There is nothing we marketing professionals like more than having access to a BIG marketing budget. Being able to curate incredible campaigns and support them with a load of cash is music to our ears. But it’s time to stop sleeping on arguably the most valuable avenue – organic! In particular, organic video marketing.
Organic often has a bad rep – it’s too complex, it’s hard to track – things that make those in the marketing world shudder. But what if I told you I had the answer?
We’re going to be diving into how you can use video marketing to grow your social media channels, organically, without neglecting those important ROI metrics.
Read on to see how you can use video marketing strategically to boost visibility and engagement.
Contents
- Why should I care about Organic Video Marketing?
- But what is Organic Marketing?
- The Power of Video on Social Media
- How to get started with Organic Content?
- The three core factors for a strong organic social media strategy
- What platforms should I post on to get the most out of organic video marketing?
- What content works best on each social media platform?
- Short-form vs Long-form Video Marketing: What works best?
- What methods and platforms can I use for monitoring video marketing ROI?
- How do I get started with making my videos?
- Conclusion
Why should I care about Organic Video Marketing?
The world of pay-per-click is becoming harder to navigate. We’re facing big changes in the algorithms, with platforms becoming more customer-focused in regards to how content is shared. Combine that with increasingly strict regulations on what customer data you can access, and it’s becoming harder to reach the right people with a decent volume.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. Our audience not only deserves to be shown what they want to see, but they also deserve to have their data protected. It’s our responsibility as marketers to think about how we can produce content that genuinely resonates with our consumers.
It’s a chance to push boundaries and tap into all of that creativity that got us working in marketing in the first place.
It is more important than ever for brands to showcase their identity and ensure that they are leading with authenticity. Not only are the platforms changing their rules, but customers are changing too.
Audiences don’t want to be exposed to thousands of mundane messages on the daily. They want to feel something, to connect, and become invested in what they are consuming.
What brands have here is an opportunity to tap into that, and a perfect tool for that is organic video marketing.
But what is Organic Marketing?
Let’s, for a moment, look at what organic means. Organic marketing is essentially building customer awareness and lead generation through unpaid, natural methods. So, you aren’t spending money to distribute or promote your content.
There are always going to be some associated costs when it comes to any piece of marketing, whether that be the time spent on the piece, or the costs associated with creating your content (in this case, the video production), but in terms of the distribution – organic means that no money is being spent in doing so.
This is a very cost-effective method when it comes to those all-important ROI metrics. The cost for high-performing PPC campaigns across Google and Social Media is often significant if you want to have any real impact. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t be doing it – you SHOULD if you have the means. However, it is much more important to have paid advertising as a sidekick to your organic work, rather than it being something you solely rely on.
As we mentioned previously, organic gives you the opportunity to be authentic, which in turn builds trust. Any form of paid advertising is now clearly indicated as an advert, which can be off-putting for some. That isn’t to say you should mislead customers, but it comes back to the point of creativity. Organic content can allow you to build a connection to your brand without any “strings” attached.
By producing content that is naturally engaging and people being there because they genuinely want to – there isn’t anything stronger than that. It allows you to build a community and a sense of meaning for your brand.
Video is the perfect vessel for this, let’s take a look at why.
The Power of Video on Social Media
Video has long been a promotional tool used by businesses, from the dawn of the very first TV advertisement back in 1941. Yet, it’s shown no sign of stopping.
It’s evolved, of course, but it’s never slowed down in being a favourite form of media for audiences.
In fact, 91% of consumers say they want to see more online video content from brands in 2024 (Wyzowl, Video Marketing Statistics 2024). And 89% say watching a video has convinced them to buy a product or service.
The numbers are clear, and it’s not just audiences who love video – the social media algorithms favour video too.
On LinkedIn, video posts are shared 20x more than other types of content (LinkedIn Business, 2024), while Instagram Reels deliver 67% more engagement than standard posts (Hootsuite, Instagram Stats 2024). And X (formerly Twitter) reports video tweets get 10x more engagement than non-video ones.
But how do you translate that into an organic video marketing strategy?
Let’s take a look…
How to get started with Organic Content?
We’ve already dove deep into the world of video marketing strategy and how to get started, but let’s take a look at this through the lens of organic marketing.
The first factor to consider is your brand identity. What keywords come to mind when you think of your business? If your brand was a person, what would their personality be?
The second thing to consider is who your audience is. You likely already have detailed buyer personas in place, so take time to review them. Consider:
- Which platforms will you find them on?
- What type of humour will they resonate with?
