On average, people will spend 84 minutes each day watching online videos this year. That’s right, every single day. With such a significant amount of video consumption, it’s crucial to make your marketing efforts stand out. This is precisely why personalized video marketing is so important.
Consider this: 91% of consumers are more inclined to support brands that acknowledge them as distinct individuals and present them with relevant promotions and suggestions. Whether you’re at the helm of a major B2B-SaaS organization specializing in business intelligence and data analysis or running an ecommerce platform that offers comfortable furniture at reasonable prices, incorporating personalized video marketing into your digital marketing strategies is essential.
Throughout this guide, we’ll delve into six different methods for utilizing personalized video marketing to achieve your broader objectives. We’ll also provide insights on effectively scaling personalization and implementing it on a limited budget.
Defining Personalized Video Marketing
Personalized video marketing involves companies leveraging data—whether from their analytics platforms, CRM systems, or even internal data collection methods like customer satisfaction surveys—to tailor a video to a specific customer or customer segment.
Personalization can be implemented on various levels. Some videos incorporate photos, names, and locations relevant to specific individuals.
A prime illustration of personalized video marketing is Cadbury’s “Glow” campaign. Cadbury customers could create personalized video “gifts” that integrated their personal photos directly from their Facebook profiles:
However, personalized videos don’t have to be as elaborate as this. They can be as straightforward as starting the video with a statement like, “This video was created specifically for [Customer Name], who is interested in [completing a specific buying action].”
By incorporating this personalized introduction, the remainder of the video takes on a personalized feel as well.
Advantages of Integrating Personalized Videos into Your Marketing Strategy
With 87% of businesses already employing video as a marketing tool, it’s no surprise that 90% of video marketers perceive a heightened “level of competition and noise.”
But what exactly are the benefits of personalized marketing?
Personalized video marketing is a powerful tool as it combines two highly effective approaches: personalized marketing and your overarching video marketing strategy.
While 85% of the US internet population engages with online videos, a staggering 93% of internet users report not receiving any marketing communications that resonate with them. Personalized marketing capitalizes on the most widely consumed medium (video) and leverages personalization to enhance engagement, conversions, click-through rates, and more.
Personalized Video Marketing Ideas for Your Business
While this marketing tactic holds value for businesses across the board, its application differs depending on the context. The B2B landscape operates quite differently from traditional B2C marketing.
This distinction arises from the fact that your target audience comprises professionals in their respective fields who are likely bombarded with cold pitches daily, whether through phone calls, email blasts, or a constant flow of retargeted ads.
Therefore, differentiating your service becomes paramount. This is why personalized video marketing within the B2B realm isn’t just recommended—it’s indispensable: 72% of B2B buyers anticipate customization in the marketing materials they receive.
Below, we’ll explore some ways to implement personalized video marketing strategies for your business, highlighting those particularly well-suited for B2B or B2C contexts.
1. Event Invitations
When organizing your next event, be it an online tutorial, webinar, or product launch, leaning heavily on video personalization is highly recommended.
The reasoning is simple: Personalized event invitation emails have demonstrated an 8x improvement in click-through rates. When Marketo incorporated personalized video marketing into their event invitations, they witnessed a remarkable 36% surge in open rates.
2. Explainer Videos
Applicable to both B2B and B2C companies, explainer videos are particularly effective for B2B businesses. They offer a direct line of communication with prospects, allowing you to articulate what sets your service apart and demonstrate how it can address their specific needs. With 72% of customers expressing a preference for learning about products through video, integrating personalized explainer videos is a no-brainer.
3. Case Study Videos
Case studies serve as credibility boosters—blueprints showcasing your past successes with clients. The beauty lies in the fact that they inspire implementation rather than imitation, as execution is just as crucial as strategy. A well-crafted case study highlights your company’s strategic prowess and ability to deliver measurable value.
However, case studies can often be lengthy and dry. Transforming them into engaging videos is a significant win for your customers.
4. “Thank You” Videos
Providing post-purchase support is crucial for businesses in both the B2B and B2C spheres. Customer retention prevents churn and fosters loyalty, leading to valuable word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied, returning customers.
Let’s face it—your competitors are likely employing similar tactics: cold pitching, offering incentives to new customers, and engaging in other aggressive marketing strategies. The best way to counter this is by mounting a strong offense.
Based on our experience, a single touchpoint with a new customer is insufficient. Instead, we suggest starting with two distinct videos.
The first video should be a simple thank-you message. This is where you personalize a video template by incorporating your new customer’s information (name, business, nature of their business, how they intend to use your service) and send it their way. This gesture demonstrates appreciation while treating your new customer as an individual.
The second video can delve into more instructional content. Depending on your offerings, there might be multiple service tiers, diverse product applications, or potential confusion regarding optimal product usage.
Having a series of videos that guide your new customer through the benefits your service offers their business can be incredibly valuable.
