It wasn’t so long ago that advertising was a relatively simple industry, confined primarily to television sets, radio jingles, and newspapers, and requiring a more active type of attention from audience members.
How the world has changed. Today, innovation and technology have spawned an entirely new paradigm for marketing, introducing the world to the wonders of infotainment.
The sheer volume of marketing material online today has made one particular challenge more pertinent than others: how can marketers stand out from the crowd and get their message across effectively amid the hubbub of countless others?
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There’s no question about the fact that marketing, as an industry, is in a state of rapid evolution. Companies are creating video content in unimaginable ways, and their customers are consuming them in new ways, too. The era of scheduled television and its coveted commercial breaks is coming to a close. Streaming giants like YouTube are not only proving more popular, but are also considerably more effective as a marketing tool with a growing audience of over two billion users worldwide.
However, this is just the tip of a technological iceberg. The rise of live video streaming on social media and video platforms – VR and AR, 3D animations, and other visual effects – dominate video marketing right now, providing novel opportunities for brands seeking to skip past their competitors and enhance their reach to new levels.
More recently, we’ve seen how virtual reality provides branded escapism for increasingly captive audiences, allowing businesses to target consumers in ways that boosts ROI and engagement accordingly. In today’s market, video is king. It can grow your brand like never before.
The creation of entertaining and engaging videos can increase your marketing power. Just look at how many companies make use of YouTube (without question one of the most powerful secondary search engines online) to get an idea of the platform’s marketing power. Creating video commercials that include an element of infotainment is a sneaky way to ensure that reach goes even further.
YouTube trades on high levels of engagement. Brands have benefited immensely from opting for skippable ads as a way of increasing their ROI and heightening brand recognition. By creating content that grabs the user’s attention within those first five unskippable seconds, your brand awareness figures can definitely rise… even if the majority of your audience decides not to bother watching the full version of your infotainment video.
One thing remains consistent. Companies still need the attention and loyalty of their target audience (an audience spending more time online than ever before due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Knowing how to captivate them with something unique is a skillset that all marketing executives should pursue.
The other primary benefit of video content? It allows you to build a global community of potentially millions (maybe billions) of watchers and subscribers. Ads can be customized and tailored to target specific audience segments. This provides the freedom to create tribe identities among an audience, deepening the brand connection and increasing both loyalty and conversion rates.
Infotainment relies on one of the oldest marketing techniques in the book: storytelling. With a well-made infotainment video, you’ll be able to communicate your brand story effectively, drawing consumers in and providing relatable content that increases awareness of what you do best.
When planning infotainment video content, it’s important to consider how to maintain an exciting and memorable tone. After all, consumers are the ones in charge, and as with every aspect of marketing, you need to deliver what they want and how they want it in order to snag their full attention. Whether that means curating high quality how-to videos, impressing them with cutting edge visual effects, or brightening their mood for a few minutes with comedy, the specifics of your brand and goals dictate the type of story you wish to tell.
Today’s consumers don’t stick around long for second-best. That means you need professional video production (which is increasingly cheaper these days), packed full of useful content that makes a difference in their life. Content addressing consumer pain points is always a good idea, as is content that intrigues consumers and builds trust and loyalty.
Don’t forget to optimize all video content for search engines. If you compete in a crowded industry, tweaking content to entice search engines is a no-brainer and can be a game changer in getting more exposure and views. Also when adding text to video, keep in mind your brand look and feel and make sure to pair your caption with the right style and font.
At the heart of video marketing is user experience. Successful marketers never lose sight of this. In order to consistently improve this, you must keep innovating and exploring – content shouldn’t just be entertaining, though that is pretty important. It should be seamless and flawless in delivery too. Even an extra second of lag or load time is enough to put off viewers.
When it comes to making the most of your marketing campaigns, data is your best friend. Key decisions should be backed by consumer behavior analytics. That being said, it’s become imperative to remain aware of the present environment in regard to data security and privacy. Consumers are hyper aware of rising threat levels to their data and have responded accordingly.
The important point here is to take any and every opportunity to reassure visitors and viewers of the specific methods by which you collect data and what you do with it. Be up-front and straightforward about this or you may find that customers are less likely to engage with your content due to perceived risks.
Video marketing, especially infotainment content, has never been hotter. This approach promotes loyalty, increases brand awareness, and builds deeper and longer-lasting relationships with customer bases. By providing excellent content that offers real value, is highly accessible and furthers your brand story, you’ll be able to get the ROI and market share your company craves.