There’s little contest to the fact that videos have taken the internet by storm. Social media marketers fervently reach for the top of the trending page, hoping to drive up traffic and engagement stats. But this is easier said than done. Out of infinite choices of content ready for consumption, how does one go about turning passive viewers into highly engaged and eager participants?
At the end of the day, there's no one-fits-all formula. Something that works for one specific viewer group, on a specific platform, may be undesirable for another. So according to the end goal and target audience of your video, here’s how you can optimize your content and make it a cut above the rest.
Make conversion easy
In an age of convenience and snappy attention spans, nothing gets on people’s nerves more than a tedious buying process. Think about it: If you could get an item just by tapping a single “Add to Cart” button, why would you waste time and energy getting the exact same thing through a link that just leads to another, and another, and another? If your end goal is to get viewers progressing quickly down the consumer funnel, then your video needs to offer them an avenue to engage with the content the moment they feel the urge to own it.
Shoppable videos make this possible. One way to create shoppables is by including pop ups throughout your video that display short descriptions of featured products. This spotlights what you’re trying to sell and peaks further interest in it. Then, insert a direct link that quickly seals the deal once your customer has made the decision to purchase. In Princess Polly’s shoppable, the prominent “Shop now >” button simply begs to be tapped (the right arrow implying that clicking it is a natural progression), helping you follow through with answering the ad’s call to action.
Invite people to voice out
People have a natural inclination towards self-disclosure. If you want to increase the flow of traffic and drive up engagement, give your viewers a chance to express themselves through interacting with your video! This can be done through little features like asking for them to input certain opinions in the comment sections, or creating a voting poll on your Instagram story. Being able to somehow add their voice into your content allows users to feel more valued and involved with whatever your video is trying to say, letting them form a stronger sense of attachment to your brand. You can also encourage viewers to spread your content— the act of sharing your video itself is a way of opening up discussions and telling others what one is interested in.
Adopt trendy entertainment styles
How can you draw and retain a viewer’s attention to your video? How do you prevent them from impatiently waiting on the 5 seconds countdown on your skippable ad? Make it fun to watch. As a way to enhance notability and image, many brand videos replace hard sells with amusing viral content. You can gain inspiration from currently trending YouTube or Tiktok content such as certain vlogs, interviews or challenges. Make the viewer chuckle or smile, and the likelihood of your video getting shared increases.
AIA’s ad takes the form of a music video, featuring a catchy original tune and quirky dances by local celebrity Benjamin Kheng, instantly hooking the viewer and making them eager to watch more. It’s also presented through a series of quick jump cuts signature of most Tiktok videos, meaning the post doesn’t seem jarring or interruptive of the stream of entertainment content. Most of us probably would not even realise that this is an ad until the very end!
Include relatable content
Successful engagement requires you to know your audience through and through. What grips them, touches them? What makes an emotional impact? The answer largely depends on the demographic of your target group, but a tried and tested method is portraying a narrative that relates to real life, or real life issues. Forget the stuffy speeches and dry stock footages—tell a story that people actually want to hear. Many large corporations favour marketing campaigns that humanize them with ordinary characters, familiar dialogues, nostalgic settings, or everyday circumstances.
You can use elements of DBS’s Live More video as a guideline. The ad includes clips of children playing that are reminiscent of handheld video camera recordings. Tinted with vintage tones via colour correction, the video seems more like any old family video, highlighting the feeling of intimacy and affection that DBS hopes you will come to associate with the brand.
Leave them wanting more
People generally will not hesitate to uncover more about what stirs their curiosity. If your video is geared more towards creating an interesting and novel brand image (not driving immediate sales), then you might want to explore this tactic. No, this doesn’t imply that you cut out the most exciting or important bits of your content; it just means that you end off the video in a way that leaves viewers intrigued by your brand and wanting to find out more of their own accord. If you’re unsure how to go about achieving this, you can always hire professional writers and production houses to come up with a captivating video story. Enigmatic and bold choices create buzz around your branding, prompting viewers to research your products or services—not to mention look forward to future videos from you!
Conclusion
Creating engagine video content may not always be easy. However, we hoped that these 5 tips can assist you on your video creation journey. If you do decide to use a video marketing strategy, why not engage a video production company? At En3, we’re a Singapore video production company that offers a suite of services to meet your marketing needs:
- Interview videos
- Product Demo videos
- Tutorial videos
- Event highlights
- Announcement videos
- Behind the scenes videos
If you’re interested, drop us an email or message to find out how En3 can help you!
