Content Marketing: The Why, The How and The Where

What in the world is content marketing exactly? What makes it different than traditional marketing? Well, “it’s a strategic approach that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience” (Content Marketing Institute). Think of it this way. It’s much less spammy than traditional ads and doesn’t really pitch your product or services. Instead, it presents your audience with content that helps them solve their issues through the use of videos, blogs, social media, infographics, etc. with the intention of stimulating interest. But why is this type of marketing more prevalent now than it was 20 years ago? Well, for one thing, the internet has changed the market drastically since the 90’s, but another reason is that people cannot stand pop up advertising anymore on the web. Today, over 200 million people have installed pop-up blockers that, in turn, reduces the number of eyes on paid advertisements online, according to The Content Marketing Institute. Content marketing gets your brand out there without having to produce online pop-up ads. Here are some other key reasons why content marketing is on top today.

1.     Higher website traffic. Content marketing leaders get 7.8x’s more site traffic than non-leaders (Neil Patel)

2.     Increased Brand Recall. 56% of marketers believe that personalized content promotes higher engagement rates (IMB Digital Experience Survey) High-quality content that is relevant will increase the amount of time that consumers spend on their sites. Thusly, increasing engagement as well.

3.     Cost effective! Content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing and generates 3x’s as many leads (Demand Metric)

4.     Higher conversion rates. It’s nearly 6x’s higher than traditional marketing, according to Julia McCoy.

Now that it is obvious why content marketing has taken a seat in the front row, let’s talk about where your content marketing strategy fits into your business plan. Try to think of content marketing as something that sits alongside your other tactics, not separate from them. Therefore, there is no place that content marketing does not fit in. Some examples of what I mean are social media, inbound marketing, outbound marketing, pay-per-click, PR and even SEO.  All of these strategies should include high-quality content marketing that is relevant for your audience.

We’re sure you’re starting to understand why and where content marketing fits in, so let’s now talk about how to develop your content marketing strategy. According to The Content Marketing Institute there are 3 key questions to ask yourself before you begin.

1.     Who will be viewing the content?

2.     What benefits does the content give the viewers?

3.     What content experience can we consistently deliver?

Once you have the answers to these questions, it’s time to set your SMART goals and determine Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). For your goals, are you trying to increase brand awareness or boost engagement? There are so many goals to choose from so your brand will need to determine the main reason why you’re creating this content. This will also determine what KPI’s will be important to track based on the initial goals of the content. For example, if your goal is to increase engagement, then a good KPI would be looking at the engagement numbers for the campaign. Now that you’ve set your goals & KPI’s, it’s time to decide what type of content to create. What does your audience need from you and what problem are you trying to solve for them? After you have determined this, you must decide where you want your content to go: social media, print, etc. Most importantly, what is the budget for this content marketing campaign? This can alter what you create. For example, if your budget is smaller, then you may consider using a user generated content ad to save money while still getting a great connection with your audience. Once this has all been determined it is time create, distribute and track the analytics. Some things to look out for in a good campaign are:

1.     It receives a lot of engagement

2.     It provides worth within the framework of your field

3.     You haven’t lost your brand voice

With an effective content marketing campaign, you can increase your conversation rates through building lasting relationships with your customers. Providing value with something other than just your service or products will create a sense of trust with your audience and will engage them with your brand. Also, using this inbound way of marketing are much more effective as a more organic way to gain new customers. And let’s face it, natural is always better!

The Future of Video Content Creation

Social media has been growing and evolving over the past 15 years, so what’s in store for the future of content creation? We don’t have a crystal ball but we do have some ideas. This is what we predict for the future of video content.

1.     Tailored content. Video content will be tailored to fit each platform. For example, Instagram is big for reels right now, where TikTok is short form video. These trends will constantly change and will have to be adapted to on each.

2.     Livestream increase. This has been growing and we think it will only continue for content creation.

3.     Silent video content. Look at Khaby Lame. He’s made this trend blow up. However, it won’t be totally silent. Voice over is a new and growing trend so expect to see this over the silent video.

4.     Vlogs. This is just a glorified way of saying story telling. This is a great way for brands to tell their story and connect with consumers.

5.     Individuals. Not everyone has to be an influencer to create great content and the more people do it, the better they get. We source many of our user generated content videos from people who would be considered the average joe. We truly believe that the future of video content creation will be for the individual users. Real people, doing real things, in their everyday lives.

