Revised from the original title: “How to please a workaholic baby boomer boss without working more than 80 hours a week, getting divorced, or having your kids yell ‘stranger danger’ as you walk through the door.”

It’s 6 p.m., and you’re busting your a-butt trying to finish up every last detail before you and your boss wrap up that final client meeting. 

You know you’ll be in for it if everything isn’t taken care of before the day’s end, (even though most of the world clocked out an hour ago), and tomorrow’s stack of to-dos is already bursting at the seams. 

I used all my vacation days in January?! 

You don’t want a new job because you’ve put in so much time and effort trying to make this place better, though a break or an extra pair of hands to lighten the load would be great. But something has to change — the sooner, the better. 

You need a tool in your marketing arsenal that saves you time, maximizes your output, and allows you to shine at work without clocking in ridiculous hours. 

Luckily, we have that tool. (Funny how that works.) 

Say hello to your new best friend — video marketing!

What is video marketing?

“Don’t think I need you to explain this one, Guy,” you’re probably thinking. (The name’s Ruben, by the way.)

But before you skip this definition section, keep in mind that the world of video marketing — like all marketing — is oversaturated with one-size-fits-all ideas that don’t work for everyone. 

So here’s my definition of video marketing, along with the video marketing benefits you can rely on to make your job a cinch (rather than a nightmare): 

Video marketing: Creating video content that communicates, enhances, or otherwise amplifies your marketing message. It’s a dynamic form of engaging content that can be created once and used indefinitely. 

When companies jump on the video marketing bandwagon, they see it’s power to draw people’s attention, but don’t always stop to see whose attention they’re grabbing. (See, I told you Buyer Personas are actually important!) When you think of video marketing (and the consequent video marketing benefits), check out these common categories for marketing videos: 

Five video types for building your video content marketing strategy: 

• Product/promotion videos. These videos do just what you think: They promote your products and services to your awesome target audience and showcase just how amazing you are! Video Marketing Benefit: Connect with your leads and bring in more sales. 

• Client communication videos: These videos specifically talk to your already existing clients, and they inform, enhance, or otherwise provide value to products and services your client is already experiencing. Video Marketing Benefit: Add an extra wow factor for your clients and keep them coming back.

• Testimonial videos: These videos are like a video case study that show your target audience how you’ve solved problems for people just like them. If your clients are willing to put their faces on the internet to talk about how great you are, your target audience will take notice! Video Marketing Benefit: Build credibility with leads and communicate trustworthiness. 

• Social media videos: These are the 30-second TikTok and Instagram videos you can’t stop watching (even when you hate them). Social media videos can actually be on almost any platform (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Fake Name, Other Fake Name, Hilarious Pun), and they entertain your target audience. Video Marketing Benefit: Establish your brand personality so that your target audience wants to follow you, know you, and see you more. 

• Internal/Training videos: Does it count as marketing if it’s for your own team? Well, this may blur the line between marketing and operations, but having branded training and internal resource videos that simplify, communicate, and motivate your team members saves you from repeating the same thing every time a new person joins the family. Video Marketing Benefit: Keep your team connected, informed, and keep your company moving forward — faster than the other guy’s.

What are the six video marketing benefits?

“Great info on what kind of videos I can make, but what are the video marketing benefits that do everything you promised in the blog title?” #youbetterdeliver

Well, there are tons of video marketing benefits that I could cover, (because I’m a bit of a fan if you hadn’t noticed), but right now, I’m going to cover the six benefits that will make your job of internal marketing so much easier: 

1. Engagement: 

There’s no denying how engaging video content is. Before you start denying just to prove me wrong, think about the last time you were scrolling through Instagram and got stuck watching a skateboarding fail, or a cute toddler singing Frozen, or a woodturning how-it’s-made video. (So I guess everyone knows my feed now…) 

Videos automatically cause us to stop and watch, so video content is intrinsically a more dynamic form of content than images or written text, plus it’s easier for consumers to, well, consume. Since users can listen or watch video content while doing other things, or turn off their brains to absorb the information (rather than engage their brain while reading), it’s a palatable and popular form of content all around. 

2. Approachability & Brand Voice: 

Video marketing benefits your brand voice by making you approachable to your target audience: because, well, they can actually see you! The effect of revealing the “the man behind the mask” not only boosts credibility with your audience, but it helps people get to know you, your brand, and what your company looks like from the inside out. 

Also, by intentionally choosing the types of videos you create and their style and tone, you can live out your brand’s personality and values rather than attempting to communicate or prove them with words. 

3. Efficient Communication: 

When you create effective marketing videos for your business, you’re able to capture a message once and use it indefinitely — until the end of time (or until your message needs to change). This streamlining of communication saves you valuable hours that you’d otherwise use to repeat yourself to leads, clients, team members, etc.

You’re also able to get creative about your communication approach. For example, in 3 minutes, you’d be able to communicate your marketing message, as well as your brand’s voice, personality, and your company’s approachability in being bold enough to be filmed. If a picture says 1,000 words, video content can say infinitely more in less than 5 minutes.  

4. Passive Income/Lead Generation: 

Another video marketing benefit that can apply is that of passive income such as affiliate marketing income or fixed-cost lead generation. While affiliate marketing income is helpful, it’s typically a niche form of income that may or may not apply to your business. Fixed-cost lead generation, though, can apply to every business, because your boss will be paying a fixed price to produce the video content that will bring in leads for years to come. 

5. Competitive Advantage: 

Yes, we dusted off an old term from business school, but it’s true: video marketing benefits your business by showcasing exactly what makes your company special — you! Depending on your field, other competitors may or may not be using video marketing already, but even if they are, you can create dynamic content that emphasises your company’s unique expertise. 

6. The Format of the Future: 

Image credit: Nerdist, Star Trek original series: a product of Norway Productions, Desilu Productions, and Paramount Television aired on NBC. 

(If you weren’t hearing that iconic music as soon as you saw that image, then I’m not sure if we can be friends anymore.)

But back to the point, search engines are increasingly prioritizing visual content in their algorithms, and video engagement on cell phones is 17 times higher in 2021 than it was in 2012. That (and a plethora of other visual marketing statistics by HubSpot and other sources that I highly recommend you check out) shows us that visual content — especially video content — is here for the long haul as consumers just can’t get enough. 

And just like that, you finally get to clock out at 4:45 having accomplished more than you would have in a 12-hour day. 

So, if those stats (or anything else in this article) has you ready to bust out a camera and create video content for your company, 8 Signal has your back! Download 8 Signal’s Recommended Studio Checklist (totally free, by the way) to help you get the camera rolling by learning from our mistakes.

But, if you read through that checklist and you’re not ready to DIY the process, or you need additional advice for building your video content marketing strategy, feel free to contact us for a free, 30-minute assessment on your video marketing needs. However you decide to move forward, we’re excited for you to create a killer video that crushes your marketing goals, keeps your boss happy, lets you shine at work and clocks you out on time — and who knows, maybe it will nab you that bonus!