How important are videos in digital marketing?
1. How important are videos in digital marketing? Can it make or break your marketing campaign?
Videos as marketing assets are a "norm" in digital marketing now. You can easily search online and there will be stats that says using video will increase higher conversion in sales, naturally it’s more engaging then a still picture or plain text hence it’s easier for consumer to better understand the product you are selling, and of course people want the convenience than reading a text.
Would you read the instructions manual or would you watch a step-by-step instructional video on youtube?
Even on SEO (search engine optimization), over 80% of all traffic will consist of video by 2021.
Basically, using video in digital marketing is staying relevant and competitive as most business are using and benefiting from it for their brand.
2. How does making a commercial video differ from making a movie? Or is it the same thing?
I would say yes and no coming from a filmmaker and a commercial director.
If we are talking about making a blockbuster movie and not a cultural arthouse, then there are some similarity when making one.
When making a movie or a commercial, who are we making it for? We need to know who are our Target Audience.
Not everyone who is into romance film would want to watch a horror or sci-fiction?
So Target Audience is extremely important to identify with at the very beginning.
Then, we can move on to the choice of Genre that will resonate with our TA.
Comedy, Music Video, Drama, Sports and News are very popular genre for online.
Did you know that 9 out of the top 10 MOST VIEWED youtube videos of all time are…. MUSIC VIDEOS! We are talking about billions of views .
In terms of conceptualisation, there are many similarity too.
In terms of technical and workflow, it’s the same depending on the budget.
3. How do you craft compelling video content that draws more views? Is there a formula?
Yes, there is a formula and I would say there are some good guide.
Even during ideation stage, what will make an idea stick?
I read a book titled “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath.
We follow a 6 principals call the SUCCESS formula.
S- Simplicity
U- Unexpectedness
C - Credibility
C - Concrete Images
E - Emotions
S - Stories
Emotions and stories are the 2 most important one in my opinion.
People only care about your idea when they feel something about it.
People only act on your idea when you tell them a story.
After ideation, we move on to scripting, I used a 3 act structure as a guide.
Sometimes it could even be a simple setup and payoff.
4. What kind of message will attract viewers? Should you aggressively sell a service, or do it in a subliminal way?
It’s again yes and no answer. Let me explain.
What kind of ads or videos will make you buy a product?
Even though I work on commercials, ultimately I am still an audience.
First of all, we need to understand that different STYLE of videos work for different demographics and especially different age groups.
There is no one size fits all.
Some “interested" potential consumer might just want to know the specs and the credibility of a product.
Some consumers are still looking for a reason (need) to buy the product.
In my opinion, a good marketing video sells the NEED and not so much of the WANT.
Message or Tagline is always THEMATIC even for the movies.
THEMES or we can call it topics.
Themes or Topics are the reason why we fall in love with movies or emotionally connected to…
Themes such as: Beauty, Acceptance, Perseverance, Freedom, etc etc...
5. How long should the video be?
Again, in my opinion, the duration depends on how long you need to evoke that emotion.
As a viewer, I really can’t feel emotional with a 15s ad.
It really depends on the objective of the video as well. Is the Call-to-Action (CTA) important or it’s only for brand awareness?
Think of Google, under the un-skippable labs, they did an experiment with a makeup brand in 2016.
They releases 3 kinds of video assets.
The Glam, The Show and The Tell.
The Glam was a 30s video, typical branded ad, high production value, polish looking, good looking model and well known artist talking about the product.
Second, The Show which is a 3 mins tutorial video by a blogger.
Third video, is The Tell, about 1 min plus by an ordinary person using the product like a review, the HOW-TO.
Guess which one is the most popular?
.
.
.
.
The Glam has the highest VTR, view through rate among age group 18-24 and also the 35-44 years old.
However, the 3rd video, The Tell, has a 100% ad recall for the 18-24 years old age group vs The Glam.
Meaning, viewers of 18-24 remembers the brand.
Objective first, then duration. But I would say, ideally not over 3 mins.
6. Must the start of the video always be the best part?
It shouldn’t be the best part. But it needs to have enough hook for viewers to stay through before they hit the climax.
7. How important is it to do a video series?
I would like to rephrase the question to…. How important is Quantity vs Quality?
I think there is a misconception of “hey i am going to make ONE video, and it’s going to be viral.”
A one hit wonder is like buying lottery, you know?
Quantity matters in the noisy online space if you want to be heard.
If doing a video series help to generate more content and increases the quantity, then yes it’s important.
If you look at the successful video creators on different social media platforms.
On Youtube, Casey Neistat use to release 365 videos a year.
On Facebook, Nas Daily, same thing, use to be every single day.
Then you have Gary Vaynerchuck which is very hot on linkedin, he believes and release 100 pieces of content every day.
8. You are one of the trainers for the Singapore Media Academy’s “Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing and Content Creation”, and the “Specialist Diploma in Social Media Marketing and Online Content Creation”. Who are these two courses tailored for? How do they differ?
The professional cert focuses on digital marketing coupled with content creation. Training is scheduled during the day. It is intense full day training so professionals can complete the training and attain a professional cert over shorter period of time. The specialist diploma focuses on social media marketing and content creation taking place twice a week, 3 hours per session. It is a longer programme but the main highlight is online content creation in both programmes which is hands-on training in making content meant for the online marketing using mobile technology.
There are shorter programmes that trains in basic mobile photography and videography using mobile phones offered by SMA. They can learn to take better photos and videos for online consumption over 2 days. These programmes are all funded for Singaporeans and PRs.
Essentially, SMA hopes to offer training in skills and knowledge in filmmaking and tv production to aid marketers and business professionals in their daily jobs. Mobile technology has made it possible for anyone to make content but training in the fundamentals is crucial for making compelling content and SMA has been in the business of training in media training for a long time. This is what they hope to do. Career switchers should look at training before entering a new professional path. That is important.