5. Facebook Ads
While video content is gaining traction across all social media platforms, let’s focus on Facebook for now.
Facebook ads are a mainstay for many companies, and it’s easy to understand why—Facebook gathers a wealth of data that provides valuable insights into your existing (or potential) customers.
Facebook itself has experimented with personalized video content in the form of year-end montages and memory suggestions. However, our focus here is on video marketing that drives conversions.
Leveraging Personalized Video Marketing on Facebook
To harness the power of personalization on Facebook, concentrate on the data available to you through the platform.
For instance, leverage interests and demographics to tailor your video content to specific audiences. You can also target users who have interacted with your page. For example, craft a personalized video for those who liked a previous ad, starting with a message like, “We saw you liked our last ad, and we’re excited to share something new with you.”
General Tips for Effective Personalized Video Marketing on Facebook
- Prioritize compelling visuals. 85% of videos on Facebook are viewed without sound. Carefully storyboard your concept to ensure your message can be grasped (to a certain extent) even without audio.
- Be mindful of video length. As a general rule, the longer the video, the more likely viewers are to disengage before reaching the end. While this doesn’t necessitate creating exclusively short videos, it underscores the importance of front-loading the most valuable content within the first quarter rather than the last.
- Incorporate a clear call to action. Every advertisement requires a call to action (CTA). Encouraging your audience to take a specific action is paramount to guiding them through the sales funnel effectively.
6. Email Marketing Campaigns
Integrating videos into your email content can boost click-through rates by an impressive 300%.
Capitalize on these exceptional click-through rates by embedding personalized videos within the body of your emails.
This approach aligns seamlessly with upselling and cross-selling endeavors. Whether you’re promoting products or services, send personalized videos as part of your post-purchase email marketing campaigns.
Within these emails, personalized videos (automated to reference the customer’s name and purchased products) can serve as demos or tutorials for other offerings in your catalog.
This strategy yields two-fold benefits—increased click-through rates by incorporating video into your emails and enhanced engagement through video personalization.
Scaling Your Personalized Video Marketing Strategy
You might assume that personalization becomes more challenging as your business expands. However, with well-defined processes and automation, personalized marketing can be surprisingly manageable and cost-effective.
Amazon and Netflix exemplify personalization at scale. Despite their massive size, both platforms feel remarkably personalized when you log in. They leverage data analysis to curate a tailored experience, showcasing what they believe you want to see.
The key ingredient is data. Harnessing your existing data enables you to create marketing automation workflows that personalize your video content.
If you think you lack sufficient data, you’re likely overlooking some easy wins.
Even if your only data point is what your customer purchased, it’s enough to personalize your video marketing initiatives. You can target videos or create video content tailored to customers who have already purchased your product.
Instead of a generic intro, your video can begin by acknowledging that it’s specifically for current product owners, instantly establishing a sense of personalization.
As you scale your video marketing efforts, you’ll acquire more data, but the underlying process remains consistent.
Personalized Video Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
First, let’s address the elephant in the room—video marketing can be expensive, sometimes very expensive. If you’re considering hiring a professional film crew, shooting multiple takes, and investing in editing, be prepared to spend at least $10,000.
For small businesses operating with limited ad budgets, this might seem like a deal-breaker.
However, executing personalized video marketing on a tight budget can be more feasible than broader video marketing endeavors because you’re leveraging existing information to create targeted videos.
Moreover, it’s crucial to remember that 66% of video marketers report generating higher-quality leads through video, while 88% are satisfied with the ROI of incorporating video into their social media marketing strategies.
Personalized video content allows you to connect with your target audience more quickly and cost-effectively.
Here are two valuable tips to guide you:
Meticulously storyboard your idea before filming anything.
Whether you’re shooting the video yourself using your iPhone (which is entirely feasible thanks to advancements in smartphone technology) or hiring a professional crew, ensure you’ve mapped out every detail before hitting the record button.
Consider alternatives to live-action video.
Live-action videos are generally more challenging to produce on a budget as they don’t lend themselves well to templates or pre-made graphics. Creating video content on a budget is simpler if you opt for screencasts or text overlays on images. Live-action, on the other hand, demands more editing (and therefore, more time), higher-quality audio, and can easily appear amateurish if not executed flawlessly.
Enhancing Engagement Through Personalized Video Marketing
We hope this guide on integrating personalized video marketing into your digital marketing strategies has been insightful. Personalized video marketing isn’t about reinventing the wheel—it’s about optimizing its effectiveness.
As we’ve explored in this post, video content consumption is on the rise, spanning across platforms like Instagram Live, Facebook Ads, and product demos. Both traditional consumers and B2B customers increasingly favor video content over text-based or image-based content.
Therefore, there’s a strong case for incorporating a robust video marketing strategy. By layering personalized video marketing onto your existing digital marketing strategies, you’re well-positioned to boost engagement and drive meaningful results.