Using Digital Video to Improve Brand Engagement

BY Rachel Cagle
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In most cases, you’d rather watch something than read it, right? Videos are more visually stimulating than text, even if that text has an image attached to it somewhere. It also tends to take less time and effort to watch a video than read a block of text. And the visual elements can help the viewer retain information easier. And it’s not just visual storytelling that digital video excels in. According to a Search Engine Land article by Cloudinary, “To create online experiences that resonate with customers, every business should consider emerging video technologies that mirror the in-​person experience, such as 3D and 360-​degree videos. These immersive tools will build strong customer engagement that push the boundaries of the digital experience.”

Digital Video Tactics

Personalizing Connections Using Segmented Audiences

What's the first thing Cloudinary recommends that marketers keep in mind when creating digital video content? Your client’s efforts will be wasted if the video doesn’t connect with the right audience. Consumers want their favorite companies and brands to understand them and what they want. You and your client should already have at least a general idea of who their target audience is. If you don’t, you can look up the audience profile of specific types of shoppers, such as Sporting Goods Shoppers, on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel to get the demographic information you’re missing.

Based on target audience information, you and your client can begin brainstorming how to make their digital videos more personalized. Now, this doesn’t mean make a million videos based on niche preferences. Personalization can be as simple as designing a video based on the target customer’s gender, age, location, or behaviors, says Cloudinary. “A new restaurant opening in a New York neighborhood can target consumers who live in that specific region. A retailer with a new outdoor clothing line can segment their audience to target customers who have bought hiking gear in the past or have searched for camping items. These grouped segments can also inform the video’s message and storyboard, creating meaningful interactions that consumers will resonate with.”

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence

Editing videos yourself can take up a lot of time. Luckily, artificial intelligence has your back in nearly all aspects of the digital video creation process. “With AI, teams can dynamically format, crop and resize video content, live crop to ensure the main subject is always the focus of the clip, automatically transcribe audio to produce subtitles, and generate short previews for visitors to click through and view more,” writes Cloudinary. “This technology can also streamline workflows through AI-​based auto-​tagging, structured metadata and advanced search for real-​time collaboration and on-​the-​fly content changes.”

Product Videos

Not all digital video efforts have to focus on storytelling. Videos that focus on spotlighting your client’s products from every angle is all that you need. Sure, pictures of products are nice and can reveal a lot. But nothing compares to a video that gives a 360-​degree view of the product at hand. These videos can also showcase a product’s functionalities. For example, following my sporting goods example, it’s good to be told that a compact packaged tent can easily become a luxurious sleeping arrangement. Showing customers how easy the process is will help them feel more comfortable in believing such a claim. A time-​lapse video of someone setting up said tent can give the shopper visual proof of how easy the set-​up process is. Later on, it can also act as a video tutorial when they’re setting up their own tents.


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