Saying that the consumer has changed no longer means anything. It's almost like saying that the earth is round and rotates (laughs). But what hasn't fallen by the wayside is to talk about our beloved Inbound Marketing and the various strategies we can use to get closer and closer to this changing consumer.
Undoubtedly, in recent months (and we would venture to say even in recent years), one of the themes that has been the center of attention in the most diverse marketing strategies, especially when we talk about the digital scenario, is the use of content in audiovisual format.
Obviously, this is no secret, given the rise of social networks in recent years. Today, it's estimated that almost half of the world's population uses social media for around two hours (minimum) a day - that's around 4.62 billion users. Those are big numbers, aren't they?
Well, it's also well known that this large number of users receives countless (almost countless) stimuli every day. You may have heard someone say that "if you're not paying to be on the Internet, it means you're what's being sold".
In case you haven't understood, the logic is simple: if you're not paying to expose yourself on networks, using paid media and related products to sell something, you, as a simple user, are a database to be used for some purpose (LGPD to fight this movement).
The fact is that if you're reading this post, you're probably looking to understand more about how to get your potential customer's attention using audio + video content, so let's get to it!
But first, if you're coming here for the first time, here's some background on Inbound Marketing.
Here you'll find
What is Inbound Marketing and how to use it?
Better known as Attraction Marketing, Inbound is nothing more than a methodology developed with a focus on impact.
One of the main pillars of Inbound is content marketing. Within it, the aim is to produce relevant, targeted and strategic content focused on bringing the right audience to your business.
The aim is to get potential consumers to come to your company through active and constant attraction.
To do this, it is essential to know the audience you want to reach very well, as well as your customer's buying journey. This will allow you to be more assertive in your marketing actions and in the production of content itself.
Within Inbound Marketing there are a multitude of tools that can be used, but the main ones are related to content: social networks, blog posts, email marketing, videos and any type of platform that generates traffic to your company's website or page.
Within these tools/media, it is always very important to use keywords correctly in order to achieve the best results on search monitors (such as Google).
Although media focused on outbound marketing also has its advantages, one of the main factors that leads many companies to focus more on inbound strategies is that it increases brand visibility, directly reaching the right audience with less money invested.
For example, it's much cheaper to invest in content on social networks or blogs than it is to invest in actions at the point of sale. This is because when you take your team to the point of sale itself, your stimulus will be received by several people and not just your target audience. As a rule, this logic means that the return on your investment is much lower in Inbound.
By the way, before we move on to another topic, we must mention that your Inbound Marketing strategy can be improved by using CRMs with a focus on Marketing, such as Hubspot.
Using intelligent data management to your advantage is crucial to achieving good results in Inbound! So it's well worth learning more about Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Machine Learning and Chatbots in order to apply them to your company.
Okay, back to the point, what does all this have to do with audiovisual content? The answer is: everything!
The secret of marketing is to produce content where your audience is, and if they're consuming more videos, that's what you should do!
So let's get to know this universe a little more, shall we?
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Since 2017, the video market has been gaining more and more attention from consumers, and the pandemic scenario in 2020 has only brought about an even faster evolution for this type of content.
Stories, reels, lives, IGTV videos, YouTube videos, TikTok - there are many tools that use videos as part of their outreach strategy.
It is estimated that in Brazil in 2021, 86% of Brazilians consumed free video content, and the trend is for this number to increase.
And what benefits does this strategy have for your Inbound Marketing strategy?
Videos that speak directly to your audience tend to generate more engagement: comments, saves, shares, reactions.
Inaddition, well-structured content that really connects with the consumer at its core can bring good results when it comes to attraction.
They are available to be viewed as many times as necessary at the most convenient time, on the type of device your lead is using.
Anyone who thinks that videos need to involve a huge audiovisual production with countless transitions and cinematic effects is mistaken.
The digital media themselves have provided enough resources to produce interesting videos capable of capturing the consumer's attention. The biggest "job", so to speak, is to produce a script/content that is attractive enough.
If one of the pillars of inbound is content, then nothing could be further from the truth than producing engaging content, right? Video fulfills this role well.
Good video storytelling is capable of reaching a much larger number of people than written content (we've already proved this here at Mkt4edu by turning some of our blog content into videos).
This is because people don't always have time to spend 7 or 10 minutes reading a blog post or article, and audio and video content optimize this time. People can listen to your content while they're in traffic, in the shower, having breakfast or anywhere else that suits them.
When we talk about audiovisual content, we're not necessarily just talking about a video itself. We're talking about the digital market!
And if anyone asks me how the digital market works, I'll answer "with diversity of content, formats and strategies".
And obviously this extends to audiovisuals! Producing podcasts, audio blogs, audiobooks, vlogs, interviews, webinars, lives, tutorials, sales lives...
These are just some of the possible contents within this universe.
Now that you know that this type of content can really help your inbound strategy, how can you apply it to your business? Here are some tips to get you started!
Within Inbound Marketing, you already know that it is essential to know your audience, so this logic should also be applied to audiovisual content, such as knowing which audience you want to reach and understanding what type of content they want to see/hear.
Obtaining the profile and characteristics of those who will receive this content is very important so that the content is assertive, strategic and uses the language of the audience you want to reach. After all, there's no point in being 100% formal if your audience is made up of people who aren't so formal. Right?
Oh, another tip is to use the sales funnel to structure your content according to the stage of the funnel your customer is in. It's interesting to divide the content between each stage of the sales process so that you can constantly address all audiences.
Avoid making content without defining a script. Remember that attraction marketing works like bait, so you have to say what connects with your target audience.
Define the central theme of your video or podcast, break it down into sub-topics to make it clearer and then write down what will guide your speech when you record it.
This saves recording time and prevents your content from becoming too long-winded in the eyes of your potential consumer. Remember that your message needs to be clear! There's no need to take 5 minutes to explain something that can be explained in 1 minute.
Nowadays, home video production has become increasingly common (and that's fine). Big productions generate big expenses, and you don't necessarily need all that to begin with.
But you do need an organized, clean, visually unobstructed environment that allows you to record audio without interference. You can use a headset/microphone to help with this.
You should think about this: if I were surfing the internet and came across this video, what would I do? Would I go to the end? Would the noise get in the way?
These are very important points to consider!
If possible, edit your videos well. Remove auditory noises, try to add transitions screens and perhaps some elements.
As we've already mentioned here, you don't need cinematographic resources for this, just use applications to help you do the job. Nowadays, there are a multitude of resources you can use, even for free.
Be willing to go after these apps and editing materials, they can make a difference to your result!
Last but not least, be consistent! It's important that you have a calendar with the content you want to record in audio and video. There's no point in posting a video today and another in 60 days' time.
If possible, try to plan out the month in advance! That way, you can get ahead of your productions with more time to re-record, edit if necessary and do whatever it takes to deliver quality content to your audience.
Now that you know more about the need for audiovisual content within your inbound strategy and have learned some great tips for getting started, it's time to put it all into practice.
Always remember to study as much as you can about audiovisual productions, the topics that interest your audience and #borapractice.
By the way, if you want to learn a bit more about communication, take the opportunity to check out this post on our blog, Digital content: future trends in social communication.
See you next time!