5 video marketing must-haves for 2015

With online video views expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2016 (Cisco, 2014) and 80% of people more likely to buy an item they see featured in a video (Internet Retailer, 2014), it's time to take video commerce seriously in 2015.Taggled, an online video tool provider, has put together five must-haves on video marketing to help your videos go viral.1. Quality production teamSkimp on video production and you'll live to regret it. Whether you have an in-house video team or you outsource video production, building an effective creative relationship is essential to ensure your video campaigns are as on-point and engaging as they can be for your target demographic. A shared vision and end goal is a must-have so pre-plan and communicates just as much – if not more – than you would do with any other non-video marketing project.2. Vlogger collaborationThe brand/blogger combo has been popular for the past few years and the trend shows no sign of slowing down so if you haven't already thought about collaborating with vloggers, 2015 is the year to start. Not only do vloggers come with a ready-made and attentive audience to allow for scope, but working with them will reduce the time you spend on video production and distribution. But make sure the collaborations work to your advantage. Do your research, seek out the right bloggers for your brand, be sure to pay them for their time and reach, and don't forget to lay important ground rules for them too.3. Shoppable video solutionTurning your videos into online sales drivers will be something any smart marketer will want to do this year. Insert clear calls to actions in your video by adding clickable product tags within your video for viewers to click on and shop from. You'll drive incremental revenues, allowing you to ascertain your Return on Investment. Transforming online videos into interactive and shoppable entities doesn't have to cost the earth.4. Wide distribution networkLong gone are the days in which you place your videos on YouTube or Vimeo and expect the content to go viral. Your video needs to be shared to social media channels and distributed to relevant publisher sites for optimum exposure. Companies like Social Seed take the pain out of this process as they have a ready-made publisher network and will tailor the distribution to your needs.5. In-depth video analyticsYour video campaign is worth nothing until you have the right video statistics to assess the reach, level of engagement and conversion rate of your videos. From referrals, click-throughs and conversions, you need information to ensure your video marketing is on-point, and to calculate the true return on investment for your campaign.Ruth Maguire, marketing manager at Taggled.