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We're All Producers: Here's How To Make Powerful Branded Content Videos

 

If you market your business online, your strategy needs to include video content. In a jarringly brief amount of time, branded video content has come to dominate online communication. By 2017, it's estimated that videos will account for 69 percent of all internet traffic. It's been proven that video can be a powerful tool in helping companies connect with consumers, with one survey finding that branded video content boosted the effectiveness of a marketing strategy by 87 percent. Here are three tips on how to create branded video content that will help you stand out from your competitors.

 

 
Keep it short
 
As the co-founder of the crowdfunding platform RocketHub, Brian Meece has seen the development of thousands of marketing campaigns. Meece recently told a reporter for Entrepreneur, that from his vantage point, he observed a couple of factors that were common among campaigns. One was the inclusion of a promotional video, and the other was that those videos were never longer than three minutes in length. Business owners should take that observation to heart when creating their content. A quality branded video should introduce your business and give a concise overview of its products and services filtered through your company's unique values and style. Trying to do anything more elaborate than that will cause the viewer's eyes to glaze over.

 
Reward your viewers
 
The key to any good marketing is a compelling call to action. As a branded video is just the latest incarnation of the direct marketing pitch, yours should end with a call to action in the form of a reward. After introducing your company and its beautiful products, include an on-screen link that will take your customers to a page where they can make a discounted purchase or enjoy a free trial. Doing so will allow you to channel the positive feelings they'll experience from viewing your fun and original content into a sale.

 
Let creativity make up for your small marketing budget
 
Entrepreneurs typically find themselves with a surplus ideas and a lack of funds. As such, many small business owners don't possess the capital to hire a high-end production company to create a slick ad. That said, a small marketing budget doesn't mean that you can't make a video that will make a big impact online. So, stop worrying about what you can't do and get creative. Tell your company's story visually using cheap tools like iPhones, Go Pro cameras and Blender editing software. With a lot of hard work and a bit of inspiration, you can make an easily shareable branded video that has a good chance of going viral.

 

 

This article was written by Mario McKellop of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.
 

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