Web video advertising has become the fastest form of marketing, and it continues to grow. As an agency, it’s your job to craft content and market it in a way that proves you’re valuable to your clients. This is a daunting task when ROI is hard to measure or prove precisely. However, to make it easier, I’ve provided some guidelines for success.
Information and guidance are relative to your client and audience. If you’re representing the local pilates studio, you’ll do X; if your client is Coca-Cola, you’ll do Y. Do your research before you get excited and start setting up Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Timing and placement are everything. (Those two can be good ideas — down the line.)
Once you’ve identified your target, look to social media.
There’s an unofficial ranking system of social media worthiness to agencies. Obviously, having your own form of a network via known blogs (with tens of thousands of unique views per day) will help. A realistic second network can be established with followers or subscribers on a brand YouTube channel (or Vimeo, or both). Soon after that comes Facebook, with Twitter followers rounding out the list.
My rankings are based on how predisposed each audience is to click on a video, watch it all the way through and then be able to share it easily. If you have all of these in place, your video will be seen by more people, with a larger potential for it to be shared many times. However, be aware that correlation between views and ROI does not necessarily prove causation (i.e., profit).
Know the Guidelines to a Successful Advertising Campaign
To create a true cause-and-effect relationship with your web videos, think about these guidelines when creating web advertising:
1. Figure out who your client's audience is. Are his viewers global, national or local? A web advertisement can be anything from a behind-the-scenes video shot on the client’s flip cam to a testimonial interview captured in a studio. It's important to know what type of video to use and where to post it.
2. Keep the video short and sweet – the longer the video, the more time you’re asking from people. It's better to leave them wanting more.
3. One video just isn't enough anymore. Create a plan to release videos often and in a timely manner. Budget for this. If you take time to craft a video editorial calendar, you'll see more views as well as more fans willing to share your videos. Followers love consistency.
4. Track how a view becomes a purchase. This won't apply to all clients, but if your client sells anything online, pay attention. Find an ad buyer who focuses on buying web space and placing web ads (check out LanistaConcepts.com). This type of service does two things video advertising has never been able to do before: 1) they can target a certain demographic by age, sex, race, location and whether the viewer is on a mobile device or a computer, and 2) they can track who views the video, when they click through to your site and what they purchase. This service pretty much sells itself.
5. Find the right niche communities online to help promote your brands. Target the people who are most likely to share and appreciate your client’s work – their interactivity is your bread and butter.
The best advice I can give to agencies is to team up with an online ad placer/media buyer, and budget this service to all your clients. This is a sure-fire way to get your client’s video popping up in front of the right people in the right places.
