How Video Should Be Used For Brand Building In 2019
Jan 08, 2019
10 min read
Move over big chunks of content, users today prefer watching a snackable video instead for just about anything!
Why? Because watching a video is simply more engaging than reading blocks of content and there’s an ever increasing number of users preferring to consume video content over anything else on the web.
Users like Video so much that more than 85% of users would like to see brands produce more video content in the years to come. And brands are following suit.
More than 80% of brands actively use some or the other form of video as their marketing tool and have admitted to continue using it for the next year as the ROI they’re seeing from videos is much higher than what they initially expected.
And half of the remaining 20% of brands reportedly said that they plan to fire up their video marketing efforts pretty soon.
So, there’s still time to hop on the video bandwagon for your brand if you haven’t yet started with it.
But Why Videos?
Video is the future of content marketing and brand building, there’s no denying about that.
Depending on the way you use it, video can help your audience every step of their buyer journey and can generate a ton of awareness for the products or services you sell. Moreover, Videos help you connect with your audience in a way that plain blocks of content never can and helps spark emotion in your target audience.
And when your videos emotionally connect with your audience, it fosters trust and makes them stick to your brand.
But you’ll have to use videos strategically and carefully align it with the buyer journey of your customers to get the best results.
So, here are a few ways to powerfully use videos to market your brand, stand out from the noise and gain a lot of exposure in 2019 -
Share your brand’s story
Every brand has a story behind its inception. Every brand has a purpose to fulfill.What better way to showcase your unique brand story with an engaging video?
While blogs have been the go-to way for marketers to share compelling brand stories with their audience to make them trust their brand, video is quickly taking over.
Publishing brand stories is all about making a glorious first impression, getting in the good books of prospective customers and quickly building an emotional connection with them and video is a perfect match for it.
In your brand story video, try creating a video for your brand that clearly showcases what your business stands for, what customers can expect from your business and why your business is different from the rest to make an impact on your audience. Keep your product marketing to the bare minimum in your brand stories, rather focus on the values your products brings to the table.
Barbie does it perfectly with their powerful video campaign that clearly showcases what their brand sells… dreams, not dolls. It is an engaging video which powerfully connects and leaves an impact on viewers and puts their brand in the best light possible.
Showcase your products or services
Videos are a great way to boast about your own products and services and sell it to prospective customers. Other than that, videos can serve as great product explainers tools as well. More than 95% of people agree that they watched a product explainer video to get a better understanding of a product.
If you offer a complex product or a SaaS solution, showing a video that clearly tells users how to use it is always better and more engaging that throwing a full-fledged document at their face which elaborates the process for them.
For example, Spotify, in their initial years when they were the first of its kind, marketed themselves with the help of a great product explainer video which told users exactly how their product can help them in hearing music that they like, anytime. And the video was responsible for convincing and bringing in initial users for Spotify.
Which you can do too. You can take the help of a video-production company or use tools like PowToon that can do it for you.
When making product explainer videos, keep it short and precise and focus on highlighting the true value your product delivers so prospects can quickly get a jist of what your product has to offer
Other than that, to stand out from the competition, you can create boastful videos about your products or services that shows users exactly how your product is better than the rest to gain an edge and impress prospects right off the bat.
Blendtec is a perfect example of a brand that aced video marketing with their one-of-a-kind product videos. Blendtec sells blenders with a tagline of ‘World’s most advanced blenders’ and started a video marketing campaign to showcase the superiority of their blenders in 2006 which went viral instantly. The viral video marketing campaign included a video series of their blenders blending unblendable stuff like phones, cameras and more.
The viral campaign still runs to this day and drives valuable sales for their business on a daily basis.
Engage with customers by answering their questions
Want to showcase yourself as a brand that listens to their customers? Start creating videos where you address the exact questions your customers are asking you day-in and day-out. Creating a video that answers all the burning questions of your existing customers can help you in portraying your brand as the one who cares about their customers and strives to provide them with the best experience, which builds trust with your audience.
Moreover, by taking the questions head-on with your video and placing it in your Q/A page, you save yourself a lot of time answering the exact same question to a lot of other users.
