Back when ranking on search engines was the main motivator for content marketing, marketers were all about written content.
Now it’s all about video. In fact, almost 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store. So there’s a reason that every single major media platform is becoming video focused…
- Facebook users consume 100 million hours of video every day (TechCrunch, 2016)
- 82% of Twitter users watch video content on the platform (Twitter, 2015)
- 45% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy into the next year (HubSpot, 2018)
- 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. (HubSpot, 2016)
- When Instagram introduced videos, more than 5 million were shared in 24 hours (AdWeek, 2013)
- Video will represent 82% of all IP traffic in 2021. (Business Insider, 2017)
When it comes down to it, video just offers a whole different level of connection to your audience. But there are deeper reasons beyond just jumping on the video marketing trend that are of benefit to businesses.
If you haven’t started using video as a part of your marketing strategy yet, here are four reasons why you should.
1. Video Educates
Here’s the thing about inbound marketing: it all starts with awareness and education.
After the awareness stage of the A.C.E. funnel, buyers want to learn more. And what do you typically do when you want to learn more? You hit up Google. But are most people more likely to read an article about it or watch a video?
According to Pearson Prentice Hall, 65% of the population consists of visual learners.
The overwhelming majority actively seek out video visuals to educate themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about creating an awesome blog, but the statistics speak for themselves. The video format is simply where most people seek value.
So it’s really silly not to give the people what they want— which is videos. I talk a lot about social distribution and how to get your value out there. Video is indisputably pertinent to distributing value.
If you want people to be educated by what you have to offer, then put it in a video.
2. Video Earns and Retains Audience Attention
55% of people consume video content thoroughly (HubSpot, 2016).
We at The Modern Marketer have discussed how short the average attention span when it comes to reading articles. Most people only read about 1/5 to 1/3 of an article. So that being said, and considering the statistic above, you would think capturing attention with video marketing is a breeze, right?
Not quite.
Just because you create videos doesn’t mean people will pay attention. Just like with written content, it doesn’t mean you can simply create it and people will flock to engage with it. Millions of videos are being uploaded every day, so there’s a lot of competition to consider.
Content is still king. You have to go deeper to provide value that’s worth people’s attention. You have to earn that attention still.
The best strategy for grabbing that attention through video is to create it consistently. You still want to be providing value that your audience wants to see, but by keeping it up consistently you can engage people at different angles and perspectives and effectively cut through the competition.
Consistency will always be key with the content you put out in any context. But video is especially crucial to invest in consistently because of the ROI. 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI (Adobe, 2015).
So the benefits of video really do pay off. You just have to be able to consistently deliver that value.
3. The Most Intimate Form of Marketing
Video is by far the most intimate of all contextual formats. Through what other medium do you have the opportunity to be as raw, transparent, and upfront as you can be with video (particularly live video)? Certainly not through written content.
Marketing is all about storytelling. Video goes beyond just the intimacy of showing an audience your body language and the way you speak. It teaches people how you think.
That aspect of video is perhaps the most significant benefit of all. If you’re on the path of thought leadership, this is the best format to really put your brain on display and show people some of the deepest value you have to offer.
And over time as your thoughts change and evolve, this will reflect in your videos. People get to see your story play out in front of them.
Your growth as a brand and as a person is so well documented in video that if you lost everything tomorrow— your audience, your clients, your advocates —you have an entire archive of your digital assets there to provide value.
Video truly personifies who you are as a brand and documents your story well beyond any other format.
4. Video Gives You a Reputation for Wisdom
No matter where you are in business, whether you’re just starting up, you’ve been in business for years, or maybe you haven’t even started yet— you have an idea.
Putting that idea out there is an integral step to brand awareness, right? So when you put that idea out there through video format, you’re presenting an opportunity to demonstrate to an audience a type of value that is very seldom replicated: wisdom.
But it doesn’t come right away, and it doesn’t come to everyone. Everyone can talk a big game. Everyone can call shots and miss. But if you really, truly know what you’re talking about you can amaze people by speaking your vision into existence.
Value can also be heightened in videos when you speak about a trend. People always want to hear about the latest thing and what it will do for them. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. People always want the latest information.
That relevant value does wonders for your reputation and adds value to your brand as a whole through wisdom.
Conclusion
If you haven’t been convinced yet that video marketing is for you, then you’re making a big mistake. Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users (Aberdeen, 2015).
Don’t hesitate to include video into your marketing strategy: no matter your industry, video has the opportunity to impart value and heighten your marketing game like nothing else.
For guidance with your video marketing, contact CommCore Marketing.
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