Making Sure Your Video Converts With or Without Sound
It’s undeniable that video is an increasingly important component of any successful marketing strategy. 86% of businesses use video marketing to convey their brand to their target audience, and the figures continue to rise as time passes.
But how can you make sure your video converts in the way you want it to?
Let’s shine a light on how to maximize your chances of video marketing success.
What Is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is a relatively simple concept to comprehend. Video marketing uses video content shared by a business to promote, educate, and drive brand awareness.
However, just because the concept is easy to understand, putting it into practice can become more complex.
One thing is clear, though, video marketing is both the present and the future.
With 91% of marketers agreeing that video is more important for brands after the pandemic in 2020, it has simply sped up the inevitable.
Statistics that show a growing market for video content have been proven over the course of many years. The pandemic only accelerated the direction it was heading in.
So, why is there such an emphasis on video marketing? What will it offer your brand?
The Benefits of Video Marketing
There’s a reason why most marketers are spending between $100 and $1000 per video. The return on investment for video marketing is, as a rule, overwhelmingly positive.
89% of video marketers say that video content gives them a good ROI, with 83% saying it increases lead generation, alongside 80% saying it directly increased the number of sales. The statistics prove the worth of this digital marketing method.
Alongside others, the key benefits of video marketing are:
- Video marketing grows revenue – video users see an increase in their revenue by up to 49%.
- Videos help to grow trust and influence buying activity
- Shooting and providing video gives your audience what they want.
- You can use video marketing to rank higher on the search engine results page.
- And therefore gain more consistent and higher levels of traffic.
- Video marketing allows your brand to reach more people and wide-spread your reputation.
Why You Should Be Optimizing Your Video For Silent Viewing
Now that it’s clear why you should be investing in video marketing for your brand, you must understand the concept of silent video.
It may sound strange to gear your video up for silent viewing. One of the factors that make video more appealing than images is the sense of sound, right?
Right. And wrong.
Let’s first take a look at one of the leading social media platforms: Facebook.
Facebook has a rough 2.85 billion active monthly users. Of those users, 500 million of them watch 100 million hours of video content on the platform every single day.
The default setting for videos on Facebook is to play on mute.
Therefore, the viewer must tap or click on the video to play with sound.
Why did Facebook introduce a silent video method? Because Facebook is focused on user experience.
Many viewers prefer to watch videos without the sound on. This could be for a range of reasons, including (but not limited to) being in a public space, being hard of hearing, or just personal preference.
This will impact the way you create marketing videos because if you’re not optimizing your video for silent viewing, there’s a solid chance it will not convert as well as if you do.
Tips To Make Sure Your Video Converts (With Or Without Sound)
With that in mind, here are our top tips to make sure your video content works for your brand.
- Determine The Reason You’re Using Video Content
It’s not good enough to simply state ‘because everyone else is doing it.’ You can bet that a substantial proportion of ‘everyone else’ has defined goals that they are meeting with the inclusion of their video marketing strategy.
First, you need an overall goal. What are you trying to do with your videos? What’s the point in them? And how will you measure success? What KPIs (key performance indicators) will you use to collect the data?
- Use This Reason To Decide On Your Distribution Platforms
Each and every platform offers different possibilities. Picking your distribution channels at random is like shooting in the dark.
Revisit the reason you’re including video marketing in your content strategy. Now, take a look at your options to understand which distribution channel will help you meet your goal.
For example, if your main goal is to spread brand awareness, using YouTube to publish your videos may be favorable. However, if you’re hoping to drive more traffic to your website, posting your videos on your blog (i.e., making it a vlog) would be sensible.
(Make sure, if you plan on distributing your video content to your own website, that you optimize your videos for SEO).
- Post Videos That Your Target Audience Want
As with any content, unless it’s in demand, it’s futile. You must know your target audience well and have hard data to determine your content topics. Focus on the types of videos you are publishing. Are you trying to educate? Entertain? Inspire?
Every decision you make must be underpinned with evidence as to why it’ll work with your viewers.
Do your market research before you start filming. There’s no point in creating videos that your demographic doesn’t need. They simply won’t watch them.
- Keep It As Long As It Needs To Be And Not A Second Over
There’s nothing worse than waffles in a video.
Make sure that you write a script first to ensure you’ll stick to your point. That point should revolve around the goal of the specific video.
After you’ve written your script, rehearse it, and then film it.
It should be no longer than it needs to be. If you’re hosting a webinar, your video content will be longer than if you were shooting a video for TikTok. That said, the rule still applies.
No longer than necessary.
- End Your Video With A Call To Action
Your viewers will not know what to do next unless you tell them. Therefore, it’s vital that you end your videos with a solid call to action.
Always back up these call-to-actions with a benefit. Remember, the viewer will only take action if they feel there’s something in it for them.
- Provide A Transcript
Transcripts are a great addition to your videos because they show your audience that you’re catering to viewers who prefer to watch on mute.
With the vast majority of video software, you’ll have an automatic transcript button. You can also reach out to any of these video production companies to help you create your marketing video with a transcript.
This addition can make a world of difference.
Remember, though, technology can make mistakes, too. So it’s best to give your transcript a quick read-over to make sure you don’t need to edit any of it.
- Include Closed Captions
Closed captions are widely used in the video marketing world. They’re identical to subtitles when watching television or a movie.
While a transcript is usually separate from the clip, closed captions are on your video, following the words you’re speaking as you speak them.
This is helpful for those who are hard of hearing or prefer to watch videos on silent. Your message won’t get lost, as it’s in front of them in writing.
- If There’s No Sound In Your Clip, Add Background Music
You should be optimizing your video for silent viewing. However, if a viewer prefers to watch a video clip with sound, and your video doesn’t have any, they may swipe to the next.
Not to mention, the viewer may believe you uploaded a faulty video, leading to a poor brand reputation.
The best way to avoid this is to simply add some background music.
Ensure the music flatters your message and isn’t too loud.
- Focus On Your Thumbnail Image
This will help you optimize your video for SEO, too.
When a person types something into a search engine, they are met with the search engine results page.
There are only a few videos that are displayed here. If you’ve optimized it and do appear at the top of the SERPs, it’s important that your thumbnail image is strong, engaging, and clickable.
This also applies to all distribution platforms. It needs to be enticing and relatable to your target audience. Consider the text you’re using, as the copy on your thumbnail image acts as your headline.
Focus, too, on your main image. After all, it represents your brand, so it’s essential to consider the design of your thumbnail before you hit ‘publish.’
Video Marketing – Is It Really Worth It?
The road to successful video marketing can be tricky, with obstacles you’ll have to defeat.
With so many marketers going down the same route, creating a video that genuinely stands out and appeals to your audience is becoming trickier and trickier.
So, is it worth it?
It absolutely is.
Video marketing is swiftly becoming the primary type of content for business owners and marketers.
While other content formats are still useful, implementing video marketing into your content strategy is one of the wisest investments you could make.
