27 Ways to Use Video Marketing You Haven’t Thought Of Yet

The success of your video marketing doesn’t have to be directly tied to sales.

There. We said it. Now let us explain.

Video can be a very effective way to sell, but it’s so much more than that. And in order to help get your creative juices flowing, we’ve come up with a massive list of 27 different ways to take your video marketing efforts to new heights.

Some of them are ways to use videos and others are formats for video – but you get the point.

Without further ado…

Traffic Generation

Getting more traffic to your site is obviously important. Posting your videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc. will drive traffic to just about wherever you want. And whether you’re driving traffic through thought leadership on other blogs, launching press releases, or running paid ads, video content can help captivate your new audience.

Ranking Keywords

While generating traffic from views is nice, getting the sweet, sweet organic search traffic is even better. It takes an effort to rank videos in the SERPs, but can be easier depending on your topic. If boosting your search engine rank is a high priority for you, you can’t afford to ignore video marketing!

Lower Bounce Rate

Video marketing has been proven to lower the amount of visitors who leave a page prematurely. Make sure the video is related to what people are looking for when they come and they’re bound to stick around.

Retargeting

You may have seen the benefits of using retargeted ads on platforms like Facebook. You may also know the benefits of using video to help conversions. Send your retargeted traffic to a video-rich landing/squeeze page and you have a one-two punch.

Stop Unsubscribers

Tired of people leaving your email list? Of course, it may be time to step up your email strategy, but you should also try recording a short “before you go” message to prevent anyone on the fence – it’s a chance for subscribers to connect with you on a human level, and may keep them hanging on for the next email blast.

Testimonials

Getting people to write about how your brand helped them is awesome, but a video can be a great way to nudge some people over the line into becoming paying customers. As with the previous strategy, seeing a real-life person talking about your brand will help them feel more confident about you – even feel a connection with you. Especially handy when sent via email to a lead that seems timid.

FAQs

FAQ sections can be so large that they are hard to navigate or make searchable. Video answers are more entertaining and often easier to understand and use in solving a technical problem. This is especially true if you offer a SaaS product – video is an easy way for your customers to answer their most pressing user questions.

Process Walkthrough

We’re always amazed at how many companies are still offering live demos to their prospects. On the one hand, that touchpoint with a member of your team is meaningful for your potential customers. On the other? It’s not a scalable solution. Instead, a sleek, engaging demo video can get the right viewers excited, driving qualified leads to raise their hands – and that’s your sales team’s time to shine.

For brownie points you can send additional video content to their inbox with more rich information about your product or service before they have to ask (e.g. in an onboarding sequence).

Explainer Video

We aren’t ashamed to say that we love these little beauties. Explainer videos are proven to increase conversions, they promote clarity around a product or brand, and they’re just plain fun. They can be used for lead generation, sales, post sales, and just about any story you want told.

How To

Not to be confused with a walkthrough, a how-to video can be a great tool to teach customers the intricate nuances of your offerings. Think of it as a video-based instruction manual. For example, Adobe may offer a walkthrough showing the download process of their suite of products, but also an in depth how to use Photoshop to drop 20 lbs.

In The Wild (User Generated)

Video is becoming more and more popular. Your audience would love to shoot a short mobile video while using your product in their own environment, and might even be willing to share it with others via social. Be sure to reward the behavior.

Brand/Personal Storytelling

You have a story to tell – professionally and personally – and your staff has them too. Giving the world a more transparent view of your brand is becoming necessary in today’s marketplace.

Customer Storytelling

Don’t just talk about yourselves, though. Talk about the people you’ve helped. Highlight their broader story (not just a testimonial). Wrap it all in a documentary style tale that makes them the hero.

Behind The Scenes

People who love your brand want more. Give them a look at the real work you put into the things they use. Quick, off the cuff, all in one take – it doesn’t matter. Just give them a glimpse behind the curtain, and they’ll be that much more loyal.

Live Video

Live video is here to stay, and getting easier to do. With tools like Periscope, Blab, and Facebook Live, you should be talking to your leads and customers in the moment (when you can).

Viral

While you can’t be certain how a video will perform, you can try to think outside the box and create something unique like Dollar Shave Club or down right absurd like anything from Old Spice. While a viral video isn’t a silver bullet for your business, consumers have a tremendous amount of respect for brands who are willing to go out on a limb to create something awesome or hilarious.

Branded Content

Make something that is truly great for your target audience, but don’t include a heavy pitch. Put your name in the corner and watch people fall in love with you.

Expert Session

Experts about your product – and products that can be used with yours – are always desired by customers who use your stuff. Bonus: Do a live conversation with the expert and record it for a twofer.

Live Q & A

Get up on the (virtual) stage and answer the questions of leads or buyers.

Video White Paper

Technical info is necessary at times, but can be better ingested by some through video. Make sure to put a time stamp on all relevant subject changes to make it easier to reference.

Webinar

Webinars can be a sales machine, but they can also be an out of the box way to grow the relationship with your customers. Even more than a recorded video, a live video webinar can put you in front of potential customers in a very personal way.

Interactive Customer Support

If Jeff Bezos over at Amazon is right, video customer support is the future of service interaction. Depending on the complexity of your service calls, this may be an option.

Lead Nurturing

Moving your leads down the funnel is easier through video. Videos sent via email can vastly improve the click through rate.

Say Thanks

Live or prerecorded. To the masses, or even to individuals. Always be thankful to your customers, video or not.

Social Media

Pop a quick and fun video (possibly an explainer) on your social profile. Just having a picture will be lame soon.

Social media is this incredible two-way street when it comes to video – and content marketing in general. You can utilize a robust social-listening tool (our friends at DataRank have a great one) to gauge response to your content, identify influencers who may be able to spread your content further, then go back to the drawing board and create more content that better aligns with your community’s interests and desires – and do it all over again!

Give Back

Use any one of the aforementioned (or post mentioned) ideas to highlight a worthy cause. Be careful to actually focus on the cause instead of your brand’s involvement in it, or you may come off looking like a jerk.

Fun

Having fun could be the best reason to make videos. Show your team enjoying an activity or just being themselves. It can promote teamwork, and provides your audience with a candid look at your company culture.

Now Get Out There and Do Some Video Marketing!

You now have 27 ways to use video marketing that you might not have thought of before. The great thing about this is that you won’t always need to hire an agency or build an in-house production studio to do them – you’ll just need a halfway decent camera and a sense of imagination.

And you certainly don’t have to do every one of these to see serious results. We just want to highlight the growing importance of having a video marketing strategy as part of your overall marketing mix. Just pick one or two – and get to work!

Most of these examples also fit right into our talents here at Explainify, so if you would like some professional storytellers to create your next video, let us know