Steven Beller
Coming up with video marketing strategy takes more than just an idea; it takes time, people, creativity, experience, an understanding of the audience and topic and, of course, talent. Plus there are several challenges marketers in the technology world face: sophisticated products that need to be explained in 60 to 90 seconds, an intangible solution and a long list of competitors.
So before you throw your resources out the window, here are few helpful questions you might want to ask yourself before diving in to video marketing for your technology company.
1. Why am I making a video?
This should be the most important question you ask yourself. If your video doesn’t have a purpose then you shouldn’t make it. If you are just putting videos out to stuff your YouTube channel or because everyone else is making videos, then you should take a step back to reevaluate your video marketing strategy.
Technology companies may create videos to explain how their solutions work, the benefits of the software, how to use the software or perhaps how the solution fits into different industries.Whichever, reason you choose, make sure it is clear in your script and production.
At Kuno, before we ever start planning a video, we ask ourselves, “What is the purpose of the video?” In order for us to stay on track with our goals, we created specific categories on why we create videos. Not only does it give us a clear vision, it also helps justify using company resources. These categories include:
- Build brand awareness
- Educate our customers
- Show our culture and creativity
- Employee Training
If a video doesn’t fit into one of these four categories then we don’t make it. It’s important to have purpose and goals when creating a video. Without this sort of direction, it will be difficult measure your project’s success or failure.
Bonus Question: At this point, you will also need to determine if you are capable of making the video inhouse or if you will need to hire a professional. You don’t want to get too far into your video and realize you don’t have the talent or resources to complete it.
2. Who is my audience?
I bet you’ve heard this one before, right? The funny thing is, even though you’ve probably heard this a million times, once you get into the thick of creating a video, sometimes, your audience is the last thing you are worried about. I know I’m guilty of this, so I don’t expect anyone else to be perfect.
I’ve found the best way to make sure you don’t miss this step is to have a team of creative people working together to come up with ideas and strategy. You’ll be amazed at what can come out of a 30-minute brainstorming session and how you can speak to your audience in new and creative ways.
3. What is my company voice?
Once you have figured out the purpose of your video, you need to figure out how you want to be perceived on video. Do you want your company to be serious, funny, light-hearted, vulgar, sensitive, caring, excited or something else entirely? As a technology company, you may have the flexibility to lean more toward entertaining your audience with humor or language that pushes the limits, but only if this has been determined ahead of time and is included in other corporate communications.
Is your video an animated or live action video? Do you want a male or female voiceover? Can the marketing video use sarcasm or should it remain entirely professional? These are all things you need to think about when determining your technology company’s voice.
4. Where will the video be hosted?
Are you going to post it on Youtube and hope people will watch it? Are you going to upload it to Facebook so your close friends and family can give it a “thumbs up”? Or are you going to strategically place it on your website or social media channels so it will help guide your potential customers down the sales funnel and convert them into qualified leads? Hopefully you are thinking like me and will be placing your video in strategic locations across the web to get the maximum return on your video investment.
Videos are meant to help people digest information quickly and more efficiently, so why not use a video in place of a bunch of text on your website or use it in an email blast. Remember, emails with a video link have a higher click through rate than emails without video.
5. How will success be measured?
You’ve created your video, and you’ve placed it on your website. You’re promoting it on social media and YouTube…so what’s next? Analytics!
Make sure you are keeping track of where your new leads are coming from and if your video is doing well on social media. Hosting your video on Wistia can help you determine if your video is doing well or not. If you don’t have a way to track these metrics, then have your sales staff ask your new leads this simple question: “How did you hear about us?” You would be surprised at how much you can learn by their answers.
There is alot that goes into coming up with a video marketing strategy for technology companies, but don’t be discouraged when you come to a road block. If you ask yourself these questions before you start writing your script, you will notice your project will go more smoothly.
What other questions should technology companies ask before shooting a marketing video? Share your answers in the comment section below.
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