Videos have become a powerful tool in influencer marketing. If Youtube, Tik Tok or Instagram Reels have based their strategy on this type of content, it's not by chance. Videos attract attention, entertain and leave a lasting impression.
Who hasn't found themselves wandering around Instagram for more than half an hour when the initial video was only 5 min long?
In this article, I explain why videos are so effective in influencer marketing, how to integrate them into your strategy and what best practices to follow.
1. The Impact of Videos in Influence Marketing
Audience engagement and retention
Captivate and thrill your audience, arouse emotions, tell stories, influence perceptions... That's the goal of every good marketer, but it's also the goal of every video. According to Semrush ( 1 ), videos on social networks generate up to 1200% more shares than text and images combined. So, by using videos in your marketing strategy, you increase the reach of your ideas and products. You'll reach more people, and at the same time increase your chances of multiplying your sales.
Want an example? On social networks, we all follow different personalities. We share their daily lives, we feel we know them personally, we trust them. This makes it easier for a brand to use influencer marketing to sell its product. Influencers know their community, so they're more likely to extol the merits and benefits of the product than the brand itself. Because their audience trusts them, they're more likely to buy on their advice.
Improved brand awareness
Videos enable brands to energize their communications. By showing products in action, sharing customer testimonials or creating entertaining and educational content, videos boost brand awareness and facilitate consumer recognition. Associating a brand with high-quality video content strengthens its credibility and market positioning.
For example, the Nike brand has featured famous sportsmen and women in its advertising campaigns, using its mythical slogan "Just Do It". These videos tell inspiring stories around sporting values: perseverance, determination to achieve success. Through this content, Nike has inspired thousands of athletes. Storytelling has strengthened their brand image and positioned them as a benchmark in the sports world.
Influence on the Purchasing Process
Videos play a crucial role in the consumer buying process. According to a Google study, 68% of consumers say that videos help them make decisions. By showing product features and benefits, comparing different options, or presenting testimonials from satisfied customers, videos actively influence consumer behavior. Seeing the product in use and hearing testimonials reassures customers.
Do you remember the Blendtec brand that created Will It Blend ? The company's founder mixed unusual objects into their sturdy blenders. These videos not only demonstrated the power of Blendtec blenders, but also captivated audiences with fun, unexpected concepts.
By mixing iPhones with golf balls, Blendtec attracted millions of views on YouTube. This series of videos became iconic and considerably increased brand awareness, while proving the durability and effectiveness of their products.
Increased viewing time
As I said earlier, I think we've all lost our way on Youtube or Instagram. And that's their strength. The video only lasts 10 min, but after an hour, we're still here to watch content. Videos are a great way to hold our attention. Video platforms like YouTube favor content that holds viewers for longer, which can increase your brand's visibility. Depending on the topics and tastes of your target audience, YouTube suggests new videos and encourages viewers to watch other videos on your channel. In this way, you increase the overall time spent interacting with your brand.
A travel agency, for example, could create a series of documentary videos on the destinations it offers. Each video should be interesting enough to encourage viewers to watch subsequent videos. The longer the viewing time, the better the engagement.
2. Strategies for integrating videos into your Influence Marketing Strategy
Choice of Adapted Platforms
The choice of video platforms largely depends on your audience and your marketing objectives. Here are some of the most popular platforms for video influencer marketing:
- YouTube: ideal for long videos and detailed tutorials.
- TikTok: perfect for short, dynamic, often viral content.
- Instagram Reels: excellent for quick, engaging visual content.
- LinkedIn: suitable for professional and educational videos.
However, let's imagine you're a fitness brand. You could very well use these platforms in a complementary way. YouTube for posting detailed workout videos and nutrition guides, TikTok for quick workouts and fitness challenges, and LinkedIn for health and wellness webinars. The most important thing is to adapt your content to the platform.
Audience ratings for each Platform
It's important to understand the audience characteristics of each platform to choose the one that best suits your objectives. Whether you want to target entrepreneurs or teenagers, you won't use the same platforms. For example, TikTok attracts a younger audience, while LinkedIn is frequented by professionals. Adapting your content to the platform and its audience is key to improving the effectiveness of your campaign. Never forget to ask yourself where your audience is! Let's say you want to sell this office chair to entrepreneurs. If you focus solely on Tik Tok, you might not sell many of them...
Collaboration with Video Content Creators
To effectively integrate video into your influencer marketing strategy, collaborate with content creators who are aligned with your brand and have an engaged audience. Look for influencers who have demonstrated their ability to create quality video content. Your solution needs to resonate with its audience. This will make it easier for the influencer to generate interaction.
When selecting video content creators, consider their creative style, tone, aesthetic and storytelling ability. Authentic, creative content creators can transform your brand message into a captivating experience for their audience, reinforcing the impact of your campaign.
Creating Engaging Content
The key to success in influencer marketing lies in creating engaging, relevant content. Here are some popular and effective types of video content:
- Tutorials and demonstrations Show how to use your products or services in a practical way.
