A wise prophet once said, “video killed the radio star.”

While we don’t condone murder, there is no denying that video has “killed” a lot of old marketing channels. Video is simply one of the most useful marketing tools around. Online, technology held video back for many years. But with increased capacity and speeds combined with all the ways we can access multimedia today, video is on something of a rampage.

Only this time the victim is text.

A cold shiver just ran through my keyboard but there’s no escaping the reality of video marketing today. Just take a look at some of these statistics:

• 4 times as many consumers prefer to watch a video about a product rather than read about it.
• 1 in 4 consumers view companies that don’t use video in a negative light.
• Even just mentioning “video” in an email subject line boosts click-through by 65% and open rates by 19%
• Video gives a 95% retention of information compared to 10% with text

So, Video Marketing Works But How Do We Use It To Make Money?

There are many ways to make money from video marketing. We’re going to group the different methods into two streams: direct and indirect.

4 Direct Methods of Making Money

For our purposes, direct means obvious. These methods are clear and easy to quantify.

Direct Sales

You have a video selling a product or service. There’s a cute bear, and an animated jar of honey and viewers love it. At the end of the video, they click a link to go to a landing or product page, and they make a purchase. This is as direct and straightforward as it gets, so let’s move on to…

Platform Advertising

Getting advertising money for views may be worth the effort if you’re creating content that is very shareable. All you have to do is upload your video to YouTube, turn on Adsense, link to an Adsense account and then add a detailed description (with a focus on keywords for SEO) to the video. You could earn anywhere from $0.30 to $4 per 1000 views, so you’d need it to go viral to really make a difference to your business bottom line. But every extra dollar counts.

In-Video Advertising

Remember when Gandalf pulled out a McDonald’s cheeseburger in Lord of the Rings? Films have been in the advertising game for decades. Consider product placement in your video, like a business (other than your own) in the background or the characters/host using a particular product. You could even offer free advertisement just to use a great product to improve your video and lower production costs.

Traffic

If a video gets someone to your site, even if they don’t buy the product, your business will profit. Google loves web traffic and the more visitors you have, the better you’ll rank. A better ranking means even more traffic and sales. If someone is on your site, then you have a chance to acquire a customer. Maybe they don’t buy the product your video highlighted, but they could buy something else instead. A sale is a sale.

4 Indirect Methods of Making Money

Branding

Awareness and a positive impression can manifest in sales down the line. A viewer may not want the specific product in your video, but another product could be more tempting. Maybe they don’t want the product NOW but when they re-engage with the brand in a month and remember the video – cha-ching!

Organic Traffic

Google loves videos. Websites with video tend to rank higher but make sure the video is hosted on your domain. Create metadata, use keywords, and add a video sitemap. These steps will help Google index your video, and then you can simply encourage a click by using great copy and a thumbnail that makes people want to click play.

Repurpose Content

If you’ve created a marketing video that clearly explains your product and service, take a step back and think of the times you had to explain your product in a pitch or presentation. Were you tongue-tied, throwing your arms around in a desperate attempt to visualize its benefits? Wouldn’t the video, which should be your most effective elevator pitch, have helped seal the deal? That was rhetorical. The answer is yes!

Generate Signups

An informative or entertaining video may not make a viewer want to spend their cash, but it might make them want to hear and see what other great content you have up your sleeve. When talking about the cost of acquisition, a mailing list is mana from heaven. Creating a mailer campaign to engage, nurture, and sell to that list is much cheaper than most other options.

Now You Just Need a Video

Those are your 8 ways of making money from your video marketing. Now you just need to define your marketing strategy. Is a viral play right for your brand? Do you want a slick television commercial? Is an animated explainer video or how-to right for your product?

Just make sure you’re choosing something so that your business isn’t video’s next victim.

 

From: Clipman