Videos are no longer meant for providing entertainment alone. They are now part of every marketer’s toolkit to advertise the brand. Several marketers are receiving 66 percent more qualified leads per year using an effective video marketing strategy. Moreover, 54 percent of consumers also expect their favorite brands to share video content to convince them to buy a product or service. 

If you are keen to increase conversions and engage with the audience, creating a video is mandatory. Confused about which formats will help you to cut through the noise and get noticed?  

Here are three video marketing tactics to use when brainstorming new marketing campaigns in 2021: 

1 – 360-degree videos

If YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook are your go-to platforms, give 360-degree videos a try. These videos are a perfect way to showcase how innovative your brand is. Several tech companies were early adopters of this trend. They witnessed a higher brand recall value and a seven percent purchase intent increase on smartphones. 12 percent of respondents also found that such ads had a unique storytelling approach than a traditional video ad.

The format is ideal for service providers who want to forge a deeper bond with the audience by making them feel a part of the advertisement. If you are a real estate firm, an ed-tech company, a streaming service, or even an airline, 360-degree videos can be a useful tool in your arsenal. 

Take inspiration from Nippon Airways, who created a 360-degree video to showcase the business class section. It transported the viewers inside the cabin for an immersive experience resulting in better engagement with the brand. 

2 – Shoppable videos 

Traditional Facebook ads and Instagram ads such as photo ads or carousel ads are not enough for customers to retain the messaging and complete the transaction. Most consumers retain only 10 percent when they interact with a text-heavy ad. In contrast, the retention is 95 percent when you use videos to relay the same message.

If you want the audience to connect directly to your products and increase chances of conversion, shoppable videos are unmissable in 2021. No need to wait endlessly for customers to travel through the sales funnel — use these videos to reduce the time by creating a purchasing desire straightaway.  

You can create these videos by adding relevant stickers to the story card. They allow your customers to complete the purchase without exiting the feed.  But you don’t have to be a pro at video editing and spend hours before the screen. Free online video editors like Clipchamp can help you create shoppable videos from scratch with the help of customizable templates.

3 –  Live Videos 

Looking to establish an in-the-moment connection with your audience? There’s no better way of doing it than live streaming.  

Live videos are a goldmine for marketers to explore in 2021 as all major social networks support live streaming. Going live can help you to humanize your brand and demonstrate empathy.  When you maintain steady eye contact with the audience, sense their energy, and tailor the content accordingly, you can engage the audience meaningfully and boost awareness. Due to the absence of a heavily edited script, the viewers also find it easier to establish a genuine connection with you.

Facebook and Instagram are also planning to make live streams shoppable, which will provide a real-time shopping experience to the audience. 

Final words

The bottom line is simple – videos are here to stay. We hope these small business tips help you to chalk out a successful strategy and outrank the competition.