative, trend-driven videos and Instagram offering a mix of short Stories, 1-minute Reels, and longer video posts. Facebook’s broad demographic allows for a wide range of video types, from short clips to longer, narrative-driven content. LinkedIn provides a niche for professional and educational videos, targeting industry professionals and businesses looking to establish thought leadership.
Each platform's distinct audience and content style necessitate tailored video marketing strategies to maximize engagement and reach.
In the next section, let’s look at the best ways to source video marketing collateral that sets you up for success.
Top 5 Ways to Source Video Marketing Assets
While sometimes an impromptu smartphone-shot video can resonate with your audience too, when charting out a long-term strategy, consider the following five sources for crafting killer video content consistently.
1. User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC in video marketing is like gold dust: difficult to garner but extremely valuable. As the phrase suggests, it's any video content created not by the brand itself, but by its customers, fans, and followers.
Think of it as digital word-of-mouth — more authentic, raw, and super persuasive — which means it drives:
- Authenticity: UGC is the real deal. It's like getting a thumbs-up for a product/service from a friend rather than a sales pitch from a company. This authenticity builds trust and credibility.
- Wide Reach: When users share content, it’s like a domino effect. Their network sees it, engages with it, and just like that, your reach multiplies.
- Better Engagement: People relate to content from their peers. UGC can get more likes, comments, and shares than polished brand content that can feel contrived.
- Cost-Effectiveness: UGC is budget-friendly because you get valuable content from real users without the hefty production costs.
- Improved ROI: With authenticity and engagement, UGC can lead to better conversion rates and a healthier return on investment.
Over 50% of marketers believe that user-generated videos yield a higher ROI than professionally produced videos, which adds up considering 85% of consumers deem user-generated content to hold more sway than brand-made videos.
The question is, how do you source UGC? Here are a few strategies you can consider:
- Influencer-Generated Content Snowball
Partner with relevant influencers to kickstart a UGC avalanche. Their content can inspire their followers (your audience) to try your products and create and share their own short videos.
- Organizing Contests for Audience Participation
Roll out a video contest with a fun theme or challenge. Approximately 60% of users say they would create content for a brand if rewarded.
- Encouraging UGC for Social Causes
Align with a cause close to your brand's mission and values. Encourage your followers to create videos that support the cause, boosting engagement and brand affinity.
- Building a Community Around the Brand
When your audience feels like part of a community of like-minded folk, they're more likely to create and share content that revolves around your brand.
To streamline the curation and management of UGC, you can use a tool like Visual UGC from Nosto that helps you discover, curate, rights manage, and display UGC across your digital channels (websites, social media, etc.). Visual UGC lets you aggregate videos from over 25 social networks using keywords, hashtags, geolocation pages, profiles, direct uploads, etc., making it easy to request and gain the rights to customer content on any social network.
As you can see in the image above, Nosto enables a robust and user-friendly rights management workflow where brands can easily contact creators and request their permission to feature their UGC in marketing — offering full control over the terms and conditions of UGC rights requests.
Overall, incorporating user-generated video content is a surefire way to boost your brand’s credibility and engagement which, in the long run, helps in building a community of followers that promotes your brand.
2. Creators and Influencers
Partnering up with video creators and influencers is a great way to get high-quality video content in front of your target audience.
After all, creators and influencers make videos for a living — so you’re bound to get good content that talks about your brand or its products in a way that resonates with an already established audience.
Creators bring a mix of authenticity, creativity, and a dedicated following to the table, making your videos not just seen but talked about. The numbers back this up, as 69% of consumers trust influencers’ recommendations, and 36% of marketers say influencer content outperforms brand-created content on social media.
So, how do you go about collaborating with influencers to source engaging video content?
There are various ways to join forces with creators, such as:
- Sponsored Posts
Like a minor celebrity endorsement, these posts feature influencers directly promoting your product, bringing immediate visibility and credibility.
- Authentic Product Reviews
More like a friend's recommendation, these genuine reviews build trust and provide valuable insights into your product.
- Tutorial and How-to Videos
Creators can showcase your product in action, providing practical value to viewers.
- Takeover Campaigns
Hand over your brand’s social media reins to a creator for a day for fresh content and a new perspective.
Using a tool like Popular Pays by Lightricks, you can streamline the process of finding the right creators for video collaborations. It’s a comprehensive influencer marketing platform that helps brands find creators that align with their values and audience. It offers a suite of tools to manage and track campaigns from start to finish, whether you’re sourcing original footage to use in the videos you create yourself or commissioning sponsored videos posted by influencers themselves.
From finding and vetting influencers to aggregating your final assets in a single searchable location, Popular Pays serves as a complete solution to partner with content creators and influencers for video marketing.
3. Video Production Agencies
While video marketing doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, if you have deeper pockets to invest in content, then this approach is for you.
Video production agencies offer a blend of creative strategy, storytelling, and high-end production equipment. They help you cook up content that not only looks impressively refined but tells your brand story effectively.
