Monday 26 November 2018

What Type Of Video to Use for Marketing

There are so many types of video, so which ones should be used for video marketing and when should you use a video production company in Johannesburg to create your video?

While businesses and online marketers are constantly encouraged to make use of video to market themselves, and their businesses, there is often the distinction between professional video and those done on a cell phone as a selfie video. The argument is often between these two types. Many would argue that a video done by a video production company is better than the DIY type of video.Others would argue that because the selfie videos are free to create that they are in fact better. The truth is that both of them can be used to great effect. It is important, though, to know when to use each type.
The reason is that each form of marketing has a different target and a different intention.
If you were marketing your company as a professional operation, the selfie video is a bad idea. If however you wanted to build some hype or want to offer an up to date, latest news sort of marketing then the selfie video can work wonders.
Two woman taking a selfie video for marketing

The distinction often comes between business marketers and affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers often believe in only using the selfie videos because they are cheap or free so are more helpful. Business marketers often believe only high end corporate video will work. Actually there is a place for both in both scenarios. Some very successful affiliate marketers have realised that once they become successful they can no longer only do the selfie video because they need to show a level of successes to bring in a new audience and and new clientele. In the same way, business owners have realised that there are certain instances where a video production crew is either not available or not appropriate such as at an impromptu celebration or achievement. That is where a cell phone can be pulled out and used to capture the moment.

The distinction should not be between what is cheap vs what is not. It should always be about what type of video is appropriate. Both can be beneficial and both can be effective but only if used correctly.
While video production companies are not marketing companies, their experience with creating video for marketing can give you enormous insight into the right use of video at the right time.
A scene depicting a business meeting for video marketing online.


There are also different ways video can be done with video production companies such as social media clips versus a full production. Video can be embedded or used as a stand alone advert.A video post can work well as an update on the business activities or to announce specials. Each type of video has it's place. There is no one video type that works in all situations, so be sure to know the differences and how to make the best use of them.

It is also important to know where to use videos for marketing and which rules apply to which video  marketing platform. One question many would-be marketers ask is what technical specs apply to video marketing. There are different video codecs such as MP4, AVI and MOV. There are so many different types of video but the best for most marketers is to stick to the most common and most compatible format which is MP4 (H264)with a bit rate of between 4 and 7 Mb/s should work fine. If your video size needs to be limited then you could go below 4 Mb/s but the video quality would begin to degrade. Keep in mind that broadcast video can be as high as 150 Mb/s. So if you intend to advertise using broadcast video the cameras being used must start by recording at 150 Mb/s or above. For online HD video there is no minimum requirement but quality can begin to degrade below 7 Mb/s.

Most importantly the type of video being used should match the platform and the audience correctly. An advert is not an About Us video. It is not a documentary. It is not a bragging video. It is a message which answers a pain point or need of a customer combined with a strong call to action. The purpose of a marketing video is to get people to buy or at least contact your business in some way. If the video does not achieve this then it is not a marketing video. It might be a branding video but it will certainly not bring buyers.

So to the question "What type of video should I use to market my business", the answer is a targeted, effective, appropriate and of the correct size and quality video. This is why it helps to have professional assistance to create great marketing videos.



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