Title Agent’s Guide to Video Marketing

By 2017, it’s estimated that 74% of all internet traffic will be video. With the rise of Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, video marketing is one of the best ways to attract consumers online. We partnered with Google’s Steve Lerch to provide a guide to incorporating video into your marketing strategy.   

Like we mentioned in our article How to Get Started with Digital Marketing, you should make sure that your strategy is actionable, affordable, targeted and measurable. The best thing about video marketing is that it is particularly actionable, very affordable, easy to target to specific audiences, and extremely measurable.

• Actionable: Millions of people turn to YouTube to research products before making a purchase; actually, behind Google, YouTube is the most used online search engine. There’s a huge market for online video content, and, in turn, a huge market for potential consumer actions. Videos are among the most actionable content—apart from views.
  
• Affordable: Though they might require more skill, video advertising is one of the most affordable marketing strategies. Costs can be as low as pennies per view. YouTube, the leading online video platform, only charges for ads that are viewed in their entirety (or until the 30-second mark).  
  
• Targeted: Video advertisements are targeted easily to specific audiences. Video ads can be put before videos that feature related content or videos that are tagged with matching keywords.
  
• Measurable: Beyond measuring clicks and views, one tool specifically created for YouTube ads is Google’s Brand Lift. On Brand Lift, you can survey both viewers and non-viewers of your advertisement. Comparing these surveys, you can measure brand recognition, brand favorability and intent to purchase.

A picture is worth 1,000 words and a video is worth 1,000 pictures. So, put effort into your video advertisements. Be sure that they encompass the intersection between what your consumers are searching for and your firm’s identity. Finally, just like any digital marketing strategy, test, optimize and repeat!

Olivia Elder is ALTA's Digital and Print Media Intern. She is studying International Affairs at George Washington University. Elder can be reached at communicationintern1@alta.org.