What To Avoid When Crafting Your Video Marketing Strategy

In 2015, there are several near certainties when it comes to online video: viewership will continue to rise, and marketers will continue to further develop engagement strategies. It is also expected that industries will continue to shorten the length of their videos while implementing SEO tactics and developing impactful story lines.

So, when it comes to optimising a brand’s video marketing strategy, there are a few hidden obstacles that need to be avoided.

Driving Customers Away From Your Site

With any outreach campaign, the goal is to create brand awareness, instill customer loyalty and drive traffic back to the company’s website. The use of video is a smart approach to achieve these goals and is on the rise: 76 per cent of marketers will include it in their strategies in 2015, as compared to 70 per cent in 2013. In the Middle East, digital marketing is seeing tremendous growth. A report by Econsultancy reveals that 58 per cent of MENA marketers have increased their digital marketing since 2012. Naturally, getting video content up and accessible to viewers is a no-brainer, but turning to free platforms such as YouTube to accomplish this creates its own set of problems. There is in fact a high cost to free.

While YouTube is an important channel that helps with your overall SEO strategy, it also encourages audiences to stay on YouTube, watching other videos that aren’t yours. Viewers are driven away from your site and your voice quickly weakens; instead of watching a video that immerses viewers into a complete brand experience, they are watching one of a billion YouTube videos that are branded just as that. Marketers need to develop a strategy that empowers them with control of their video experiences and provides an opportunity to engage with viewers in the most valuable way.

Underestimating the Mobile Device

If you’re not thinking about your brand experience on mobile, you’re missing a huge opportunity to reach consumers where they spend their time. Video consumption on desktop devices is up 30 per cent year over year, but video consumption on mobile devices is up 330 per cent year over year. According to Gartner, mobile devices are increasingly becoming the first go-to device for communications and content consumption. Additionally, Gartner predicts that by 2018, more than 50 per cent of global users will go to a tablet or smartphone first for all online activities.

In some Middle Eastern countries, mobile broadband penetration has now surpassed their Western counterparts. IDC reports that smartphone market share for countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Kuwait exceeds 75 per cent. Additionally, Google’s 2014 Our Mobile Planet Report states that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are two of the top five countries with the highest level of smartphone penetration.

It is essential that you cater to mobile devices if you want to creative a truly effective video marketing strategy. Investing in video is excellent, but if those videos don’t work across mobile devices, then your asset isn’t getting optimal reach and, consequentially, weakening its return. A truly effective marketing strategy does not just invest in video, but ensures that it works across several platforms as multi-device households increasingly become the norm. Only then can your video investment achieve optimal reach.

Delivering Content That Will Engage Your Audience

Although in its nascent stages, video marketing in the Middle East is already capturing the attention of businesses that want to incorporate it into their new and existing digital marketing strategies. Many focus on creating videos and uploading them on their website, and overlook the importance of the content they’re sharing.

You should think about the type of content that will engage your audience; create a storyline, integrate impactful calls to action, and ensure consistent and high-quality delivery. According to recent research, over a third of consumers (35 per cent) cited brand video content as more memorable if it is of high quality. Delivering a high-quality, relevant and engaging video experience will result in increased loyalty, higher brand engagement, more content sharing, and higher referral rates.

With more people watching video than ever before, content is their first exposure to a brand and it has the power to dictate whether or not they pursue further action. As the saying goes, there is never a second chance to make a first impression, so the experience needs to be memorable. This year, video marketers need to create deliberate strategies around video creation, distribution, and engagement in order to achieve optimal success. By providing easily accessible, engaging and high-quality video content, marketers stand to significantly grow their audiences and boost their bottom lines.