You can make use of live video on major social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and go on a live Q/A session with your audience where they can ask you the questions they like and receive answers in real-time. Great for building a strong relationship with your audience.
Behind-the-scenes Videos
Talking about live-video, you can make use of live-video to give a live sneak-peek to your audience about what happens behind the curtains of your business.
Introduce your audience to the people who are responsible for running your brand, broadcast a company event or simply showcase your daily work routine, showing the human side of your brand can go a long way in making your audience trust you. On the plus side, live-videos are great for engaging with your audience as everything happens in real-time.
Showcase customer testimonials
Another great way to use videos to powerfully market your brand is by publishing customer testimonial videos on your website. When prospective customers see other people raving about your products and services, they automatically get inclined to make the final purchase, that’s the power of word-of-mouth.
Many brands are already making use of video testimonials to boost conversions for their business by placing them prominently on their website. You should do it too to help users at the end of their buyer journey make the final purchase decision.
Video is a great way to build brand awareness, engage users, provide a great customer experience and boost sales. Whether you are planning to use it soon or have been actively including it in your marketing efforts, keep the above-mentioned ways in mind before you start creating the next video for your business.
Essential Elements Of A Dental Marketing Plan
Getting the word out about your dental practice is now easier and cheaper than ever… thanks to the internet! For dental practices of today, spending a considerable amount of money on marketing no longer means spending half of their budget on TV adverts and praying they’d bring in more patients. It’s more about making your every buck count utilizing the power of the internet... We have already covered the active role your dental website plays in the grand-scheme of things when it comes to marketing your dental practice online. It’s basically the start and end point of all your marketing efforts. So, it’s vital to have a good looking website that can convince users that you’re really serious about your practice. Before we begin with discussing the vital elements of a dental marketing plan, let’s first look at some basic objectives that your marketing efforts must absolutely fulfill - Attract: Grabbing the attention of a potential patient is paramount when it comes to making your marketing efforts a success. Capture: Setting up a mechanism to collect information from users. Taking feedback, offering newsletter subscriptions, e-books & other resourceful information is a nice way to do it. Convert: By this point, your potential patients are ready to convert to a customer. Retain: According to a study, existing customers bring in 67% more business than new customers. While acquiring new patients is kind of the reason you are marketing your practice online in the first place, you must never lose sight of your old patients. With the objectives of a marketing plan set, you need to choose the mediums you will target to get the best out of your marketing efforts. And the mediums or elements or areas of executing a dental marketing plan I am going to tell you are not, in any way, specific to dental practices but are widely used all over the globe for other niche industries as well. Here we go - Content Marketing Pushing relevant, quality content to your patients (or potential patients) that helps them in solving real-world problems related to your industry should always be at the heart of all your varied marketing efforts, doesn’t matter the platform or medium. That’s the true essence of content marketing right there and not the self-promotional stuff from brands you see online. Starting a new blog is the right way and often times the first step to kickstart your content marketing journey. Say, for a dental blog, the topics you can capitalize upon could be about ways to maintain the right dental health, the latest treatments in town and other informational but relevant topics. If done right, a well maintained blog can generate a steady flow of traffic coming to your website from scratch and keep the momentum going for long. But don’t think your content marketing efforts are confined to just marketing your own blog, even the content on your web pages can serve you well if marketed in the right place and at the right time. And it doesn’t matter if you’re posting a on Social Media, if you’re playing with content, it’s already a part of your content marketing efforts. Search Engine Optimization I am pretty sure you must have used Google or some other search engine at some point to make your life easier. Infact, I don’t blame you, there are 32.8 million searches made on Google everyday and they are all made by people looking for some answers. Suppose, even if a small fraction of them are using Search Engine Optimization for best dental practices around them, you could be drowning in some serious traffic right now but in order for that to happen, you need to rank on Google. Making yourself visible on Google is no walk in the park. You’ll have to base all your website and blog content (see, I told you it’s all about content) around keywords and that takes a lot of time and research. If you are looking to give keyword research a go, our keyword research guide can give you a headstart. Yes, it’s a pain... but if done right, Google can drive massive traffic to your keyword optimized website. Social Media Marketing Can you name a