Inbound marketing draws people in, rather than being intrusive. Using video is one of the best ways to attract their attention. Once you’ve taken notice, video also provides an excellent way to nurture them as they proceed down the marketing funnel, helping you to close a sale and delight them once they become customers.
Inbound versus outbound marketing
Outbound marketing includes TV and radio ads, telemarketing, cold calling, banner and display ads, newspaper and magazine ads. The biggest criticisms of outbound marketing are that it’s expensive, and it isn’t targeted or responsive.
“Inbound marketing is a new marketing concept where marketers draw customers in with appealing content. Using a mix of content, such as blogs, infographics, and videos, promotes your brand in an organic way. If people are drawn in, there’s a good chance they are there because they need what you provide.”
This type of marketing is very indirect and hands-off. It nudges customers into and down the sales funnel without making any direct sales pitches. It’s based on the needs of consumers and is fluid and interactive.
Increase traffic to your website with inbound video marketing
Your goals to increase traffic with inbound marketing video should include creating high-quality video content that you optimize correctly. There are two ways in which people come to your website. They may arrive there through typing a query into a search engine or they may come via social media platforms.
Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
By using Video SEO, you increase the chances of your videos being found in video search. When a potential lead searches by using relevant keywords, you want your video to come up. There’s no use spending time and money strategizing, producing and editing your videos if they aren’t getting ranked.
Choose the right hosting platform
If you want to increase traffic, you should explore using a private video hosting platform. This offers a number of advantages, such as the fact that SEO metadata may be automatically inserted. This isn’t the case with all hosting options so you need to do your research before choosing one.
Your thumbnail must attract attention
Your video thumbnail is what people see when your video is indexed. Think of it as the cover of a book – it must be attractive, relevant and visually compelling.
Your title and meta-description count
Find keywords that people are using to search and use them in crafting an engaging title and description. Don’t stuff them with keywords but make them interesting and clickable.
Use a video transcript [CC]
A video transcript (automated closed-captions) makes your video accessible to a larger audience. The search bots can read it, making it more likely to be indexed. This is particularly applicable to long-form videos.
Make your video the focus of the page
People won’t go out of their way to search for a video on a page. The chances of it ranking drop unless it is the main focus of the page. Google also typically focuses on indexing one video per page. If you use more than one video per page, make sure your highest performing video is at the top.
Don’t only rely on SEO
SEO changes all the time and is hard to control. If you want to get more traffic to your video, you may have to invest in some paid video advertising.
Add compelling CTAs
If you don’t use a call-to-action (CTA) in your video, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. They can make the difference between whether a viewer finishes watching a video and bounces, or engages because of what they have viewed.
Your CTA is a well-designed little piece of content that comes in the form of a button, a sentence, a graphic, or any clickable area with a directive like “Click here” or “Learn more.” It tells your viewers what to do next. Creating an effective CTA is more than just placing a button that says “Click here.” Here are some factors to consider if you want to create a powerful CTA.
- Your CTA must be crafted to fit your prospect’s stage in the marketing funnel
- Your CTA should offer value to viewers
- Use strong, positive action words and keep sentences short
- It’s better to stick to one strong CTA
- Bright, bold colors help your CTA to stand out
Video hosting companies usually offer various CTA options, such as allowing you to insert a CTA anywhere in your video. You have control over the design, when it appears and whether or not it’s skippable so you can optimize it for the best conversion results.
Share your videos on social media
If your social media strategy is not synced with your inbound marketing strategy, it won’t have the impact you want.
Attract followers
Social media plays a huge role in the first stage or attraction stage of the marketing funnel. By producing great video content and posting it on social media, you have the perfect means to attract new leads.
Using hashtags and keywords makes it easier for new followers to find you. Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and Live Video are very popular. They offer a spur-of-the-moment type of authenticity that encourages trust.
Convert followers
Once a lead follows you on social media, you want to make sure they move further down your funnel by offering helpful information, such as infographics, case studies, and guides. Consumers love to read reviews. You can post them on your Facebook page or tweet them to boost engagement.
Close a sale
If you want to capture email addresses, offer prospects gated content where you share content such as a free eBook. Promote a special offer or a discount on social media to encourage action. Put a time constraint on the offer to make them act fast.
Delight customers
Social media can play a big role in keeping customers engaged and encouraging them to become ambassadors for your brand. Set up a group where you can answer questions, post special offers and keep the conversation about your brand alive.
A final word
Your videos must align with your overall marketing strategy to be most effective. If you fail to define your goals and strategize when using videos, it could be money down the drain. If you produce good quality videos, optimize them correctly, include compelling CTAs and use social media effectively, they offer the best way to attract more leads and convert them into customers.