- What content will they find useful?
This will help you in shaping how to approach your content creation.
The Three Pillars of a Strong Organic Social Media Strategy
There are three core factors to consider when creating organic content that drives engagement. These are:
- Authenticity
- Knowledge
- Relatability
Use these elements as your pillars when it comes to content creation, and consider what deliverables would fit for maximum organic impact.
Let’s use a case study as an example.
You are a manufacturer of farming equipment. You are trying to appeal to farmers within the UK to buy your product. Your brand is professional and knowledgeable, but you have a playful side, often utilising farming-led puns in your marketing messaging.
Let’s look at these three pillars and what ideas you could generate:
Authenticity:
- Meet the Team Video/ Message from the CEO
- Behind the Scenes: How we make this product
- Factory Tour: See where our product is made
- Case Study/ Testimonial: Look how our product fixed this problem
Knowledge:
- Podcast: Look at how much we know about the industry
- Explainer Animated Video: This is how our product works, in simple terms
- Talking Heads: The production line, Team Leaders, CEO – discussing how and why your product does the best job
Relatability
- Trends: Look on TikTok/ Instagram and see what “office” trends are the most popular
- A Day in the life of our X team member
- 5 Common Issues Farmers Face and How We Fix Them
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not an expert in farming. But there we have 10 solid ideas for video content that could generate plenty of engagement from your target audience.
A great rule of thumb to generate ideas is to think about what your competitors AREN’T doing. Are there any gaps in the type of content that is out there? Are you working in a heavily regulated, more traditional industry that could do with a bit of a shake-up?
Organic thrives on unique content.
Another consideration is where to post…
What platforms should I post on to get the most out of organic video marketing?
The platforms we post on DO have an impact on content success. Each platform has their own algorithms
It’s vital to test different concepts on each platform and see what resonates with the respective audience. Trends and ideas rapidly shift.
We’re seeing LinkedIn transforming into a place of fun and humour,with the rise of relatable, less serious content. Users are turning to selfie-style video to put a face to their brand and sharing behind the scenes moments to highlight (you guessed it) authenticity.
TikTok is also gaining a slightly older audience (millennials, I’m looking at you!). With business owners becoming their own brand ambassadors, companies utilising fun office-based trends, and community being built for many niche-subject matters – there is a place for your content and it can reach the right people.
You don’t NEED to post on every platform, but consider where your audience is present, what communities are on those platforms, where you may be missing people, and let the data do the talking.
So, what content works best on each social media platform?
- Instagram: Great for high-quality branded content, reels, & knowledge/ authenticity.
- LinkedIn: Great for value-driven, professional content, knowledge & authenticity.
- TikTok: Great for creativity, trends, & relatability/ authenticity.
- Facebook: Great for high-quality branded content & authenticity
- YouTube: Great for long-form content, brand promotion & authenticity/ knowledge
Short-form vs Long-form Video Marketing: What works best?
To generate organic engagement with video, as we’ve mentioned, you should focus on creating content that resonates with your target audience.
You should aim to produce videos that are easily digestible and encourage interaction, to build deeper connections and community within your social platforms.
Let’s dive into this a bit deeper:
Short-Form Videos (TikToks, Reels, YouTube Shorts)
You should look at creating short-form videos which are entertaining, trend-based or educational. These are ideal for reaching a broad audience, with a better chance of getting that “virability” factor.
This could be anything from a short product demo, short knowledge sharing from your team members, or showing snippets of longer-form content (like a podcast or advert).
Be sure to keep them concise, and visually appealing but also be creative. Consider “in-jokes” within your industry or within the office environment to hit that relatability factor.
Another great use case for this is behind-the-scenes content. This could be something like a day in the life of one of your team members, what goes into making your product, or factory tours.
People like to see the human side to your brand so be sure to focus on the people you work with and how you can showcase them.
Long-form videos (Podcasts, Adverts, Tutorials, Demonstrations)
Long-form Videos are perfect for going in-depth about your product or brand. They should be engaging and high-quality and be a polished representation of who you are.
You could focus on things such as case studies, in-depth product explanations/ tutorials, and promotional videos.
Another great use case for this is creating your very own podcast. This is a great way to showcase knowledge of your industry, connect with individuals who actually care about your niche, and collaborate with those in your field.
This may feel quite daunting. When you think of podcasts, you think of these huge productions with massive audiences. But remember, your podcast doesn’t need to reach EVERYBODY, just the people who are relevant. A podcast is a great way to solidify yourself as a key player and thought leader in your industry, which in turn builds trust in your organic audience.