place where all your potential dental patients hang out? It’s Social Media (or Facebook to be more precise). In recent years, the entire Social Media space has evolved as a marketing arsenal of its own. You can expand your outreach endeavours on Social Media and build a loyal following with the help of engaging and visual posts, provide exceptional & quick customer support, have a look at important marketing analytics and what not, all through a single platform... which I think is amazing! And it can turn out to be amazing for your brand exposure as well. You can choose to spend money on marketing on these platforms or stay organic, it’s completely on you. Yes, paying for marketing on Social Media has its own advantages but staying organic usually reaps enough exposure to get the ball rolling, after it, it’s up to you how creative (but relevant) you can get with your posts to make your fans stay. Patient Support Remember the part about retaining patients? Patient Support is all about that and more. You absolutely need to have a relationship manager for your dental practice who will be the sole point of contact for all your patients.Being present on all the various platforms (including your website) comes with responsibilities.By marking your presence and actively marketing on all your preferred platforms, you give your users a way to contact you as well. And Social Media has emerged as a preferred way for users to submit some feedback (good and bad) or get support. But they can give you a call as well or submit a query on your website or send you an email, so you need to be present for them when they need you wherever they are or you’ll lose them if their queries go unheard or unreplied. Most practitioners don’t pay much heed to this part of their marketing plan and loose patients through the back door. But sometimes, a good support system or a complete lack of it can make all the difference in the level of success of your marketing plan. Modern day marketing is not about doing one thing, you’ll have to do a lot of things and do them all simultaneously and in sync to keep the ball rolling. Only optimizing your website for SEO won’t work well unless you have keyword wrapped content on your website. Having Social Media profiles for your dental practice is great, but if you don’t have a website to channel them further through the sales funnel, you won’t see much conversions. Just adding content on your website won’t help you gain exposure if it fails to create value…. It’s all interconnected and you will have to optimize your practice for each of them to see the best results. ...
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The Digital Iceberg Model
Each and every business out there needs to have a strong digital presence. We are currently living in an era where the internet and technological evolutions are ruling the world. Instead of bringing customers to where you are, the current era demands the firm to reach out to the masses. And with 4.57 billion people using the internet, you just can’t ignore the digital platform which has become a world in itself. But if we make a paradigm shift from the offline world to the online platform, we realize the competition is neck-wrenching. With 1.7 billion websites on the internet, making your presence stand out of the crowd and appear on the top of the search results while providing an enhanced online experience can prove to be tough for you. This is why, instead of bearing the burden of making your firm shine on the digital platform, especially if you already have too much on your plate, partnering with Saffron Edge for making the most of the current digital marketing trends and optimizing your presence will be the best approach. Our company thrives on the latest tools and technologies along with the best digital professionals for strengthening the presence of our clients on the digital platform. Along with making sure that we are complying with what’s trending in the digital world and offering tailor-made solutions to every client, we also let our experts spend time coming up with new ways of improving the already established digital presence. And one such model that we have come up with for making the digital life of our clients easier is the digital iceberg model. The digital iceberg model Our digital iceberg model is one of the most successful models that proved to be successful for all of our clients who come to us in search of a transformation of their digital presence. In order to improve your digital presence, we function on three crucial parts that most digital marketers overlook- Digital loyalty Digital Popularity Digital confidence So, let’s take a look at these three important aspects of digital transformation to help you better understand the type of approach we use. Digital Loyalty It doesn’t matter how many new customers you drive in or how well you are working on converting prospects into customers, if you don’t have a sustainable digital marketing strategy that helps you in increasing the base of loyal customers, you will never be able to get palpable results from your efforts. Because of the increasing need for loyal customers, most of the firms have started using loyalty marketing programs that focus on making customers succumb to repeat purchases with you. We at Saffron Edge, use the digital loyalty approach in a precise manner so that customers will not only return back to your firm but they will also become your brand advocates. Source-Unsplash Marketing tactics used by Saffron Edge for improving digital loyalty Understanding the customers Instead of just throwing trending loyalty marketing techniques at our clients, we try to understand their customers first. From going through the pain points of the customers to understanding their challenges, we analyze the customer