6.     Short form video. We all know attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Content creation will follow suit. Short form video will take the lead.

Though, we can’t say whether or not our predictions will come true, we will be keeping up with trends as they come along. Video content has come so far and we’re excited to see where it continues to go.

Trending Video Marketing Investments

As we always say here at Locomotive, video content is King! It continues to be the top way to market to brand audiences. However, there are so many different styles of video marketing to consider now, so what types are brands investing in this year? Here is a quick list of our top three trending video marketing styles that brands are investing in.

1.     Short-form video. According to HubSpot, 58% of marketers use short form videos. Out of all video types this one provides the best ROI. Short form generally means anything under a few minutes. It should also be noted that the average engagement for short-form videos is around 50% (Wistia).

2.     Social media video. 93% of social media marketers say that it’s a vital component of their strategies and 85% of consumers say they want more videos on social from brands according to  Sprout Social. Give the people what they want and watch your return on investment increase.

3.     Long-form video. Long form video can be anywhere from 3-6 minutes long. One would think that longer videos see less engagement but that’s up for debate. YouTube is a great example of where longer form videos excel with a high ROI. Long form video creation has increased by 446% for videos between 30-60 minutes long and 228% for videos between 5-30 minutes long (Wistia).

Video marketing will always be the top way to achieve and retaining a successful marketing strategy for your brand. If your brand isn’t already investing in the power of these video marketing tools listed above, get on it quick. Staying up to date with current trends will keep you at the top of your game! And remember, User-Generated Content reigns.

Ways to Engage Consumers for Advertisements

Whether on a streaming service, online or when watching a video, at some point we’ve all been just waiting for the “skip ad” button to pop up so we can click on it to get to what we’re there for. It occurred to me that I do this almost 100% of the time and I’m not alone. A study done by IPG showed that 65% of people skip video ads as soon as they get the chance. Some even stated that it is purely habit at this point. So, how do advertisers get people engaged to view their advertisements? What makes someone stop what they are doing and watch the ad or forget that the skip button is even there? We decided to do some research to find out the best ways to engage an audience with campaigns and this is what we found.

1.     Know where to advertise. This is number one in our opinion. Putting ads that are similar to content being viewed will most likely pique the interest of a consumer. For example, if someone is reading a running blog an ad for Brooks running shoes would be placed on the site. Programmatic advertising can assist brands with this and increase efficiency. Knowing where your target audience is most engaged is key.

2.     Get straight to the point and keep it short. You’ve got 8 seconds to hook, line and sink er’. That’s the average attention span of Gen Z and it’s still only 12 for Millennials. As we keep saying, attention spans are getting shorter, so don’t lose your audience by creating a 3-minute advertisement.

3.     Throw in something different. Attract immediate attention with something funny, odd or by pointing something important out. You may ask a thought-provoking question or show a compelling image. We know that always gets us to stop and watch. We always appreciate a creative campaign that stands out. Take the recent Liquid Death ad for example.

4.     Tell a story or share a personal experience. Telling a story can be done very well through the use of user generated content in your spots. It will help your audience connect with your brand. Look at our past campaign for Oreo “Stay Playful.” It asks their audience to stay playful and uses shots of UGC of regular people shooting basketballs during March Madness to connect with them.

5.     Be slightly mysterious. A study found that brands who introduced themselves too early look pushy and it will not go over well with your audience. Try to throw it in after the hook in order to help keep them watching until the end.

6.     Don’t be overly positive. This one is odd we know, but it has been shown that people tend to get annoyed when they see an ad that’s seemingly too happy. Although that may seem weird, when someone may not be in a great mood themselves, the last thing that they want to see is overly artificial happiness. Honestly, we’d be bothered by it.

7.     Put the brand logo next to the skip button. This is a little trick. Since people tend to skip video ads, this is to help ensure that they will still remember your brand name after they skip your ad. Although, it’s been disputed that it may not have a high impact, it can’t hurt right?!

There are many types of video ads to promote your product or service such as outstream, instream and social media video. Whatever advertising avenue you choose make sure to get the most eyes on your videos.

