Video Marketing Lessons Small Businesses Can Learn From Big Brands
Video marketing is one of the best tools that businesses have at their disposal today. For starters, a high-quality or clever video has the potential to go viral, which can get your brand in front of the eyes of millions of people in a single afternoon. Video also can be inexpensive and therefore cost effective, provided you know what you’re doing. If your company is ready to start making videos, learn these marketing lessons from the big brands that you can apply to your campaign:
Apple
Apple may be one of the most successful companies now, but it wasn’t always that way. Much of this company’s recent success can be attributed to the high-quality products it makes and to the unique video campaigns it conducts. Apple’s TV spots are brilliant in their simplicity — many of them feature simple music, stark white backgrounds and little more than the product on display. Apple isn’t attempting to distract the viewer with loud music or flashy graphics — instead, it lets the products speak for themselves.
Lay’s Potato Chips
Lay’s has been experimenting with hugely successful videos in the last several years. The company launched a video campaign called “Do Us a Flavor,” which urged people to visit a specific URL to submit ideas for new potato chip flavors. This campaign was successful because it leveraged the power of the Internet and social media to the company’s advantage. By inviting the audience to participate in the campaign, Lay’s was essentially putting the viewers on display.
While the chance to win $1 million dollars certainly didn’t hurt, Lay’s campaign was successful because it embraced emerging technology in a simple yet effective way by letting those who viewed its videos get in on the fun. It also went a long way towards showing customers that their opinions really did matter.
LifeLock
LifeLock is an example of a big brand that knows how to use successful video marketing for the good of its organization. LifeLock, which offers a full line of identity theft protection services, has won numerous Editor’s Choice awards with leading publications, such as PC Magazine, NetNanny and Geeky Reviews.
LifeLock’s video marketing campaigns have succeeded largely because they stick to a few tried-and-true rules. Each TV spot is packed with information, but still manages to only be around two minutes long. Each spot doesn’t try to cover too much, either. They all pick a single buyer persona and focus on the individual needs of that person. For example, one video focuses on the worries of the online shopper and a separate video focuses on someone who may be using public Wi-Fi in a cafe. This is a successful tactic because the company isn’t trying to tell the whole story in any one video, but rather is creating a series of videos that all work together to sell the same product.
When creating your own video campaign, remember these three examples. Making it simple, engaging your audience and keeping it short are easy ways to help your videos find success.
To your best success,
Stephen, Guest Blogger for the All Access Group
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Stephen earned his Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video Production at the University Of Toledo College Of Performing Arts in Toledo, Ohio. In addition, he also worked for a big box electronic retailer for three years specializing in high definition audio and video equipment as well as computers and software. He has created almost ten thousand pieces of SEO-driven content for various online clients on topics ranging from the entertainment industry, electronics, computer operating systems and general technology.
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