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Video Is Now the Most Desirable Skill in Marketing

Authors: Jay Baer Jay Baer
Posted Under: Social Media
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Video Is Now the Most Desirable Skill in Marketing

I recently wrote that for many companies, video is the new blogging. That’s partially because, in many cases, video produces the best results among today’s multitude of content format options.

Case in point: A recent survey by our partners at Animoto found that 77 percent of professional marketers and small and medium business (SMB) owners that have used video marketing say it has had a direct impact on their business.

Plus, 60 percent of marketers and 55 percent of SMB owners are using video to stay relevant and believe it has become a “must-have” for marketers.

So, it’s no surprise that 42 percent of marketers and 32 percent of SMB owners listed “video marketing” as the skill they wished they or their teams were more adept at.

Video Marketing Is the Most Sought-After Skill

Video marketing is the top choice for marketers (among all content options), and second only to social media marketing among SMB owners.

Marketers and SMB owners view video marketing skills as more desirable for new marketing hires Click To Tweet

The Pressure to Create Video Is On

23 percent of marketers and 30 percent of SMB owners feel “behind” or “way behind” their competition in terms of their video marketing strategy.  Yet, in a world where one in four customers lose interest in companies that don’t use video, and nine out of 10 customers watch at least one online video per week (likely many more than that), now is not the time to shy away from video creation and promotion. It’s the time to embrace it.

In fact, this blog post is ALSO a video!

It can be daunting. You may think you need a ton of scripts, and storyboards, and equipment to do video right. And in some cases that is true. But what you may not realize is that for some types of video, it’s a lot easier to create them than you might think.

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In fact, you may have noticed that my Convince & Convert team has been using tools such as Animoto to flex our video marketing muscles. Our new email newsletter, which is rolling out shortly, will feature snappy videos about content, social media, and customer service stuff you should know on a weekly basis. (Sign up here to be notified: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/newsletter/)

Here are three ways that anyone (yes, including you or someone your team!) can quickly get started with video marketing using content you likely already have.

1. Teaser Videos

In the past, companies would create videos to wax poetic on a difficult topic, explain in-depth how to use their products, or make a statement about the industry today.

In present times, shorter videos, especially if they’re for some sort of marketing purpose, perform much better.

Use the ADD-like quality of most customers to your advantage. Create a quick 30- or 60-second teaser video to promote your bigger pieces of content such as webinars, live events, ebooks, or even blog posts. You can use the short format to pull out the very best pieces of information or data to encourage people to sign up and join you.

2. Editorial-Style Videos

I think a lot of people are intimidated by creating video because they think it has to be a certain way every time. They think they have to be a talking head, or they have to have a drone that flies over some magical city, capturing stunning footage that evokes a sense of wonder.

Not true.

You can make a video out of anything, including a combination of text and graphics.

Take this example: I wrote a blog post about a customer service complaint that was handled with a big fat hug, and my team used Animoto to create a video out of it, without me ever having to step foot in front of a camera.

Videos are a great supplement to the other forms of content you’re already creating, so don’t overlook their power just because you have a certain idea of what videos should look like. Let your creativity shine!

3. People Videos

These are the most fun, in my opinion, and really let people peel back the curtain (or the computer screen, as it were) and get a glimpse into your personality.

The other great thing about these types of videos is that people don’t expect the same quality when you’re going behind the scenes. You can pull out your iPhone, attach it to a tripod, and follow your factory worker around, or interview your CEO as she walks to lunch. The on-the-fly nature of these videos is what makes them exciting and captures audience attention.

We recently did a holiday video with my team at Convince & Convert, and it was so cool to see everyone’s space, kids, travel adventures, dogs, personalities, and lovely singing voices (ha). I even got to take my love for tequila to the next level!

Was this the best thing we ever created? Of course not. But did our audience get a better sense of who we are? Definitely. Will future clients feel a little closer to us personally so they can trust us? Possibly. And that’s the point. The more of these we do, the more we can connect authentically with potential clients, partners, event organizers, and speaking opportunities, which for us, is one of our main goals.

Business owners and marketers are saying that video skills are the most important thing to add to their team, but they still feel overwhelmed. It doesn’t have to be that way. Stop fretting, and start creating! 

p.s. We made another video about this very post, check it out!

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