We’re two months in 2018, and video marketing has no intention of slowing down.
82% of businesses that are already using video plan to increase their video marketing spend in 2018, while 65% of businesses that don't yet use video marketing plan to start in 2018.
But it’s not as easy as it was years ago when video was still a relatively new concept.
Now, brands are climbing over each other to come up with the most innovative concepts (one brand went as far as to add a fake hair in their Instagram Stories ad to increase conversions!), balance their budget with quality, figure out the right kind of videos for each social media platform, and so on. The list really is endless.
So if you want your video content and video marketing strategy to be spot on in 2018, read on. We asked 9 video experts,
'What do you think is the number one video challenge for brands this year?'
And here’s what they said:
Dee Deng – Head of Growth & Co-Founder at Right Hook Digital
Follow him on LinkedIn
The social media platform updates of 2018 means that brands and publishers will have to adapt accordingly to stay ahead.
Facebook's recent algorithm update places a larger importance on pay-to-play and they are working hard towards penalizing engagement bait content – which means that brand must pay attention to the right metrics to determine if their content is working well.
For example: data from split-test research at our agency highlights that "amateur-looking" videos, or "social videos" can convert up to 3X better than those looking like tv advertisements – and this is something brands should continually test and measure.
Meanwhile, for B2B brands or personal brand building for professionals – video on LinkedIn is really starting to pop-off. It's still early days for now – which means low competition and brands can really leverage the great organic reach that LinkedIn still provides. Those are the two areas that we are focusing on in 2018 – because where there are challenges, there are also huge opportunities.
Hope Horner – Founder, CEO at LemonLight
You no longer need a video for your website, you need video content for your brand. A lot of marketers agree with this statement but struggle to know how and where to implement video effectively. I would identify the three biggest challenges this year as follows:
1. Aligning your video content with your marketing goals
Often, business owners and marketers stumble across a video they love and they’re inspired to create something similar for their brand. However, this video idea may or may not be “right” for their business. The most important thing all marketers should consider is, “does this video help me reach my goals?”
In order to accomplish this, you must first identify your goals and discern which part of the buyer’s journey you want to focus on. Creating videos – no matter how great they are – will not help you grow your business if it’s not strategically crafted for your target audience.
We recommend that you always start by identifying your goals: Attract more customers, engage more visitors, nurture your prospects, or delight your customers. Each part of the marketing funnel has video types and optimization strategies that increase the likeliness of a conversion.
2. Balancing quality and budget
Traditionally, video production was expensive and required large teams to pull off a great commercial, but not anymore. Today, the industry is filled with freelance producers and production companies. How do you pick the right one for you?
A lot of people begin the search exploring a wide variety of video production companies and options, but they end the search with the least expensive option. Today, buying a camera is cheap and there are hundreds of freelancers that offer incredibly low prices to try and earn business. But there’s an important saying: Just because they have a paintbrush doesn’t mean they can paint a portrait. Videography is an art and you want to make sure you hire an artist.
The challenge is finding a video partner that offers high-quality videos at affordable prices. A video is part of your brand, just like your website, logo, and collateral, and a poorly produced video can make your brand look cheap and unprofessional. Make sure to take the time to find a solution that balances this dichotomy.
3. Effectively distributing the videos once they’re done
Once the videos are complete, it’s now time to use them to grow your business. But how and where do you share them? Unless you have hundreds of thousands of followers, simply posting it on your Facebook or YouTube page won’t garner much attention and certainly won’t lead to many sales. A lot of marketers will turn to Facebook to run a CPC or CPL campaign but won’t pay attention to the variables that can be optimized to increase the conversion rates. Others will love the video but will be too overwhelmed to share it at all.
We have a saying here: “host it, post it, link it, share it, pitch it, promote it, and advertise the holy heck out of it.” Knowing how to effectively distribute your videos can be challenging to most marketers, but the key is to test and optimize the variety of channels that are available.
Salma Jafri - Video Content Strategist | YouTube Certified | Marketing Speaker & Trainer | Channel Partner at Entrepreneur.com
Brands are supremely challenged around putting together a video content strategy and this challenge still has them stumped often going into 2018.
Part of the reason why a content strategy is both challenging and vital is because you can't measure results without a strategy. But you can't create a strategy without very clear goals.