A typical video production agency can offer:
- Creative Strategy Development
Their dedicated team brings professional expertise in devising creative strategies that align with your brand's messaging and marketing goals.
- Expert Storytelling
They excel in storytelling, effectively conveying your brand's narrative in a way that resonates with the target audience.
- Access to High-End Production Equipment
Video production agencies have access to advanced production equipment and software, ensuring the final product is of superior quality, both visually and audibly.
- Efficiency in Time and Resource Management
When you leave the heavy lifting (shooting, editing, post-production, etc.) to them, you save time and resources that can be better spent on other aspects of your business.
So, albeit expensive, working with a video production company can ensure you’re putting out high-quality, strategically sound, and compelling video content that powerfully conveys your brand's message to your audience.
4. Stock Video Libraries
A great video requires great footage, which may not always be feasible or cost-effective to shoot yourself.
Thankfully, there are plenty of stock video libraries that offer professional-grade footage for free or a nominal subscription/one-time fee. For instance, Videvo is a stock footage platform where you can download over 50,000 free clips and motion graphics, animated backgrounds, and hundreds of free sound effects. Sourced from vetted video creators as well as produced in-house, the platform ensures you’re accessing the finest quality 4K and HD stock footage clips that are safe to use for commercial projects with simple licensing.
Using stock video footage may sound counterintuitive to shooting original content, but when done right, here’s why it’s a great way to source your video assets:
- Cost Reduction
Using stock footage significantly cuts down production costs compared to shooting original content.
- Time Efficiency
It saves time, offering immediate access to a wide range of pre-shot videos.
- Storytelling Enhancement
Stock videos can add depth to storytelling, providing b-roll footage that might be otherwise difficult or expensive to capture.
- High-Definition Quality
Most stock libraries like Videvo offer high-quality, high-definition footage suitable for professional use.
- Diverse Footage Availability
They provide access to a vast array of scenes, including industry-specific scenarios that are challenging to shoot.
Here’s how you do it right:
- Choose Relevant Footage
Ensure the stock video aligns with your brand’s message and the narrative of your marketing campaign.
- Quality Consistency
Select videos that match the quality and style of any original footage you’re combining them with to maintain consistency.
- Seamless Integration
Edit and integrate the stock footage smoothly to ensure it blends well with the rest of your video content. This could entail trimming for length, color grading and correction, audio consistency, etc.
- Appropriate Licensing
Always check the licensing agreement of the stock footage to ensure it fits your usage requirements.
Incorporating stock video libraries into your video marketing offers a practical and efficient way to enhance your content without the high costs and constraints of producing original footage.
5. Marketing Agencies
While different marketing agencies specialize in different areas of marketing (though some are all-encompassing), working with an agency experienced in video content can significantly enhance your video marketing strategy.
They bring a wealth of expertise in terms of understanding current trends in video, audience analysis, and competitor content research, ensuring your video content is effectively targeted and distributed.
Marketing agencies can help your video marketing efforts with a range of services:
- Brand Identity Creation
They assist in developing a distinctive brand identity that resonates through all your video content.
- Video Marketing Strategy Development
Agencies craft a comprehensive video marketing strategy tailored to your goals, industry, and target audience.
- Video Editing
Professional editing services ensure fluff-free, engaging video content.
- Promotion Channel Identification
They identify the most effective channels for video distribution, maximizing reach and impact.
- Tracking Video Marketing KPIs and Metrics
Agencies monitor key metrics, from engagement to conversions, so you have a clear picture of the impact of your video marketing campaigns, enabling data-driven decision-making.
Here are a few quick tips for narrowing down the right agency:
- Assess Their Portfolio
Review their previous work to gauge their style and quality.
- Understand Their Expertise
Choose an agency with experience in your industry or the kind of video content you need.
- Consider Their Network
An agency with a good network can offer additional resources like influencers or specialized videographers.
- Prioritize Compatibility
Effective communication and a mutual understanding of your brand's vision are crucial for a successful partnership.
Wrapping Up
A successful video marketing strategy involves a synergistic approach, combining various key sources. User-generated content adds authenticity and relatability, while creators and influencers expand reach and engagement. Professional video production agencies enhance storytelling and production quality. Stock video libraries offer cost-effective, diverse footage options. Finally, partnering with marketing agencies integrates these elements into a cohesive strategy, ensuring brand identity creation, strategic development, effective promotion, and performance tracking. By harnessing the strengths of each source, you can craft comprehensive, impactful video marketing campaigns.
To bring it all together, you can use Pics.io video Asset Management (VAM) platform to organize, access, and share your video content. Whether you're juggling UGC, influencer content, stock footage, or agency-produced videos, Pics.io offers a user-friendly multifunctional solution to manage video files, retrieve, and share them in just a few clicks. Check out version control feature, visual diff tool for videos, advanced metadata, and many other useful features in Pics.io DAM.
Did you enjoy this article? Give Pics.io a try — or book a demo with us, and we'll be happy to answer any of your questions.
