No one puts the marketing duo of Andrew and Pete in a corner when the topic turns to creative video. Their laid-back antics belie their experience and expertise.
In the social media realm, they are renown as YouTubers, podcasters and authors.
“We create content — videos mainly — to help small business owners and entrepreneurs market their companies online with content marketing,” they said.
Together with Ivana Taylor and Iva Ignjatovic, Andrew and Pete talked about video marketing ideas.
Ignjatovic is a marketing, strategy, leadership and business consultant. She works closely with Taylor, who owns DIYMarketers, a company “committed to helping small business owners get out of overwhelm.”
Compared to written content, video is easier to consume because it’s passive, which helps explain the rise of TV decades ago.
“It depends who is creating the blogs,” Andrew and Pete said. “Would you rather read a good blog than watch a bad video? It’s easier to skim a bad blog than a bad video, too. But we would take a good video over a good blog any day. Try reading that one fast.”
Taylor prefers text, acknowledging she might be in the minority.
“Everyone seems to love video,” she said. “That’s why it’s important to me to explore more video.”
Although Ignjatovic also prefers text – giving her the freedom to read and re-read in quiet – numbers state otherwise. According to OptinMonster, video marketers get 66 percent more qualified leads per year. They achieve a 54 percent increase in brand awareness.
Taylor hesitates from doing more video as a part of her marketing.
“It’s the content,” she said. “I never feel comfortable. I don’t feel like I have a firm point of view.”
Andrew and Pete have lots of views, yet don’t feel compelled to broadcast them all at once.
“It’s been suggested to us that we should do more than one video a week, but time is a factor,” they said. “We’d rather spend more time creating and promoting one great video a week rather than two or three half-decent ones.”
Rather than constantly churning out new content, they also capitalize on taking what’s old and making it young again.
“Try turning an old blog post into a video and embed it on the post to give it a refresh,” Andrew and Pete said. “Time is a big factor. Outsourcing our editing and surrounding tasks has helped us to do more.”
In “Creative Marketing Ideas for Boring Companies,” they explain “how to be creative and come up with remarkable content ideas that aren’t just daft and silly to get attention.”
Ignjatovic watches videos on YouTube a couple of times a week, while Taylor only watches when she needs to learn something — rarely for entertainment. As might be expected, Andrew and Pete watch regularly.
“Every week, if not every day,” they said. “Admittedly, some of those views consist of Ariana Grande’s new song.”
Even for them, technology is a challenge.
“It can be overwhelming, but a simple set up is often good enough to get going,” they said. “Even most recent phones have super good cameras nowadays.”
That can give an opening into the corporate world where 75 percent of executives say they watch branded videos related to their job at least once a week. The Vidyard video platform states that 65 percent of those leaders end up visiting the website of a brand after viewing.
“YouTube is a search engine,” Taylor said. “If your video content answers specific questions, you can really drive a lot of traffic to your site.”
Ignjatovic noted that YouTube is not just for live videos.
“You can also do audio and presentations,” she said. “Even if you don’t like being on video personally, you can use video for your marketing.”
While not seeming as permanent as print, Andrew and Pete said video has staying power.
“YouTube has the greatest return on your video efforts,” they said. “Content actually lasts on there. It’s not flash in the pan like other social networks. The search aspect of YouTube means your content can have a huuuuge life span.
“It’s also an amazing way to get your business personality and brand across,” the partners said. “It can give you a competitive edge over blogging from bigger companies, too.”
The DIY Marketers website takes this more in-depth with a blog, “4 Types of Video Content That Drive Traffic.”
“I love when people add humor to their videos,” Taylor said. “That definitely makes them more engaging.”
Andrew and Pete find rewards by honing their productions.
“Invest in editing — either learning how to do it better yourself or outsourcing it,” they said. “Retention rates are key on YouTube. A badly edited video will kill your rates.”
While everyone focuses on technology, Ignjatovic thinks “crafting good content with a solid outline and practical advice is best.”
Vimeo Livestream has found that 67 percent of viewers say overall quality is the most important component of a live video stream.
Size should not intimidate. Small businesses can establish brand recognition and authority with video content. Like social media in general, video success depends not on the size of the producer but in the way they connect to and address viewers’ pain points.
As Ignjatovic said, “Answer the most common questions that your customers have on video.”
Taylor added that the first step is to create a brand authority video that shares the brand’s story and the benefits it provides customers.
“Show up at a frequency you set,” Andrew and Pete said. “Don’t let your audience down. Aim to inform, entertain or inspire. Don’t forget to promote your videos outside of YouTube for extra brand awareness.”
Other DIY Marketers post details video marketing tips for small business.
While Taylor uses YouTube primarily as a video library, Andrew and Pete have an entire YouTube business strategy:
- Build our YouTube audience.
- Build our email list.
- Build credibility with our list by sending them back to YouTube.
- Sell our products and services via email.
Forbes has found that 90 percent of customers say video helps them make buying decisions. Plus, 64 percent of customers say that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy.
Meanwhile, YouTube is not the only game in town. Taylor said Wistia has “great analytics.” Ignjatovic pointed to Vimeo for product demos. Andrew and Pete gave their options:
- Facebook video: Because you can retarget to viewers.
- LinkedIn video: If your audience is on there already.
- Embedding video directly into your blogs with tools like Vimeo or Wistia.
“We still think YouTube is the best,” the duo said.
A DIY Marketers blog discusses the 30 Most Important Things to Know About Video Marketing.
Small businesses need the time, money and people to produce video and other content. They need to know how to work with a small budget.
“The biggest challenge for small businesses on YouTube is identifying what type of content to post,” Taylor said.
That includes having the time and resources to manage their YouTube channel, according to Ignjatovic.
There also is an emotional element, a painful period that Andrew and Pete call “utter cringe.”
“Everyone feels this,” they said. “You’ve got to plough through. You will get better.”
They added a video of them laughing at their old videos.
“I love videos heavy on helpful content that I can do myself and provide options for learning more,” Taylor said. Ignjatovic also sees people on YouTube asking for subscribers to their channel, which generates an engaged audience.
“Every video on YouTube shouldn’t have the aim of growing your list,” Andrew and Pete said. “Constantly sending people away will annoy YouTube’s algorithm.”
Saying sales videos “aren’t hot” on YouTube, the partners nevertheless offered “several great lead magnets that you can mention in relevant videos. They are everything you need to rock content marketing fast, without too much work.”