base of our clients in a detailed manner. Marketing the core value We also work on building an appropriate identity of the brand of our clients that aligns with the customer’s needs in the best possible way. In addition to this, we align the core values of our clients with larger causes to make the marketing efforts look more appealing. Craft a bold statement At Saffron Edge, we know the potential a brand holds in order to build an authentic image and we focus on cultivating this image. By keeping tabs on the customer value of our clients, we are always ready to craft bold statements and improve customer loyalty. Why digital loyalty? Customer acquisition is costly You will be surprised to know that the cost of customer acquisition is five times that of retaining a customer. You need to make the customer familiar with your brand, you need to let them know what your company actually does and push your wide array of products and services to them. Well, you can get rid of all the expense involved in acquiring a new customer, if you try to convince an existing customer as the customer will already be aware of each and every aspect of your company. It’s easy to sell products to existing customers Pushing a product to an existing customer is not only cheaper but it is easier as well. All your existing customers must have complete knowledge about your brand and its products and this is why when you push your products or services to an existing customer, it will require less effort and time. The probability of firms selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70% while the probability in the case of new customers is only 5 to 20%. Digital Popularity Making a brand successful on the online platform comes down to brand building. There might be many aspects of building a brand but at Saffron Edge, we make sure to use only tried and tested methods for increasing the digital popularity of our clients. Source-Unsplash Marketing trends used by Saffron edge for streamlining digital popularity Social media At Saffron Edge, we make sure that all our clients are regularly interacting with all their customers so that digital loyalty can be improved. In order to do so, we make sure that content is being published from our client’s social media accounts on a regular basis because this is one of the best ways to keep loyal customers engaged. We take advantage of some of the most popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and much more so that we can reach all the loyal customers of our clients present on different social media platforms. Newsletter By taking advantage of social media and data analysis approach, we build an impeccable email list for all our clients so that they can send regular newsletters to all their loyal customers and this is one of the most genuine ways to make your loyal customers feel engaged. We use various techniques to make loyal customers of your firm feel valued through newsletters. For example, we ask our clients to come up with discounts, offers, and coupons, especially for loyal customers and we send these offers through newsletters. Run contests Running contents on the digital platform might sound like a very common approach but at Saffron Edge, we know the value of running contests when the main goal is growing the popularity of the brand. We use tried and tested methods for running online contests for our clients that can attract hundreds or even thousands of eyeballs on the website of our clients. Digital confidence If you have a strong brand then it will not only convey competitiveness but it will also convey confidence and we call it digital confidence. You must have noticed that the purchasing pattern of the customer keeps on evolving and with the prices of products crumbling down, the strain on every business owner has increased by many folds. By providing great value to your customers and by keeping the prices low, your chances of success will surely increase. But in addition to this, we also work on building a brand for all our clients. This is why at Saffron Edge, we convey digital confidence by building a strong brand for all our clients by using the following approaches- Seamless user experience Positive marketing is all about making the customers feel better and you will never be able to do so with an irritating and time taking website UI. This is why we always focus on building a website for our clients that gives them a seamless user experience. We make our websites compatible with all the platforms and devices while equipping the website with all the tools like a search bar, social media links, and much more. Spreading positivity The power of happiness can’t be overlooked while focusing on brand value. We use a wide array of marketing techniques to make the customers of our clients feel inspired or make them happy. This makes the brand of our client inspirational to the customers and in turn, makes the customers buy products or services from that particular brand so that they can share the same feeling. Ensuring protection and trust We know that everyone is concerned about the safety of their data on the online platform and we use this concern as an opportunity for building brands. We consider each and every aspect of digital security while offering digital services to our clients and thus our clients are able to build a trustworthy relationship with their customers. We use a detailed approach while offering digital services to our clients and this is why we have been successful with our approach. Our digital iceberg model unravels all the things that go into the digital transformation of any business. By working on digital loyalty, digital popularity, and digital confidence, we are able to make our customers become the star of the digital platform in the most economical way possible. ...
