Kick Your T-Shirt Marketing into Overdrive With Video Marketing

What do you get when you combine social media with clever video marketing- a promotional firestorm! Not many t-shirt brands venture beyond photo shoots, competitions and testimonials when it comes to promotion. However, there's no better way to showcase your brand and tell a unique story than with video. Not only that, but it's easily shared through social media, and if your lucky, it could even go viral!

Being in front of the camera isn’t everyone’s first choice, and appearing on camera can be nerve wracking. However, it’s hard to deny that a story goes further when captured through the lens of a video camera.

Whether your videos contain raw day-in-the-life behind the scenes tours, instructional how-tos, unboxing of new designs, or pure entertainment, they should build excitement and generate a buzz around your brand. Now before we get into achieving the best results, here are the key advantages of promoting your t-shirts using videos.

Why is Video Marketing So Hot Right Now?

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1. Increased Conversion Rates

Many have the attitude that making videos are either expensive to produce or lackluster. But there's no need to shell out for full-fledged film crew and editor. In fact, great videos can be made for little to no money or by using cost-effective freelancers, so long as the message is clear.

Videos capture our attention, and if executed correctly, lead to great conversion rates. This is especially true if your video includes discount codes or other promotions. Just be sure to keep the video short, sweet, and to the point; with longer videos, it will harder to keep your viewer's attention.

2. Higher ROI

While traditional video ads may still be pricey, shooting a short YouTube video using a smartphone, webcam, or other smaller device will cost little more than your time. In fact, most of the time when those uploading videos online don’t even care if they make a mistake during shooting it, either messing up their words or actions but they continue shooting it in one take. These raw videos often provide a stronger connection to the audience.

Facebook Live, Instagram and Snapchat Stories, or other video upload service, are great for showcasing workspaces. People love to see the creative process, and who else knows your design prospects better than you? You could show off your studio, explain a typical work day, and then offer a promo code at the end.

3. Building Authority

With the influx of “fake news” and clickbait articles, people want to see something real online. And when you shoot a video on the spot with little to no editing, it doesn’t get much more real than that. Not only do these types of videos help give you an air of expertise, but they can foster trust and make for customer loyalty. Even if customers are on the fence about making a purchase, seeing you walk them through your process can help alleviate any buyer hesitations.

Greater authority is usually the underlying reason a video is shared by a customer in the first place. When people can tell that you mean what you say, they will feel a genuine connection and be more likely to pass the message along. A little sense of humor will also go a long way in catching people’s attention.

4. Mobile Optimized

Because videos hosted on Youtube or other media channels are optimized for mobile devices, it makes them the preferred method of sharing ideas. With just a quick twist of the screen, users get your video that completely fills out their screen. And once the video ends, a quick tap of their finger shares it with their friends.

Mobile is the premier choice on both sides of content creation. More users spend time online via phones and tablets, and Google and others are fostering this mobile dependence by ranking mobile sites first. This helps boost SEO, as well as assists others to share them.

5. Instruction/Educational

More people are receiving lessons, news, and other instructional media via video content. Whether it’s a journalist on the ground or your favorite brand releasing a new product or service, it’s easy to show how something is made when it’s in video form.

Not all videos are instructional video friendly. Be sure to review the materials and make an educated decision on whether or not this is the right type of video to shoot. If it isn’t, that’s fine – other video types will suffice.

6. More Engagement

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Even if the video isn’t instructing a certain topic, it doesn’t mean that it can’t teach others, or at the very least, make things more easily understandable. Rather than rely on blocks of descriptive text, videos take all the guesswork out of the equation. By allowing the customers in behind the veil, it can help them actively want to be a part of your brand.

The only problem with engagement is many videos lack that very item – they simply aren’t engaging. Videos need to push a customer towards a specific call to action, be it to follow the link to a new design, vote on different ones, or merely buy an item. If there is no physical push to match the emotional, the video could fall flat.

7. Social Media Friendly

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Social media makes for easy exposure to a wide base of people. And with sites such as Facebook pages, YouTube, and even Instagram can make for an easily shareable base for more videos. The only thing to note is that users on social networks want real but also real entertaining. Boring videos that lack an emotion punch will also lack shares and likes, whereas videos that can stick with them for longer are the ones that win.

Effective videos will increases conversions on those sites, leading to more page likes and better engagements. When this happens, it will eventually lead back to better sales and a higher sense of authority. Because of this, even free videos quickly become invaluable.

Getting the Most Out of Video Marketing

1. Let Your Personality Shine Through

It’s hard to take a simple concept, like video creation, and make it unique considering so many businesses rely on them. However, all you need is for your own personality to come through. When that happens, you stop being a corporate brand and allow your humanity to come through. Not only does this help draw an emotional connection; it allows you to set yourself apart from your competitors.

Many companies still rely on product descriptions that read like an encyclopedia, quickly boring them and turning them away to someone that can keep their attention. But by keeping the message short, emotional, and memorable, it can assist others in viewing and sharing your video, as well as making a sale in the process.

A little brand loyalty goes a long way. How often has a friend shown off a new purchase, with their only reason being “I love this company!”? That sort of brand recognition could be yours, but only if you can create an emotional bond first. But many are left scratching their heads wondering how.

2. Honesty is the Best Policy

Not everyone is cut out for the limelight. If you find yourself floundering on camera, maybe have a business partner or associate appear alongside driving the charisma. Or, if you don’t have anyone like that involved, try sticking to doing a voiceover for your videos.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who takes center stage, as long as the video captures audience interest. If need be, simply take some time to hone your video skills with multiple takes and see what things cause you to trip up the most. This can only help improve your video creation skills, making for a better class of video uploads in the future.

3. Shoot What You Know

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There’s a reason some Hollywood directors film the same genres over and over again; in order to find success, you shoot what you know. And no one knows your business better than you. By explaining what it is that you do best, you could show off your expertise in an engaging way. Just make sure you don’t get too technical; remember, this has to stay entertaining and short.

To keep your video entertaining, don’t just jump to the product or service. Like any good video, you simply need to slowly build to it, even with a shorter format. Speak slowly, and use repetition to reinforce the important aspects. This can be pushed further with pop-ups and annotations to help highlight key selling points.

4. Keep Your Audience's Attention

Attention spans are shorter than ever these days, and without a degree of value added to your video, your customers will be off watching something else. But if you can carefully craft a narrative that’s as informational as it is entertaining, it can help keep them from bouncing for longer. And when you hit the audience with a promotion at the end, it really helps keep them watching until the very end.

5. Share It Far and Wide

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You’ve covered all of your bases and perfected your video. That’s great! …but now what? Now you get it in front of as many sets of eyes as possible. Now you share it anywhere and everywhere you can, ensuring that it always ties back to allowing them to make a purchase.

It isn’t enough to set the video up for viewing, however. Just like with a movie, the title will help draw attention to it. Using hashtags and descriptive keywords will also help your video get picked up by search crawlers, boosting the visibility further.

Finally, creating a cover to be judged by will help. By choosing the right display thumbnail, it will help others determine whether or not they want to watch the video, even before they hit play. This thumbnail will also help determine whether or not the video’s quality is up to snuff.

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