What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is the single most important marketing strategy today. Its vast popularity and accessibility has made this so. In the past 6 years alone, online video plays have increased by a phenomenal 800%, while video content now accounts for over 74% of all online traffic.
It makes sense for businesses to jump on this marketing bandwagon.
But what exactly is Video Marketing?
Simply put, it’s the integration of engaging video content into marketing campaigns. The goal is for businesses to build customer rapport, promote their brand, service or products, and subsequently drive sales through a data driven approach that utilises a wider range of abilities than traditional media has offered in the past.
Video marketing can also act as a medium for presenting how-to’s and live-stream events, educating customers on product, and even present customer testimonials.
The possibilities are endless. But why exactly is it such a powerful marketing tool?
Why Is Video Marketing So Powerful?
The list of reasons is immense, and with the progress we’ve seen in social media this past decade, it’s guaranteed that the list will continue to grow. So let’s begin.
Video Ads Boost Conversions and Sales
It’s the core motive of every business – convert customers and make sales. Video marketing does this perfectly.
Emails containing “video” in their subject line have also seen a 19% increase in open rates, with a 65% boost in click-throughs. Put a video ad on your company’s landing page and you’ll increase your conversion rate by 80%.
But surely there’s more behind this. So let’s explore a little deeper.
Video Creates Better Trust
Video content helps customers get a better sense of a business through a more diverse form of presentation. It helps paint a picture in customers’ minds of what the business – and the product – is all about.
Videos have the ability to bring stale data to life, creating immediate engagement and accessibility for your customers.
By harnessing the power of additional mediums like sound and image, video content is able to create and nurture an emotional experience. The focus is therefore on ignition, not just the content itself, and on trust and engagement, not just traffic.
People share emotions, not facts.
76% of users say they’d share a video if it was entertaining. Meanwhile, 57% of consumers said they felt more confident in purchasing a product online after watching a video on it first.
Ease of Explanation and Information Retention
While video content has the ability to be more engaging, it does in fact help consumers understand your product or service more easily too.
Video ads are short, easily-digestible and above all, entertaining. That means they’re the perfect medium to thrive in the current information age.
Even with their more efficient qualities, video content does a much better job at keeping information in the customers’ mind. Studies show that 10% of audio information is retained several days after initial intake, while an impressive 65% of information is retained through video and imagery in the same amount of time.
In fact, some scientists will even tell you that humans tend to remember pictures better than words!
It’s no surprise then, that video marketing has become essential at converting even the laziest of buyers. Studies show that four times as many customers would prefer to watch a product video than read a description on it.
It’s All About Google
The logic is simple. We’ve already proven that videos are the most popular online medium. And who is the most popular online video distributor? YouTube. And who owns YouTube? Google.
So what does this mean?
Well, it means that videos have naturally received a significant increase in how they affect search engine rankings. You are 53% more likely to rank on the first page of Google when you place a video on your site’s landing page. Meanwhile, video ads exponentially increase the average time a consumer spends on your site. Thus, longer session times will in turn generate better ad rankings as well.
Even better, through the use of backlinks and boosted likes and shares, your rankings will go through the roof, and all the traffic will come to you. It’s practically an SEO gold mine.
Mobile Users Love Video
It’s true – mobile devices are fast becoming the technological norm. We’ve already seen them replace traditional cameras, and they’re well on their way to being the new computer entirely.
Of course, the majority (51%) of videos are now played on mobile devices, thanks to improving video technology and faster download rates… and this number is only going up.
Mobiles have therefore taken a central role in influencing and enhancing the sales process, as customers can easily go from watching a video on one app to filling out their credit card details on the next.
Social Shares
Speaking of mobiles, did you know that 92% of mobile video consumers share video content through social media?
It’s becoming the most popular way to share content online, and businesses can benefit greatly from it.
Social media sharing spreads brand awareness to a large number of people in a short amount of time. Plus, with a whole new range of social media features available, it’s only getting better.
Some of these useful features include Facebook’s 3600 Video, Live Video and Lifestage, as well as Instagram’s 60-second videos and Instagram stories, and Twitter’s Periscope.
To top it all off, let’s not forget that YouTube is currently the second most popular social network in the world.
Video Has Better ROI
You’d think that such a vital marketing resource would surely come at a price, right? Well, as editing tools become more affordable and user-friendly, you’d be pleased to know that that price isn’t awfully high anymore.
With the advent of animated ads in particular, companies can create cost-effective marketing campaigns that are easy to manage and fulfill the goal of communicating information effectively by accentuating key points in a way that no other medium could.
Conclusion
With so many benefits on both sides, video marketing is a no brainer for companies wanting to rapidly increase their traffic and sales. As the most popular information medium, it’s a vital step forward in the world of marketing, with cost-effective and creative strategies that generate interest and emotional engagement becoming a necessary priority.