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What are Semantic Keywords and Why Should You Use Them?
Using semantic keywords is one of the most powerful SEO strategies to improve your search engine rankings in 2024. Semantic keywords help make your content more relevant and valuable to users and establish your expertise on a subject by addressing a broader range of related search queries. This blog post will discover the importance of semantic keywords in SEO and how to integrate them into your content to improve authority and search visibility, leading to better engagement. What are semantic keywords? Semantic keywords are words and phrases conceptually related to your main target keyword or topic. Unlike traditional keywords that focus on exact matches, semantic keywords help create a web of related concepts that provide context and depth to your content. For example, if your primary target keyword is "digital marketing strategies," then its semantic keywords could be "online marketing tactics," "internet advertising techniques," or "social media campaign ideas." It's important to note that semantic keywords are not synonyms or variations of your primary keyword. Instead, they are terms that contribute to the overall topic and help you discuss the complete picture of the subject matter, emphasizing the role of semantic SEO. The difference between semantic keywords and traditional keywords To further clarify the concept, let's explore the key differences between semantic keywords and traditional keywords: Intent vs. Exact Match: Traditional keywords are centered around exact matches, whereas semantic keywords are designed to capture the user's intent and the context of their search. Breadth vs. Specificity: Semantic keywords cover a broader range of related concepts, whereas traditional keywords are often more specific and narrowly focused. Natural Language vs. Keyword Density: Semantic SEO encourages using natural language and varied terminology, moving away from the outdated practice of focusing on keyword density. Topic Modeling vs. Individual Terms: Semantic keywords contribute to overall topic modeling, helping search engines understand the depth and breadth of your content rather than just identifying individual terms. In conclusion, understanding the distinctions between semantic and traditional keywords is crucial for effective keyword research. Why did Google shift to semantic keywords? Google's shift towards semantic search and the importance of semantic keywords is driven by its goal to deliver users the most relevant and top-notch search results. This shift can be attributed to several factors, including: Improved Natural Language Processing With advancements in AI and ML, Google has enhanced its ability to understand the context and intent behind user queries. Rise of Voice Search With the increasing popularity of voice-activated devices, users are now searching more conversationally, requiring a deeper understanding of natural language. Focus on User Intent Google focuses on providing results that align with the user's intent rather than merely matching keywords, enhancing the overall search experience. Combating Keyword Stuffing The semantic approach helps prevent the manipulation of search results through excessive keyword usage, encouraging more natural and valuable content creation. Knowledge Graph Integration Google's Knowledge Graph connects related concepts and entities and relies heavily on semantic relationships to provide more relevant search results. The evolution of Google's algorithms To better understand this shift, let's briefly look at the evolution of Google's algorithms. These updates have contributed to Google's increasing emphasis on semantics and context in search: 2011 - Panda Update: Focused on content quality, penalizing thin or low-quality content. 2012 - Venice Update: Improved local search results, emphasizing the importance of location-based context. 2013 - Hummingbird Update: A significant update that improved Google's understanding of natural language and context. 2015 - RankBrain: Introduced machine learning to better interpret user queries and their intent. 2018 - BERT: Enhanced natural language processing capabilities enable a more nuanced understanding of search queries. 2021 - MUM (Multitask Unified Model): Further enhancements have improved Google's ability to understand complex queries and deliver comprehensive answers. Keywords are pivotal in understanding Google's algorithmic evolution towards semantic search. Utilize SEMrush and Ahrefs to find the best keywords. Why use semantic keywords in SEO? Integrating semantic keywords into your semantic SEO strategy offers numerous advantages: 1. Improved Search Engine Understanding By using a variety of related terms, you help search engines grasp the full scope and context of your content, potentially leading to better rankings for relevant queries. 2. User Experience Content that covers a topic thoroughly and touches on various related aspects tends to be more valuable and engaging for readers. 3. Increased Topical Authority Using semantic keywords to demonstrate a deep understanding of a subject can help establish your site as an authority in your niche. 4. Better Long-Tail Keyword Coverage Semantic keywords often naturally include long-tail variations, enabling you to capture a broader spectrum of search queries. 