Why is video marketing so effective?
Think of it this way.
Would you rather read an article about how to cook a steak…
Or watch a video that shows you how, as the meat cooks and sizzles in front of your eyes?
Showing is more powerful than telling.
That’s why video traffic is predicted to make up 80% of all traffic online by the end of 2021.
80%!
Customers in 2020 want to see your products in action. Video marketing is effective as it is easy to consume, widely accessible, and can improve your SEO. Video marketing is powerful as it lets you tell your brand story, showcase your business and build relationships.
Consider the following video marketing statistics:
- 45% of people watch more than 1 hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week.
- 25-34 year olds watch the most videos online
- Men spend 40% more time watching videos than women
What these tell you is clear. You could offer the best products and services in the world, but without the right exposure you’re invisible compared to those already utilising video marketing.
As the statistics above show, exposure and video now go hand in hand.
So if your digital presence doesn’t include video content, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to drive traffic, expand your brand, and grow your business.
Proper use of video content can help you increase online brand visibility and sell your products and services to more people.
Interested in adding video to your marketing and enjoying the benefits?
Here’s what you need to know.
Why is video marketing important?
Video is an efficient, engaging and convenient way for your customers to explore your products and services.
Video also provides marketers and business owners with a medium that is versatile, attractive and most importantly, shareable.
But it’s not enough to film videos and start posting them on your website or social media.
That will only bring value to your current audience, and your goal is to attract a whole new audience.
You can do this by understanding the basics of video SEO.
Search engines like Google love video content because videos are considered high quality content.
When videos are watched they increase session duration, which is also known as dwell time. Dwell time signals to search engines like Google that your content is trusted by users. After all, what says “this is high quality, I think others should see it too” quite like watching an entire video in full?
When you improve your dwell time, you will be sending valuable user signals to search engines like Google. This enhances your credibility and in turn, gives you every chance of boosting your rankings on Google.
How to create quick and free video content
Before you start creating quick and free video content, you’ll have to ask yourself why you’re doing it.
More specifically, who is it for?
You should find answers to important questions like:
- Who are you targeting?
- What does this audience want to see?
- What kind of video content have they interacted with in the past?
- Which channels will you use to post your video content?
Once you’ve answered these questions you’ll be best placed to start creating content.
The simplest way to do that? Just use your mobile phone and start recording!
In 2020 you don’t need fancy equipment or cameras. Using your mobile phone allows you to create video on the move – perfect for behind the scenes content, and sharing authentic moments with your audience.
For example, if you want to engage with your customers who buy clothes from your online store, then you could create short videos to be watched on Instagram, showing the delivery of your latest fashion order.
Remember, nearly 50% of all video is watched on mobile devices. This figure is likely to grow as mobile phone usage become more widespread, so creating video to be watched on mobile should be a priority.
This means:
- Subtitles: As most people watch videos without sound, subtitles make for more engaging videos.
- Short videos: Attention spans are not long, with studies showing the optimal lengths range from 60 seconds on Instagram to 2 minutes on Facebook and YouTube.
- Create bright, clear thumbnails: Thumbnails will help convince people to click on your video, so use big, clear font that can be seen on small screens, with bright colours.
Now that you know how to create quick and free content, let’s talk about some of the benefits that come with this exciting form of multimedia.
The benefits of video marketing
Video is versatile but what does it do for you and for the benefit of your business?
Here’s a snapshot.
- Helps you differentiate from your competition
Video marketing allows you to create visual stories that not only catch people’s attention but hold it.
You can use animated or illustrated explainers to educate your audience about your products or services.
Remember, it also needs to be entertaining considering the fact that 85% of Facebook video is watched without sound.
Make sure to make a visual impact through adding captions and effects, and front load your value to capture attention and hold it. Remember, it’s about showing, not telling.
- Improves your brand recall
Have you ever found yourself coming to the end of a piece of text and not knowing what it was about?
Or worse yet, you’ve re-read the same line 5 times and still don’t know what you’re actually reading about?
Studies have shown that viewers retain about 95% of a video’s message compared to just 10% when reading a text. So by adding video marketing to your brand’s message you’ll be helping people to remember you for longer, and give you a better chance of appearing in their minds when they’re looking for products and services.
