The Figaro Digital Video Marketing Conference took place on 30 July at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden. Here we’ve collected together the best snippets of insight from our speakers at Brightcove, Media Bounty, StreamUK and Sport England.
Boosting Conversion Rates with Video Marketing
Willem Challenger – Video Marketing Consultant EMEA, Brightcove
“Don’t think of video in a silo.”
Did you know that pages with video are 53 per cent more likely to rank? Willem Challenger at Brightcove outlines some really simple ways to maximise the SEO benefits of your video content. Make sure your meta-descriptions and meta-data contain carefully thought out keywords that are in line with the rest of your SEO strategy. Include transcripts: these increase visibility and accessibility, soften language barriers, enhance the experience for users watching without sound, and give the search engines something tangible to latch on to.
Think about integrating video into your other marketing channels: “It’s vital to use all the different weapons you’ve got in your arsenal to maximise the reach of that content. Don’t think of video in a silo. Think about how it can be used to boost email, how it can work with landing pages, how you can integrate it with display, social, and even print and PR.”
The BFG or Fleshlumpeater?
Jake Dubbins – Managing Director, Media Bounty
“If you don’t have a story, you’re just another commodity.”
Fifty per cent of ad spent this year will be on digital, says Jake Dubbins at Media Bounty. With this reach comes a responsibility for brands to be authentic and responsible or, to take inspiration from Roald Dahl’s 1982 book, to be big friendly giants, not fleshlumpeaters. “Now we’re out of recession, people are increasingly buying with conscience rather than pocket.”
If you’re one of the good guys, then tell consumers your brand story. It’s thought that story telling is 22 times more memorable than providing facts alone, and offering up video content that displays the human face of your brand can really help engage your audience and build trust and respect. “If you don’t have a story, you’re just another commodity,” warns Jake.
It doesn’t have to be about the product, it just has to be authentic. Campaigns like Bodyform’s #LiveFearless or Luxardo’s b2b video project were about telling incredible stories, not pushing products.
Building Brand Allegiance with Video
Duncan Burbidge – CEO, StreamUK
As a demographic, sports fans are loyal, demanding, vocal and responsive to new ideas, says Duncan Burbidge at StreamUK. And as almost no sports fan converts without first following the brand on Twitter, pushing out video content on Twitter can be a highly effective way to convert followers into subscribers (and eventually customers).
First, get the technical quality of the video in place. Having a branded, high quality distribution platform is important as users aren’t going to wait around or come back if they’ve had a bad experience. Next, work out where video fits in your sales funnel. Think about adding a call-to-action to the video to bring users back to the site. Finally, measure and iterate—make sure you’ve worked out your KPIs in advance.
The Ten Commandments of Film
Kate Dale – Strategic Lead: Brand and Digital, Sport England
“Don’t bend your insight.”
Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has generated an impressive 34 million views since it first launched in October 2014, and now boasts a combined social community of over 469,000 supporters. The plucky campaign, which aims to inspire women of all shapes and sizes to overcome their anxieties and get exercising, got coverage in a very different array of publications to usual, including Cosmopolitan, Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, and Teen Vogue for example, as well as commendation from personalities like columnist Caitlin Moran, vlogger SprinkleOfGlitter and sports presenter Clare Balding. One hundred and eleven countries picked up the campaign, from the US and Australia to India and Russia.
Insight, understanding and empathy were key to engaging women. Sport England recognised that what it came down to was a fear of judgement, whether in terms of appearance, ability or priority. In order to tackle the issue with the sensitivity it warranted, getting the entire team on board was vital, as was retaining truth and authenticity throughout, from the insight to the casting. And getting the tone of voice right meant creating conversations that charmed rather than criticised.
So what can other brands learn from This Girl Can? When you’re planning to release exciting content, says Kate, prime your audience and expect to get noticed. Sport England released teaser films before the campaign launch, which generated extensive PR and anticipation in the lead-up. This meant that when any negative comments cropped up, Sport England already had a dedicated community of supporters to defend them. Use social listening to engage in conversations around the campaign, and allow this to build up organically. Giving your brand a human face is essential, and make sure you keep this up even after the campaign. Help your supporters get involved—Sport England launched a web app so that people could create their own versions of the This Girl Can video.
Round-up by Estelle Hakner