- Customer stories Share testimonials and success stories that highlight the benefits of your brand.
- Educational content Inform your audience about relevant topics in your field of activity.
- Entertaining content Create fun, entertaining content that attracts attention and encourages sharing.
For example, a software company can create educational videos on how to use its products, highlight customer testimonials, and create webinars to answer users' questions. By combining different types of content, the brand can engage various segments of its audience and meet their specific needs.
Planning and Calendar Editorial
To maximize the impact of your videos, it's crucial to plan and follow an editorial calendar. This will ensure regular publication and keep your audience engaged. You won't have the nasty surprise of wanting to publish an impromptu post at the last minute. Plan videos around important events, product launches and seasons to ensure consistency and relevance.
For example, you can use Metricool, which has a free version, or Later, which lets you visualize your feed ahead of posts on Instagram.
If you're looking for an all-in-one tool, we can also recommend Hootsuite or Buffer. Both are not free, but offer greater flexibility and possibilities.
3. Best Practices for Using Videos in Influence Marketing
Authenticity and transparency
Authenticity is essential in video influencer marketing. Consumers appreciate honest and transparent recommendations from the influencers they follow. Make sure video content creators clearly disclose their partnerships with your brand. It's difficult and time-consuming to build an engaged audience, and it would be a shame to ruin it all because of an error in transparency. Use tags such as #ad, #sponsored or #partner to indicate a sponsored collaboration.
Let's say a skincare brand collaborates with a beauty influencer for a tutorial on its skincare routine. The influencer should make it clear that certain products have been sponsored, while honestly sharing her experience. It's this transparency that builds audience trust and lends credibility to the collaboration.
Video SEO Optimization
As with text, it's important to optimize your videos for SEO. This increases their visibility on search and video platforms. Use relevant titles, descriptions and tags that include keywords used by your audience. Add transcripts to improve accessibility and facilitate indexing by search engines. All these little things that are important for texts are transposable to videos, so don't forget them!
Let's take the example of a travel agency. It would be possible, for example, to create videos on popular destinations and optimize each video with titles such as "Complete guide to [Destination]", detailed descriptions including relevant keywords and associated tags. By adding transcripts, these videos become more accessible and increase their chances of appearing in search results.
Performance Measurement and Analysis
Closely monitor the performance of your videos. Use analytics tools to track the number of views, engagement rates, shares and conversions generated by your video campaigns. Analyze this data to understand what's working well and what can be improved in your video influencer marketing strategy.
A fitness brand, for example, will learn from these analytics tools how to track the performance of its workout videos. If a specific video on abs training generates a higher-than-normal engagement rate, and there are many conversions, the brand will be able to adjust its content strategy and create more similar content.
Mobile-Friendly Video Content
By 2024, according to one study( 2 ), over 55% of searches worldwide will be carried out on cell phones.
Given this figure, it's crucial to ensure that your videos are optimized for mobile viewing. This includes using subtitles for silent videos, vertical formats for platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and fast loading times. If your videos aren't subtitled, or don't load fast enough, you're increasing your bounce rate. When you consider how much time it takes to create a video, it would be a shame to waste it all on details like these...
Creating an Emotional Connection
Videos have the power to create emotional connections. Use powerful storytelling, captivating visuals and appropriate music to stir emotions and anchor your message in the viewer's mind. Emotional connections strengthen brand loyalty and encourage content sharing. Because you give your audience an experience, they'll talk about you and come back for more.
Storytelling is key to the creation of any brand. GoPro, for example, has collaborated with extreme sports influencers. They created videos of surfing, snowboarding and skydiving. Each video showcases the unique capabilities of the GoPro camera in challenging conditions, while telling inspiring stories of courage and passion. These are stories that leave a lasting impression, making viewers want to find out more and test the product.
Using Live Video
Finally, live videos are a great way to create real-time engagement with your audience. Live streams allow for direct interaction, Q&A, product demonstrations and more. This makes the experience more interactive and personal, strengthening the connection with your audience. It gives a sense of proximity.
Felix Baumgartner's parachute jump from the stratosphere from the stratosphere, sponsored by Red Bull, is a perfect example of how a live video can captivate a global audience. This historic event generated millions of views and reinforced Red Bull's image as a bold and innovative brand. Don't hesitate to make live videos, you reinforce that connection and sense of closeness with your audience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, videos play a central role in influencer marketing today. By captivating audiences with dynamic visual content, brands build brand awareness, influence consumer buying behavior and create lasting emotional connections. By wisely integrating video into your influencer marketing strategy and following established best practices, you can maximize the impact of your campaigns and successfully achieve your marketing objectives.
However, if you don't want to take care of this part, don't hesitate to contact us. We'll work with you to identify your needs, and create a complete influencer strategy for you. We've already worked with Booking, Nokia, Décathlon... So why not you?
See you soon to perfect your influencer marketing strategy!
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