Online searches such as Google, Bing, and Yandex are catering to video and animation content. Every time you open a social media site, or a new website, or visit the internet, you find videos overtaking your screen. Video is quickly becoming a crucial way to convey your brand message.
It is becoming a core part of every marketing campaign. Some companies are starting to leverage video marketing in their email campaigns, resulting in click-through rates that have improved by 96 percent.
When used as part of a marketing strategy, video can benefit your business tremendously. It has been shown to increase lead generation, boost brand awareness, and improve conversion rates. But with all the benefits that video marketing is known to have, you still need a solid way to show the ROI to the C-Suite in your company. The following information will help you be able to calculate a solid ROI for your video marketing.
PLAN YOUR VIDEO CAMPAIGN
The first step in boosting your ROI is creating a campaign with clear and measurable goals in mind. Know your target audience and their pain points and show how your solution can solve those pain points and make their life easier. Educate your clients by sharing your company's expertise. Such educational content might not always lead to deal closure immediately, but it will help you build loyalty and with time will lead to the sealed contract.
Find different ways to distribute your video. Where does your target audience spend most of their time? Social media, if yes which one? LinkedIn? Twitter? Reddit? If not social media, where else? Emails? TV? Netflix? Website? Having your videos stored on a hard drive or cloud will do no good. It's like buying the best gun out there and keeping it locked. Driving the distribution will not only help you to get your message across but also provide you with valuable data to measure your video's effectiveness. Having a complete video plan outlined will help lead to the success of your video campaign.
VIDEO MARKETING ROI METRICS
A few key metrics will need to be tracked once you put your video live. View counts, likes, shares, feedback, click-through rate, and conversions are the top metrics to track. Start following your metrics the moment you go live with your video, so you can tweak it, improving its performance throughout the video campaign.
The metrics you choose to track should be relevant to the goal of your video. For example, if your goal is brand building you will want to watch the view count and social shares. If you are more interested in improving your conversion rate, you may choose to track the click-through rate and conversions. The shares may not mean as much to you in this case. But if you are looking to create lead generation, your key metrics may be shares, view counts, and even feedback. Some of those comments could be direct leads.
By choosing your metrics before your video goes live, you will be able to have a solid understanding of what to look for in an ROI, and what to expect from your video. This will also help you to be aware of exactly what tracking links and other methods you will need in order to best track your video.
MEASURING YOUR TANGIBLE VIDEO MARKETING ROI
Now that you have all your metrics, you can start to figure your ROI. You know how many people have watched your video, and how many customers have clicked through the video to buy your product or service. You know how much it cost you to make your video. Using the simple formula of:
(Campaign Revenue – Campaign Cost) / Campaign Cost X 100 = ROI
will give you a basic understanding of your ROI for this campaign. For example, let's say your video cost $4,000 to make plus $2,000 was a distribution cost, and by following the conversion rates, you have come to understand that you have sold $400,000 worth of your product after customers have watched this video. Then:
($400,000 – $6,000)/$6,000 X 100 = 6,566%
At the end of the day, you have spent around $6,000, and have come out ahead with $400,000 revenue, making this video well worth the production time and effort. This simple formula can give you a good understanding of where your video stands and whether or not your efforts were worth the time.
MEASURING YOUR INTANGIBLE
MARKETING ROI
Every C-Suite team is looking for a solid number, to show that the company is making more than it's spending, which is understandable, but let's not forget the other elements such as brand value and recognition, usually classified as intangible assets.
By developing valuable video content, you build a following from young professionals who will soon become the decision makers when it comes time to cut the check. If a person watches your video to the end, that means they find your content valuable, and will more than likely be back to make a purchase at a later date. The potential to make the video viral will provide you with brand recognition and spark conversations around your brand, product or solution. These actions will eventually lead to more purchases.
The initial ROI number is often not the final ROI, so be sure to check your stats again a few months after you do your first ROI assessment. Be aware of the specific metrics that will be valuable in tracking to help prove your video was a valuable investment. This generalized calculation can help you along your way to video marketing success!