Silent Video

“Silence is a source of great strength”

-Lao Tzu

Imagine that you’re in a quiet work environment. You get on your phone to look something up. As the page finishes loading, a loud blast of sounds starts coming through and you fumble to get your volume button pressed down to zero. We’ve all had this happen to us. It’s disruptive and it affects people negatively. Turns out that 66% of people hate it when ads automatically play with sound on according to an article by Teads. In response, advertisers are trying to mitigate this by producing ads that begin to play automatically without sound. Since outstreamed videos are going to become a thing of the future, advertisers should focus on silent plays with captions. According to Facebook, captioned video ads increased views by 12%. Ads should be able to convey an emotional message without the use of sound. This can be done with the use of motion graphics and text within the campaign. This new trend will be a way for advertisers to use their creative license to make videos impactful despite not having any sound.  We’re certain your team has the creative abilities to do this but here are some quick tips to get you started on ways to make your silent spots stand out and perform well.

1.     Use bold visuals and/or animations. This will help catch the viewers eye and keep them engaged. It’s also very visually striking to see good fonts and animations that blend well together within your brand’s signature look.

2.     Use Call to Action buttons. Make sure to insert in a way that it is natural flowing. You can even run tests before it launches to see where it receives the most clicks. CTA buttons are imperative to getting conversions. Using a download button seems to yield the best lead results (HubSpot).

3.     Subtitles. If your brand feels it won’t be able to get its point across 100% without sounds then subtitles can offer a lot of relief. Facebook now offers a feature where you can automatically add captions to videos.

4.     Write unconventional scripts. This is always a fun way to entice viewers to keep watching your campaigns. They’ll want to know what is about to happen next. I know I always appreciate a good creative ad that keeps me on my toes or just completely blows me away with how unconventional it is! A prime example would be the recent OutHorse Your Email Campaign for Visit Iceland.

5.     Share your offers/discounts early in the ad. Since attention spans are shorter and shorter each year, you want to get the most important message out first. Research suggests that you have about 10 seconds to hook, line, and sink em’!  

6.     Be short and concise. Again, for those in the back who didn’t hear. Attention spans continue to lessen so it’s important to make your campaigns shorter than 60 seconds. The ad must also grab the attention of the audience immediately in order to keep them engaged in watching.

7.     Don’t ditch the audio. Sometimes people do still listen to ads with sound on. Be able to convey your message without it but really drive the point home with the audio on. Make that emotional connection deeper with your audience.

In the words of the infamous Will Rogers, “Never miss a good chance to shut up!” This is definitely one of those times! A time for advertisers to harness the opportunity to creatively grow through the rise in popularity of silent ads is here. Let your campaigns say a lot through saying nothing at all! Happy creating!

Outstream Video Advertising

A new popular topic of discussion in the advertising world is out streamed video ads. This is expected to be a new trend in the following years as opposed to in stream video ads. So, what’s the difference? Well, let’s start with what an in-stream video ad is. These ads are inserted into a video that is already being played. In stream ads require a static video player and they can be viewed as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll. A.K.A. Before, middle, or after what the viewer is already watching.  These tend to be somewhat of an annoyance and are usually unrelated to the content being played. We’ve all been through the, “your video will play after this ad” situation on YouTube before. Now, let’s talk about what an outstream ad is. This type of video ad does not need a static video player. It exists solely in of itself. It is the video and the player all in one. It’s also called in-read due to the nature of how it’s triggered to play on websites (Giant Media). A viewer will reach the “trigger” point on a site and the video will begin to play. For example, at the end of a paragraph, the video will be inserted onto the page and begin to play when the reader reaches this point. The reader can then either watch the ad or keep scrolling to get back to what they were already looking at. These types of ads are maximized to be more relevant to the content that the viewer is looking at on a webpage. This ensures a higher success rate of views than instream because with in stream ads, they play on videos that tend to not have much in common with their product. Also, these video ads do not require video players and show up in non-video environments outside of YouTube (NuSpark Media). Another positive for these outstreamed ads is that the advertiser only pays for viewable cost-per-thousand impressions. Agencies only pay if 50% of the ad is viewed for 2 seconds or more of continuous video play according to Google Ads Help. 

            Alright, let’s recap what we’ve learned: 

Instream Video Ads: 

·      Require video player to be present 

·      Play before, during or after video content 

·      Usually, the user has to wait for ad to be viewed to see or continue to see what they were already there to watch…. Actually, when given the option, “37% of people say they will skip the ad as soon as possible and 20% say they will skip it in 5 seconds or less,” according to a study done by Hubspot.

·      Difficult to target the market audience they are looking for…. Unrelated to what the viewer is already watching.

Outstream Video Ads: 

·      Don’t require a pre-existing video. Can be inserted into basically any web page. 

