Instagram Video Marketing: Here's How to Drive Leads
Instagram is an amazing platform for brands to use to engage with their audiences, as well as promote and directly sell products and services. It’s a visual platform that transforms the regular storytelling method into quick-paced, high engaging video and visual content.
In this article, we’ll explain the importance of video marketing on Instagram as well as give you actionable tips on how to drive more leads and increase your revenue through this platform. Don’t worry, we won’t rain down on your grid mostly made out of photographs, but we do have a feeling you’ll quickly switch to creating videos after reading this.
Video VS Photo
With statistics showing that video content receives 49% more interactions and 19,4% more interactions than carousels, we could stop the article right here. However, it gets even better. It is only logical that people will spend more time watching a video than a still picture, giving you a chance to offer far more information with your content.
There are different types of social media videos that get the trick done. How-to videos let your product shine, providing instructions on how to use it and essentially promoting the end product, making your content less promotional and more enjoyable.
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The overall social media rules are to create valuable content that will encourage people to return to your pages, meaning you shouldn’t only be creating promotional content since no one wants to stick around for commercials only.
Another type of video content that thrives on Instagram is product reviews. The only thing better than talking about how amazing your products are is to get other people to try them and love them. This is what gives your brand authority, that third-person perspective. Showing your actual clients enjoying your brand, doesn’t only give it validity, it also creates FOMO with your audience.
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From a psychological stand of point, FOMO, or traditionally known as scarcity, works because people want to be a part of something that only a limited number of people can enjoy. In a sense, we are wired to crave social acceptance and would rather regret an impulsive purchase than feel left out.
A big plus of using Instagram as a brand is the possibility to go live, which is a great way to announce a new product and create excitement about its launch. The last type of Instagram video we’ll cover is behind-the-scenes video, which gives your audience a look behind the curtain and gives you the possibility to talk more in-depth about your production process.
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These types of videos are an amazing not-in-your-face way of showcasing your brand’s corporate social responsibility. Not only are you showing that your product was (hopefully) ethically sourced and is environmentally friendly, but you’re also giving your audience an incentive to buy your brand instead of the competitors because by doing so, they will give back to the community.
A great way to generate more leads through Instagram is to create video ads. The way to do it is to go through Facebook Business Manager and when choosing an objective, click on lead generation ads and entice people to click on through to your webshop with an informative video that demonstrates the possibilities of your product.
Once you get more qualified leads in your funnel, you can guide them towards conversion by presenting them with a bit more information about the product, instead of reintroducing them to it over and over again.
At this point, target them with video content that lets them know how your product can be used by different people in different situations for different results. Seeing your product in action, and how versatile it is, will definitely interest your audience.
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How to film the perfect video
Before we start telling you how to shoot and edit your videos, let’s cover the basics. IGTV videos can be up to 60 minutes long on verified accounts and 10 minutes long on regular accounts. Video ads on the feed can be anywhere from 3 seconds to 60 minutes long.
That leaves a lot of room for creativity and before you get started, you’ll want to get a pen and paper and write down your goals (of course you can use a digital form of blank paper, however, we find them way more intimidating, and we have the data to back up our claims that a piece of paper helps your creative juices flowing).
Once you figure out your goals, write down an outline of your video and then start building on it. Write down every detail starting from the scene, the estimated time of every scene, where you’re going to cut, how you’re going to shoot, where your product is going to be and what background you are going to use.
This may seem like an exaggeration, but take it from the person that’s created months of video footage. The more time you spend planning, the less dreadful your editing process will be. If the saying is true, and abs are made in the kitchen, then videos are made in the planning process.
If you’re going to have people and a talking head segment, script out what they’re going to say and minimize the need for improvisation, because once the camera turns on, people may get shy and lose their train of thought.
Once you finish your video, it’s best to have someone who isn’t familiar with your brand look it over to see if you’ve made your points clear and compelling.
Extra tips on increasing your revenue
A few extra tips we can give you are – use thumbnails. They help you catch people’s attention by providing a short look into what your video is about. We suggest playing with text and colors as Playstation does.
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As people’s attention span gets shorter and shorter, you’ll want to catch their attention in the first few seconds of your video and quickly get to the point. Instagram is not a platform for long videos, so even if you have the option, don’t make long-winded videos for this social media platform.
Tagging your products in Instagram videos makes it easier for your audience to find specific pieces in your webshop without having to scroll through the entirety of your supply. You can also tag your products in live videos, creating a live shopping stream.
One of the biggest benefits of social media over old media forms is the option to communicate with your audience, so having a live event in which you talk about your products and make it easy for them to buy, seems like a natural progression.
Using subtitles makes it possible to watch your videos with the sound off, which is how the majority of people watch them. You can create subtitles automatically with Instagram apps like Instagram Treads, Apple Clips, Clipomatic, and more.
In conclusion
With all the benefits of the Instagram video we showed you, and all the possibilities of how to drive more leads through them, we’re sure you’ll find the best way to create a sales strategy and sales funnel for your brand.
Video is on the rise and investing in it will result in a quick ROI. As long as you keep making quality content centered around your products, brands, and customers, you’ll see amazing results that ultimately lead to a larger number of loyal customers.
Author bio:
Petra Odak is a Chief Marketing Officer at Better Proposals, simple yet incredibly powerful proposal software tool that helps you send high-converting, web-based business proposals in minutes. She’s a solution-oriented marketing enthusiast with more than 5 years of experience in various fields of marketing and project management.