Video Marketing: Overcoming 3 common challenges

Why are you still not using video? 

By now you know that including video as part of your content marketing strategy increases customer engagement. There is no shortage of statistics like these that prove video is only going to become a more essential marketing channel, and even our own non-scientific review of bank social and content marketing revealed engagement rates over 10x higher on video posts vs. posts with just text and images alone.

But knowing the statistics – and watching competitors jumping on the trend and gaining traction – is still not enough motivation for many businesses to get moving. We hear a number of excuses from marketers explaining why they aren't including videos in their content marketing plans – anything from budget concerns, timing concerns, subject matter concerns, not knowing how to distribute once they're complete – to just not quite knowing where to start. While these may seem like valid excuses for not moving ahead – are they rooted in reality? We’ve gone ahead and debunked a few of the most common “challenges” we hear below:

1. I don’t have a large enough budget to add video to my plans

While we won’t argue that videos can be one of the higher-budget production items - especially when including all of the possible bells and whistles - there are a number of lower budget (but still high quality) options available to marketers. We all have high-end cameras in our possession every day - you might be surprised by how many videos you watch are simply shot with a smartphone! Combined with free video editing software, your phone provides you with image quality that could only be achieved by using expensive video equipment in the past.

Another option: ask customers to submit their own user-generated content. Many well-known brands (and not so well-known) have built successful campaigns around appealing to their customer base for input. Campaigns can range from sharing campaign-specific hashtags with customers to use on Instagram to asking them to submit videos through a company landing page (allowing you to control the message a bit more closely). You can check out ten examples of successful user-generated campaigns here - or for a live example, take a look at Harpoon's current "30 Years of Stories" campaign.

Not only will you keep costs down, you'll strengthen your relationships with your customers and build some excitement around your brand. 

2. I don’t have the time or resources to create meaningful videos

A common joke heard around our office is that “we are still looking for the client who has too much time and too many resources.” Let’s face it – it’s common in our world to be under the gun with deadlines and pressures, and it’s easy to fall back on the marketing techniques that have been successful in the past. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do!

The fact is that creating any meaningful marketing campaign – that works! - requires a certain level of time AND resources. Whether you are launching a multi-channel campaign that includes print, digital and video, or are planning a direct mail outreach to your target prospects, you need to pull together the right team that can work with you to accomplish your objectives. With a well thought-out strategy, realistic timeline and the help of the right partners, you can create videos in a few weeks - just as quickly as you can produce the printed collateral that falls more into your comfort zone.

3. My audience isn’t interested in watching videos/video isn't appropriate for my industry

Sure, videos may seem more natural and organic for certain industries, like travel and higher education. So maybe it feels like a bit of a leap for your less "fun" business to create videos that make a difference and move the needle.

But video in 2016 is not just viral content on YouTube and flashy intro videos on your homepage. Successful brands are now using video through all stages of the buyer and customer journey - starting from the top of the funnel and continuing through customer onboarding and continued relationship building. With a strong understanding of your target customer personas, you can create video content that appeals to their needs and preferences. The list below just scratches the surface of the content types you can create. There's certainly something in the list for everybody:

• Explainer (or how-to) videos
• Real customer experiences and stories
• Thought leader interviews
• New product launch announcements
• Case studies and success stories
• Live and on-demand webinars
• Video blogs
• Event Marketing

Looking for inspiration?

Across all industries and company sizes - from super regional banks to small businesses - marketers who harness the power of video are reaping the rewards of increased engagement levels with their audiences. But not only that, they're winning awards and improving their company search results! 

The American Bankers Association recently recognized the nation's best marketing videos in their inaugural ABA Bank Marketing Video Contest. Winning videos range from emotional brand building customer relationship stories to animated product announcements - and all prove that it's possible, even in a highly-regulated industry with marketers pulled in 1000 directions, to successfully include video in their content strategies. 

And if you need even more reasons to get started, check out these 17 Reasons Small Businesses Need Video from Vidyard. It's hard to argue with increasing your search ranking, boosting email click throughs and being included in the second largest search engine in the world! 

So now what's holding you back?