In the argument of short-form vs long-form when it comes to organic, the best approach is to use a mixture of both. Use short-form for those time-sensitive moments, relatable commentary and fun and humour-based vids. Use long-form to position yourself as a leader in your field and as the expert in your industry. You can also use both short-form and long-form when it comes to advertisement style adverts, and a mixture of both during a campaign timeline ensures consistency and reach.
How do I monitor my ROI for organic video marketing?
Monitoring the ROI of your video marketing can feel daunting, but as with any campaign, demonstrating your ROIs and monitoring your KPIs is essential.
When it comes to organic, you may instinctively feel that it’s even MORE complicated.
Well, we’re here to tell you – it’s not!
As with any campaign, you will have a set of foundational metrics that you can apply to almost any type of social media video marketing. These metrics can be found within the platform analytics centre:
- View Count
- Watch-Time
- Clicks/ Click-Through Rate
- Conversions/ Conversion Rate
- Engagement / Engagement Rate
- Shares
You may not know where to start in determining goals for these metrics. A good place to begin is by identifying what you want your video to achieve and aligning it with your wider marketing objectives and financial targets.
For example, if your goal is to boost website sessions by 20%, look at which of your marketing channels currently drives the most traffic. If that’s Facebook, you can build your video strategy around increasing clicks or improving your click-through rate on that platform. Since video tends to drive higher engagement and conversions on social media, setting KPIs based on your existing performance and desired outcomes will help guide your approach.
From there, you can refine and optimise.
Read our blog to dive deeper into the world of monitoring video ROI.
What methods and platforms can I use for monitoring video marketing ROI?
When it comes to monitoring the ROI. The approach can be two-fold.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics will show you how many sessions you’ve had from organic social. You’ll receive an in-depth look at how those visitors behaved including: how much time they spent on the page, how many key events they activated, and sales. (Note, sales tracking only works in Google if you are selling products directly on-site).
Be sure to add UTM tracking to any links you are sharing alongside your video content. If you’re not sure how to do this, read this guide from Google. This will allow you to add campaign parameters to each individual post you produce so you can ensure you can monitor specific post-performance.
Pattern Monitoring
We know it’s important to get HARD metrics when it comes to reporting back to the wider team about performance. However, monitoring patterns in your customer behaviour shouldn’t be discounted. This is becoming even more important now that there are limitations for tracking within Google Analytics.
Consider how you would track a campaign with NO digital footprint (a billboard, radio ad, etc). You would look at the period in which that campaign was live and identify if you can see spikes within your data (session visits, enquiries, and sales). The same can be done for video, but you can combine this with your in-platform stats.
For example, you’ve just had a campaign go viral on TikTok. It has outperformed every other post within your social media platform by 20% organically. Within the period that the video had its “viral moment”, your website sessions grew by 15% and enquiries by 10%. These are solid stats that can be used within your reports to showcase the power of that content.
Ensure that your website and sales agents are equipped to capture that first-party data, by using forms and asking clients where they have heard from you.
From here you can gain a really clear picture of your campaign performance, and report your findings clearly.
So, how do I get started with making my videos?
You may have someone in the team who is confident in creating video content for your social channels. The quality of mobile phone cameras today make it possible that you can create content that looks good and does well, especially on social media platforms.
We wouldn’t encourage using someone who isn’t trained in video production to produce your big brand pieces, however, for the engagement pieces, it’s easily doable in-house with someone who has a basic level of skill.
When to hire a video production company
That being said, working with a video production company is a great way to help get your feet off the ground and guide you through the process, if only initially. They will support you through the entire process, from idea to execution, so you can be sure to stay consistent without burning out. Many offer retainer packages so that you can have access to an agency for a certain number of hours per month, so you can get your content done all in one go and let the results do the talking. This is a perfect approach so you can review and refine as you go.
Whether you are using someone in-house or an external agency, it’s important as a marketing professional to be clear on what you want to produce and why. Work on creating a solid brief that hits your business goals. Check out how to write one here.
Ready to start building your organic presence with video marketing?
Now you have the basics for building a video marketing strategy that will get you started growing your social media channels, without having to spend big money. Having the basics to keep you going is just the start of the journey – it’s now time to test, have fun, and see how you can keep evolving.
Remember, create videos with intention, think of your audience and your niche, and you’re halfway there in your video marketing journey.
If you want further support, get in touch with the team here at Reels in Motion. We’ll help you reach your goals when it comes to video marketing.
