Ever find yourself confused over customized and personalized video? You’re not alone. The terms are often used interchangeably, which can leave anyone with questions. Are they the same thing? Is one better than the other? How do they each enhance your video content and which one should you be using in your marketing strategy?
Spoiler alert: They’re more similar than you’d think.
According to Google Trends, the phrase “personalized video” is older and has sparked the most interest over the past 2 decades. But while “customized video” isn’t as popular, it’s still being searched for online. In fact, both terms accurately describe a game-changing tool that can transform any brand’s marketing messages and CX efforts.
In this blog, we’ll clarify what each term means and why you should care. A quick note for the grammarians out there who care, while we usually capitalize Personalized Video since it’s one of our products, we’re keeping it lowercase in this comparison blog for consistency. Leveling the playing field, so to speak.
All right, ready for some answers? Let’s start by diving into what exactly customized video is.
What Is Customized Video?
To re-emphasize: customized video and personalized video essentially describe the same thing: dynamic video content that delivers a unique experience for each individual viewer.
Why the different terms? Each word simply highlights a certain aspect of that concept.
When we talk about customized video, we’re shining the spotlight on how the video is custom-made, with the businesses — and sometimes even viewers themselves — tailoring the video content to a specific person. This covers anything from including the viewer’s name and location in the video to letting them add their personal details for a custom message.
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So what makes customized videos so special? For starters, you’ll often see higher click-through rates and greater customer engagement. When someone sees that a video is made specifically for them — that addresses them by name and includes only relevant information — they’re much more likely to click, watch and engage.
Customized videos can also lead to greater conversion rates. Want a potential customer to sign up for your newsletter, request a quote or go forward with that purchase? You better make sure that your message is relevant to them and their unique scenario.
By customizing your video to your target audience (or allowing them to customize it themselves), you ensure that your efforts hit the mark. Not to mention, when a video has interactive elements, such as a clickable CTA button, it makes it that much easier for viewers to take that next step.
What Is Personalized Video?
Now that we’ve covered customized video, let’s touch briefly on personalized video. Remember, the terms are essentially 2 sides of the same coin. However, when we talk about personalized video, we’re emphasizing the personalized experience that comes from incorporating details about an individual viewer.
As with customized video, the video content is crafted specifically for the viewer, often using customer data from your CRM such as their name, demographics, purchase history, preferences and more.
With this data, personalized video marketing creates a sense of exclusivity. Each viewer feels seen and valued as a unique individual, which works to strengthen their connection with your brand. Want to improve customer loyalty? Use personalized video to show that your brand understands and caters to individual needs.
If you’re curious about how it all works, check out our ultimate guide to personalized video for the nitty-gritty details.
5 Ways To Customize (And Personalize!) Video
Now that we’ve got a handle on the basics, let’s dive into how you can make the most of dynamic data-driven video. Here’s a rundown of the various elements you can tweak, along with a few use cases and examples to inspire you.
1. Text
Tailoring text is one of the most popular ways to add a personal touch to a video. Try including text overlays and messages that feature specific details such as the viewer’s name, recent purchases or account information.
For example, an e-commerce brand could greet a customer by name and then display a special discount for an item that’s been in their cart. By making the offer more relevant, the brand has a higher chance of convincing the customer to make that purchase.
2. Video Scenes and Graphics
You can also customize the scenes and graphics of a video. For instance, if you’re targeting customers from different regions, you might adjust the visuals to reflect local landmarks or cultural references.
In the case of BBVA, video scenes were personalized based on demographics. In a creative effort to increase contributions, the company sent its customers “a message from their future selves,” thanking them for contributing to their pension. The actors featured in the video message varied based on gender to create a truly immersive and relatable experience.
3. Audio and Voiceovers
Personalizing audio elements, such as including a customer’s name in the voiceover or selecting relevant background music, is another great way to elevate the customer experience.
Let’s say you’re a travel company launching an outreach campaign to boost bookings. Not everyone wants to go to the same place, right? So you personalize the message to highlight destinations each viewer has shown interest in — like places they’ve searched or signed up for alerts about. And to get them even more excited, why not add audio tracks that reflect the culture of those countries? It’s a small touch that can make a big difference.
4. Calls-to-Action
Consider customizing calls-to-action (CTAs) to match where the viewer is in their customer journey. For potential customers, a CTA might offer a free trial, while returning customers could see an exclusive offer just for them. This approach is great for improving conversion rates as it guides viewers toward actions that make sense for their current situation.
5. Viewer Customization
Of course, besides customizing the video content yourself, you can also let viewers personalize their own experience. Add interactive features, such as clickable buttons or fill-in-the-blank options, that allow viewers to choose what they see next or input their own details to shape the narrative in real time.
For instance, you could design an interactive onboarding video that allows new customers to pick the topics or features they’re most interested in exploring first. This way, you avoid lengthy tutorials that might not meet their specific needs, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and retention. See it for yourself with this example by Mr. Cooper.
Another great benefit of user customization? It can help you gather valuable first-party data that can drive future strategies. When viewers interact with specific parts of your video, you gain insights into who they are and their preferences. This data can then be used to tailor follow-up communications and offers.
The mortgage calculator below is a great example of how you can use interactive video to enhance the data-collection process. As viewers enter their financial details directly into the video, they receive a custom mortgage quote. Try it for yourself by clicking the lightning bolt icon in the player.
Here’s what’s cool about this approach: it simultaneously gives potential customers an engaging, tailored experience while allowing the company to collect key information, such as credit score and loan amount. This helps streamline the application process and make future interactions more personalized.
Not to mention, adding interactivity has been proven to boost results — our clients have seen up to 4x higher click-through rates and 10x more conversions with Interactive Video.
Upgrade Your Campaigns With Next Gen Video
Whether you call it personalized video or customized video, here at Idomoo, we’re all about taking video to the next level. We call it Next Generation Video.
Next Gen Video covers all the ways video can do more than what it used to. It can be personalized, customizable, interactive, ROI-focused and even AI-driven. But if you want to upgrade your marketing campaigns with high-quality, personalized messages at scale, you’ll need the right video platform.
That’s where Idomoo comes in. Our platform is designed to help you create millions of dynamic data-driven videos, turning every video campaign into an opportunity for a meaningful personal connection.
Ready to transform your marketing strategy with Next Gen Video? Reach out today for a free demo with an Idomoo expert.