·      Easier to target the right audience because the advertiser will know which sites their ads will go on. An ad for an unhealthy snack won’t be inserted into a webpage that has to do with fitness. You get the idea. 

·      Video will be triggered to begin when the reader reaches a certain point on the site

·      Will stop playing when scrolled past so the viewers have more freedom of choice. 

·      Advertisers only pay if the ad is actually viewed!

It seems obvious why outstreamed advertising is superior to instream at this point. You can target the correct audience more efficiently. You only pay if the advertisement actually viewed. Outstreamed ads don’t annoy the viewer nearly as much as instream and it gives the audience more freedom of choice. We expect to see less instream ads in the coming years and more outstream ads in the digital space.

Friday Fun Favorite: Sexual Violence

We’ve decided to switch it up a little from all the dialog and do a Friday theme that is fun! We will be featuring one favorite advertising spot that came out that week. This week we will begin with a great spot from Stand Agency for the Scotland Police Department on sexual violence against women.  We love this spot because of its powerful message it brings creating awareness around harassment and nonconsensual advances from men. This is type of solution that society needs. We applaud the Scotland Police for taking such a strong stance against this topic! These are the types of campaigns that should be aired everywhere worldwide to raise awareness on how to address certain issues. 

The Different Kinds of Marketing Videos

There are literally tons of types of marketing videos and categories within categories. In this blog we will touch on a few but wanted to preface with that. This isn’t intended to be an all-inclusive article and just merely a guideline to highlight some of the most useful types of marketing videos. Let’s start with “the spot” video. We’ve helped discover and curate hundreds of these. These are short 15-30 second commercials and are great because they can be used virtually anywhere. Between commercial breaks on streaming services, as ads on YouTube. You get the idea. These are also important because people tend to decide in under 30 seconds whether or not they will finish until the end and therefore, must be immediately engaging. User generated content ads are perfect for this type of video for your brand. Next, let’s talk about product marketing videos, which are the most common type. These focus on a brand’s product or service and explain the benefits. This is where brands can connect to market demand and tell a story that’s both conversational and professional (Chameleon). Typically, these are produced but can also be created using user generated content within them. Third, mini documentaries can be done on a brand that showcase a behind the scenes look at the company and its culture. These are generally much longer and treated more like a feature film style of video. Fourth, a behind the scenes style video bring the consumer into your process. This is where brand specialty and craftsmanship can be promoted. Lastly, educational or how-to videos are always a good way to engage consumer to the brand. All in all there are so many more types of marketing videos to engage brands and their target audiences and these are just the tip of the iceberg. Visit these websites to learn more about all the different ways to create engaging video content.

Hubspot | One Market Media | 99 Designs

Video Advertising

92% of B2B prospects consume online video (Whiteboard Animation). This isn’t surprising since the rise of social media platforms that push video formats in the recent decade. In today’s society, banner advertising is a dying art form and the rise of digital video content advertising is here. There are many reasons for video format being at the forefront of the advertising space and,  one of these being that little device that fits in your back pocket. 50% of users watch videos on their mobile devices making video streaming easier than ever (BRID.TV). Here is a list of some of the top reasons to use video advertising.  

1.     Attention spans are shorter and a video can get brand messages across in a shorter amount of time. Keeping the video between 15-30 seconds is recommended so you don’t lose the attention of the viewers. “73% of consumers decide in less than 30 seconds if they will watch to the end of the video.” (Social Sorted)

2.     Video gets the message across better than other formats. A picture is worth a thousand words all of which can be determined by the creative mind of the viewers. A video is better in conveying particular brand messages because it takes the guess work out of it for the viewers. Emotional impacts of videos are important. 

3.     Videos engage the brands target audience. Most people are more apt to buy a product if they are able to watch a video on it. Videos are easy to share and are suitable for different purposes. Stay tuned for our blog on the different types of marketing videos coming soon. 

4.     Videos help generate new leads. 93% of businesses reported getting new customer leads on social thanks to video according to Hosting Canada.

5.     Videos raise brand awareness and increase website traffic. Google favors videos on the search engine results page. 

It seems like creating campaigns in video format is the way to go in today’s day in age. Making sure that the beginning of the video has a “hook line and sinker’” cadence to catch consumers attention immediately is key to success. With attention spans that are shorter and shorter the video has to reel in the viewer in the beginning to be an effective marketing tool. Videos create an emotional connection with consumers and should be in the forefront of every businesses marketing strategy.