So knowing what your goals are with video is the first key step. Once you've determined what you're looking for - be it brand awareness, shares, engagement, audience retention, etc - then you craft what I call a #VideoFirst strategy for your brand.
Ryan Koral – Cofounder at Studio Sherpas
...waiting to perfect your message before you share it.
I honestly think this will always be one of the biggest challenges to creating something, anything, it's the fear of it not being your best, fear of being rejected, or, at least, fear of whatever it is that you're intending to make not achieving the outcome that you're hoping for.
We need to get over ourselves. If we're creating "stuff" based on our experience and/or expertise, it's good enough for our tribe. Of course, we're always trying to improve, tweak, become more of who we want to be and represent – but where we are at right now is just what the world needs us to create. #create #beauthentic
Kelsey Brannan – Founder and Creative Director at Premiere Gal
I think the biggest video creation challenge for brands this year is going to be how to make a single video concept/idea actually work across all social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram Feed vs Instagram Stories, Facebook Video, Snapchat, YouTube).
People want to see and engage with more authentic (less sales-y) stories. For example, if I'm on Instagram (which is becoming the top social media platform) and I'm watching stories and I come across a video that has too much text or looks too much like an AD, I immediately swipe away. So the key here for organizations and brands it to think about how they can sell an idea in video that interacts with the viewer in a fun, authentic and relatable way.
There is, of course, a second challenge: the ever-changing technical nature of videos on social. Organizations must remember and be flexible to the variety of video aspect ratios and video duration restrictions that social media video demands and be keen on following up on analytics to see how these technical aspects affect viewership.
Instagram Stories are only allowed to be 15-seconds long and cropped in a 9:16 (1080 W X 1920 H) vertical format, so businesses must think about whether they will craft 15-second stories that build on each-other to reflect a cinematic or documentary view of the entire day (and make it clear to have a start & end point) or just post 0-15 seconds snippets of various content.
Equipment is also a factor, do you shoot a video with a DSLR or camcorder in a landscape (16:9) format and edit it down to be cropped in vertical method or do you get a Joby mobile rig or iOgrapher kit to shoot the videos entirely on an iPhone.
There is also a time challenge on Instagram, stories only have 24 hours to make an impact and then the stories are gone (unless you highlight it on the main profile).
I'm really looking forward to seeing what people come up with for Instagram Stories and I really hope to see more documentary stories that build on each other through the course of the day.
Happy video creating!
Colin Hogan – Managing Director at DemoDuck
People now understand that a one-and-done video strategy is no longer acceptable, so they're looking to ramp up their video output accordingly. However, instead of creating multiple videos they're slicing, dicing, and reusing one video across all of their distribution channels. Being mindful of who you're connecting with and how you're reaching them is just as, if not more, important than the content itself.
Look for scalable creative approaches and track the ROI so that you'll be able to justify large budgets later on.
Jeanne Smith – Owner and Head Animator of ProVid Animation
Follow her on LinkedIn
The biggest challenge that any business now faces in developing a sound video marketing strategy, is creating a targeted video within a set budget that will hold the viewer's attention as well as drive conversions.
Targeting starts with identifying the purpose of your video along with your target market. Ask yourself why you want to make a video – to educate, increase brand awareness, increase social engagement, produce more leads or introduce a new product. Then ask yourself who is your target market.
Without a doubt, budget can be the greatest hurdle in video creation. In order to create an engaging and entertaining marketing video, many companies are investing in cartoon styled animations to get their message out. The ability to express complex concepts visually with a medium that we all love to watch has ensured that many companies have been able to grab their customers attention and rebrand themselves in a fun and entertaining way.
Alister Robbie – Video Editor and Director at The Post Project
For me, the biggest challenge facing brands this year is getting cut-through on social platforms to reach their audience. Unfortunately, platforms like Facebook are actively working against brands organic engagement in order to drive additional advertising spend, so content teams need to innovate in order to maintain reach. Also, remembering to have fun with it is important.
Rollo Wenlock - Co-founder, CEO at Wipster
The number one challenge is being brave. Brands have got to jump into video with two feet and be comfortable with the fact that much of the video they make won't be successful for their business goals, but will be very helpful in helping them learn what they should be creating and publishing to succeed with in the future.