I could open by talking about how the popularity of online video has skyrocketed in recent years, but you can – quite literally – see for yourself. A brief browse of your own social feeds and you’ll see that they’re inundated with video content.
Cisco estimates that video will account for a whopping 80% of internet traffic by 2019, which pretty much answers the question, ‘Why should brands be embracing video?’ Aside from that, stats shared by Insivia show that including a video on a landing page can boost conversion rates by 80%, while using one in an email can increase click-through-rates by a mighty 200-300%.
Then, there’s the claim from a Vidyard report: businesses that embrace video are growing their revenue 49% faster year-on-year than those which aren’t.
Video is the future of content marketing and is captivating consumers like no other medium. It’s also incredibly versatile, allowing brands to educate, inform and entertain their target audience. If variety is the spice of life, consider video a vindaloo.
Harnessing the power of video can help you attract new audiences and give you a leg up over any competitors trailing behind. You don’t need to have Spielberg’s eye to win at video marketing and thankfully, there are plenty of tools out there that can give you a helping hand. But before we take a look at several of them, here are some ways you can use video:
- Behind the scenes – Give your audience backstage passes to your business; take a tour through the offices and meet members of the team. This type of video is great for boosting loyalty and trust in your brand.
- Testimonials – Raise your audience’s trust and faith in your product and/or services by having genuine customers talk about their experiences with your brand.
- Explainer video – Establish expertise by offering your audiences a useful tutorial on how to use one of your products.
- Brand story – Enlighten consumers with the story behind your business in a short, entertaining video.
- Product reveal – Build hype around a product or service you’re just about to launch.
Now, onto some of the tools that will help you to create engaging video content…
Wideo
Feel like a graphic designer in seconds with this simple-to-use tool for creating animated videos. You can start off with one of over 80 pre-designed templates, or just drag and drop the features you want to use into the video builder. Wideo is ideal for crafting product presentations and explainer videos.
RendrFX
RendrFX is a nifty tool enabling you to create motion graphics videos with ease. All you need to do is add your own content (logos, images, videos, content and graphics, for instance) to their incredibly smart-looking templates. If you’re short on your own content, you can always pick from their over half a million stock media assets.
Animoto
Tell your brand story with Animoto. Simply upload your content and make use of its plethora of features to make sure your video stands out from the rest. Record and add a voice-over; customise text, colour and font; and pick from over 2,000 commercially-licensed songs to give your clip extra pizazz.
iMovie
iMovie is available on Mac or as an app, with the former being more robust in terms of its offering. Upload your clips, add titles and take advantage of its endless effects and music options. iMovie for iOS and macOS are designed to work together, so you can start a project on your iPad or iPhone and finish on the Mac later on. It also supports 4k, so you can create videos that look ultra-professional.
Biteable
Hailed ‘the world’s simplest video maker,’ Biteable is another tool that allows you to make quality animated video in a matter of minutes. Use one of the templates or choose from the hundreds of styles of animated scenes, photos or live action videos. This is a great tool for producing all types of video, from slideshows and presentations, to logo animations and animated infographics.
There are tonnes of tools out there that can help you win at video; but if you don’t feel like you’ve got the time to use them, or if you think you’d benefit from expert know-how, get in touch with us today.