5. Reduced Risk of Over-Optimization Using various related terms instead of repeating the same keyword helps your content sound more natural and avoids potential penalties for keyword stuffing. 6. Alignment with Voice Search As voice searches tend to be more conversational, semantic keywords help you align your content with these natural language queries. 7. Improved Featured Snippet Opportunities Comprehensive content that addresses various aspects of a topic has a better chance of being selected for featured snippets. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call How to find semantic keywords? Discovering relevant semantic keywords is a crucial step in optimizing your content. Here are several effective methods to find semantic keywords: Use Google's "People Also Ask" Feature: This SERP feature provides questions related to your main topic, offering insights into semantic relationships and user intent. Explore Google's Related Searches: At the bottom of search results pages, Google displays related searches that can inspire semantic keyword ideas. Leverage SEO Tools: Platforms like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz offer keyword research tools to help identify semantically related terms. Analyze Competitor Content: Study the content of top-ranking pages for your target keywords to discover the semantic terms they're using. Utilize Google Trends: This tool can help you discover related topics and queries that are gaining popularity. Explore Wikipedia: The structure and content of Wikipedia pages often provide a wealth of semantically related terms and concepts. Conduct User Surveys: Engage with your target audience to understand their language and terms when discussing your topic. Analyze Social Media Conversations: Platforms like X and Reddit can provide insights into how people naturally discuss topics related to your content. Utilize Amazon's Search Suggestions: If your content is product-related, Amazon's search bar can offer valuable semantic keyword ideas. Use Natural Language Processing Tools: Tools like IBM Watson's Natural Language Understanding can analyze text to identify related concepts and entities. 8 steps to optimize your content with semantic keywords Now that you understand the significance of semantic keywords and how to find them, let's explore how to integrate them into your content effectively: Start with Thorough Research: Before writing, conduct proper research on your topic to identify key concepts, subtopics, and related terms. Create a Semantic Keyword Cluster: Organize your findings into a cluster of related terms and concepts you want to cover in your content. Develop a Detailed Outline: Use your semantic keyword cluster to create a detailed outline that covers various aspects of your topic. Write Naturally: Focus on creating valuable, informative content rather than forcing keywords. Many semantic terms will naturally find their way into well-written, comprehensive content. Use Semantic Keywords in Headers: Use related terms in your H2, H3, and H4 headers to provide structure and context to your content. Optimize Meta Elements: Include semantic keywords in your title tag, meta description, and URL where appropriate and natural. Create Internal Links: Use semantically relevant anchor text to connect to other pertinent pages on your site, thereby strengthening topical relationships. Regularly Update Your Content: As language and search trends evolve, periodically review and update your content with new semantic keywords to maintain relevance. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call Best practices for semantic keyword implementation To make sure you are maximizing your semantic keyword strategy, keep these best practices in mind: Prioritize User Experience: Always put your readers first. Use semantic keywords to enhance the value and readability of your content, not to game the system. Maintain Natural Language Flow: Avoid forcing semantic keywords that don't fit naturally. The goal is to sound human, not robotic. Use Variations and Synonyms: Don't be afraid to use different forms of words or synonyms to keep your content engaging and avoid repetition. Create Topic Clusters: Develop a network of interlinked content pieces that cover various aspects of a broader topic, reinforcing your semantic SEO efforts. Leverage Schema Markup: Structured data provides search engines with additional context about your content's topic and relationships. Monitor Performance: Regularly analyze your content's performance to identify which semantic approaches yield the best results. Conclusion Semantic keywords are about making your content rich and valuable by covering different parts of a topic well. This helps your website appear better in search results and makes readers happy because they get relevant information. It is not about stuffing your articles with lots of keywords but about naturally including various related terms. As search engines improve their understanding of how we talk, semantic SEO becomes even more important. If you want maximum search visibility, the importance of semantic keywords in SEO cannot be overlooked. At Saffron Edge, we elevate your content's ranking and improve its search visibility, making sure it remains relevant to your audience's needs for an extended duration. Contact us today to ensure your content ranks higher and truly resonates with your audience. ...
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