- Improves email click-throughs
Do you want to enhance your email marketing strategies?
Having video incorporated into your email copy will resonate more with customers than just text.
In fact, use of video in emails has been shown to increase click-through rate by 300%, driving better results and higher retention levels.
- Builds authentic relationships
Videos facilitate a different type of connection than words.
For example, Instagram and Snapchat stories are forms of media that create personal glimpses of what you are up to.
Their temporary nature is a tool that provides a real life feel and also gives you the ability to develop ads that are focused on time-sensitive promotions. These can help build your brand trust as you can offer your audiences updates, answer their questions in real time, or even take their calls to provide immediate answers and solutions.
While words are great, video provides a reprieve from traditional content with unique attributes like tone, facial expressions and music.
What different types of video should I create?
The video advertising world is huge and only gets bigger. Every. Single. Day.
Which means this next question is extremely important if you want to use video to grow your brand, attract more site visitors, and boost your SEO…
Have you started using video content yet?
To place a figure on the importance of this question, did you know that the average consumer watches around 206 videos a month?
That’s almost 7 videos each day.
No matter what type, videos provide a unique and memorable way for your audience to be engaged.
This is a form of content marketing. Content marketing is the process of creating educational content without any intent to sell. Then, when your audience is ready to commit to a purchase and starts looking for a business they trust, who do you think is at the top of the list?
You are! As a business who created high-quality content (in the form of video here, though this can be written content too) and gave it away for free, you’ve established yourself as a trusted and reliable source.
And that makes you just the type of business people want to spend their hard-earned money on.
If you’re ready to start filing, here are some simple and effective video types you could use to help kick your business goals.
✔ Interviews
Interviews are useful in encouraging dialogue and can showcase a special guest, like a well known commentator or expert in your industry, which immediately creates interest.
People engage with simple, clear content and interviews can give them what they’re looking for in a format that won’t offer any surprises.
Catching their attention by having a well known guest is also an incentive for them to click your video. You might also attract a new audience who came to support the expert you’re interviewing, which will help your brand grow.
Bonus Tip: You can re-use the audio from your video interview to create even more content for your business. Audio can be turned into a podcast or transcribed and made into a great blog post.
✔ Tutorials and ‘How To’s’
Online tutorials are extremely valuable for users as they simplify complex or confusing processes.
These types of videos are educational and task specific and have a recurring watchability that presents unique advertising opportunities. Did you know that ‘How To’ searches on Youtube have increased by 70% year-on-year? This is because they are a type of content known as ‘evergreen’. Evergreen content retains its value over time and compounds in value. Unlike topical content that may experience a burst of popularity then lose importance.
As long as there are new products being released, there will always be a demand for tutorials.
✔ Product Reviews
Product review videos are a popular source of information. This is reflected in the latest data that shows 62% of consumers utilise product reviews when making purchasing decisions.
While you can review your own products, this may create a bias that reduces the effectiveness of your video marketing campaign.
As a simple and creative approach, you can hire brand ambassadors in exchange for free products (and potentially a small service fee). These are people in your industry looking to increase their own social following and who have access to small but highly engaged audiences. This has the effect of cheap, or even free advertising that can grow your business and drive sales.
✔ Live Streaming
Live Streaming is one of the fastest growing video industries, worth over 30 billion dollars. This form of video provides you the perfect opportunity to leverage your social channels like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Live video marketing lets you engage in real time with your audience. This can encourage immediate engagement with people of all ages and is extremely cost effective. With over 9 million active monthly users on Instagram, video can connect you with a huge and hungry audience.
The strengths of video marketing are clear. And that’s exactly why you need to be part of it.
Why is video marketing so effective?
If you’re still on the fence about the effectiveness of video content, here’s a quick recap of the benefits.
- Boost conversions and sales
- Offers proven ROI
- Builds trust with your audience
- Ranks well on Google
- Appeals to mobile users
- Can simplify complex subjects
- Engages your audience
- Drives social shares
As a cost-effective and easy to access form of marketing, video continues to grow in importance for business owners and marketers.
So the only question left to answer is, have you started using video content yet?
