Video marketing is an integral part of any good marketing strategy. In 2020, 92% of marketers said they routinely used videos as part of their campaigns, and a further 88% said that the medium gave them an objectively positive ROI.
But not all video content is equal. What may have worked for a television advertisement 20 years ago will not resonate with today’s audience, who use social media for entertainment, education, and engagement.
As a marketer, it is vital that you understand these generational differences and can leverage the power of video content on social media platforms to boost your business brand image.
So, here are a few ways you can connect with younger generations through video marketing.
Understanding younger generations
Every generation has a particular form of marketing that resonates with them. This means that brands must keep up with relevant marketing trends, or else risk alienating a large chunk of their audience.
It’s hard to know how to market to younger generations — particularly as Gen Z is emerging with its own set of preferences. However, studies show that younger audiences have a preference for advertising which is authentic, fun, and shows that the business does good in the world.
This means that your video marketing should show real customers more often, and should highlight the charitable or socially conscious work that your business does in the wider world. Perhaps the best place to do this is through social media platforms.
Using social media
It’s almost a platitude to say that younger generations value social media content — but it’s true. Younger generations like Gen Z and Gen Y say that they use platforms like Snapchat and Instagram daily, and 6 in 10 reports checking these apps more than once a day.
But before you start reposting and tagging, you need to develop a carefully crafted social media content strategy. This content should suit the platform it’s posted to and must reflect your brand in the right way. Here’s a mini-guide to get you started:
Instagram is a content-rich platform that allows you to post images and videos alongside a caption that may contain hashtags and embedded outbound links. In many ways, this combination of content and links is a marketer’s dream. However, it can be hard to find inspiration when you’re scheduling your fourth post of the week.
To ensure your Instagram video content is good enough for people to pause their scroll, you must produce content that is of value. This can be tricky at first, but you can give yourself a helping hand by investing in the right tools like drones and lighting rigs and should search for inspiration online.
The best way to find inspiration is to search for any given market leader’s Instagram page, and use their posts to spark ideas that are relevant to your business and brand image. This will also help you become more aware of how your competitors are marketing themselves, so you can capitalise more on what makes your business unique.
For example, if you’re running a video campaign for a beauty and makeup business, you can follow in the footsteps of big brands like Chanel and Dior who regularly post five to 15 second long videos to their feed. Once you’ve understood how they are positioning themselves in the beauty and makeup industry, you can consider what makes your brand unique and can publish short snippets that quickly capture audience attention in the same way.
TikTok
Marketing through TikTok is a little more tricky than Instagram. TikTok videos can last up to three minutes and are shot directly on phones. The ease of using TikTok is extremely appealing, as users are already expecting videos that are less professional than content placed on Youtube or Instagram.
Perhaps the best way to advertise through TikTok is to sponsor influencers and host events. This means that you don’t have to master a tricky platform with a unique audience, and you’ll likely create more engagement through interesting events that can draw thousands of unique videos which boost your brand visibility.
YouTube
YouTube is something of a “bonus round” when it comes to advertising through social media. It is technically a social media platform, but it’s also the best platform for sharing long-form videos which allow users to get to know your brand.
Of course, you can always advertise through Youtube by creating a campaign that plays before, during, or after regular content — but why not use the platform to create more engaging content? Youtube says that audiences are four times more likely to use their platform to find out about brands and that consumers are twice as likely to purchase when they’ve viewed branded content.
Youtube also allows users to livestream and is arguably the best social media platform for a branded stream. Going live is daunting, but you can improve your virtual presence by ensuring that your background is distraction-free, and should make certain that your lighting is professional. When the stream starts, you can interact with your audience through the comments features, but should always have a clear agenda on hand if engagement falls short.
Regardless of which platform you choose to use, you must create video content that is tailored to younger generations and their preferences. You can do this by providing an offering that exhibits your company’s ethical commitments, sponsoring influencers who will give you hours of rich, engaging content that is relevant to your audience, and can use livestreaming to directly boost sales.
