The world is moving to video – don’t miss out.
Over the last two years, our lifestyles have changed – for better or for worse. The way we communicate, the way we relate, along with all our daylight habits, are irrevocably different. And doubtlessly, many of these changes are here to stay. For businesses and marketers, it’s incredibly important to observe these changes so that we can adapt our own strategies to them. If the way people are being reached has changed, then we need to reach out to people differently than pre-covidtimes.
One of the biggest changes in lifestyle is the consumption (and creation) of video. Whether regarding social media, movies, or marketing, this has been the largest change. And it’s here to stay. If your business marketing does not include some aspect of video, it’s going to be left behind.
Why is video big?
“I see video as a mega trend, same order as mobile,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg said.
More than any other medium, video can capture a large amount of information in a very small snippet. And on top of that, it’s easily sharable. It’s highly visual and auditory and can quickly encapsulate the entire story of your brand.
It’s of course, easy to understand why video became big. We consume content to relate with others. The media in which we consume content is becoming more and more lifelike – a simulacra of life – until we get to a point in technology where the immersion can be complete. It’s ironic, because our need for connection, and our method of seeking it thru technology, leads us to a further estrangement from actual people that are present within our sense-experience.
But when we had such a jarring and forced estrangement as the coronavirus was, then video was a natural remedy as well. The company Wyzowl noted in a survey that 64% of marketers say their video marketing plans for 2021 and 2022 have been affected by the pandemic. Out of these people, three-quarters said the pandemic made it more likely they would create video, and the other quarter said it made it less likely.”
The trends are very easy to see. First there was the more longform content like on YouTube and Vimeo. But with shortform content platforms like TikTok rising up, Instagram and Facebook entered the game with their Stories and really got the ball rolling in the shortform direction.
Podcasts have also taken off, but the most successful podcasts – like the Joe Rogan Experience – are almost always accompanied by video content of some sort.
Trends in video marketing
Looking though various surveys, I found some key takeaways I’d like to share with you. And if you’re still not convinced about the move towards video content, then feel free to follow those links to their full survey results. The statistics might surprise you about the colossal influence the medium now has and how it’s definitely here to stay in the (hopefully) post-covid world.
According to biteable:
- 74% of marketers say video has a better return on investment than static imagery.
- 68% of marketers say video has a better return on investment than Google Ads.
- YouTube has the best ROI for video content, followed by Facebook and Instagram.
- More than half of companies using video marketing began using it within the last 12 months.
From Wyzowl:
- 81% of marketers say video has helped them directly increase sales.
- 49% of marketers say video has helped them reduced support calls.
- 93% of marketers say video has helped them increased brand awareness.
- 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
This shows just how much video has escalated in its use by marketers, and how much confidence they have in its effectiveness. Jay Baer, author of Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth, in 2019 notes that a “whopping 83% of B2B marketers say video produces a good ROI, and more than 70% are using video in their mix.”
Reasons to focus on video content marketing
There are more reasons to count to use video in your content marketing. These are the top 8 which are consistently referred to across surveys.
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It ranks higher on algorithms
Facebook themselves has admitted that they rank videos heavier than any other content. It’s no secret that prioritize video content, and they especially Reels and Stories. The Reels and Stories live in their own world from the main feeds – above the feeds – so that people are more likely to consume them. Meta (Facebook’s mother company) notes, “Watching video is half of the time spent on Facebook and Instagram, and Reels is our fastest growing content format by far.”
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Tells your brand’s story
Video content is the best and easiest way to tell your brand’s story. Create high quality video, with good sound effects and soundtrack, and you can set the message that your brand is highly professional and successful. You’ve heard the saying dress for success. The same goes about creating your video and capturing viewers’ minds. Your video will resonate your content, and people will recognize your brand by the videos you make.
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Helps strengthen your brand message
If a picture contains a thousand words, and a video contains about thirty pictures per second… well you do the math. By perpetuating your brand message, you can reinforce it by factors of a thousand. The images you use, the words you choose to say, and the type of soundtrack that you choose to play, should all push towards a consistent message that also builds trust with the viewer. Find your brand on the scales of formal/informal, warm/cold, professional/laidback. What kind of image do your customers expect in dealing with a brand of your industry?
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Performs well on all devices
Video content performs well on all devices. There’s rarely a time a person says the text isn’t large enough, the music isn’t loud enough, or so on depending on how its formatted on the screen. Yet, text size, for instance, is a consistent issue in writing and web design. Simply make sure your any text in your videos take up a large portion of the screen and never really have to worry about it not working across devices.
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More likely to be shared
According to g2, video generates 1200% more shares than other forms of content, like text and images. The best is a combined arms approach to marketing, utilizing writing and video together. With writing pushing up your SEO, video drives social engagement. Regarding commercial content, g2 reports that “74% of marketers say video have better ROI than static images.”
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Helps users make purchasing decisions
How many times have you bought a new product online and watched a how-to or unboxing video before ordering? In g2’s survey, 92% of respondents say that video helped them make their purchasing decisions. That’s a lot of people. People learn a lot from a product video: What the product is good for, how easy it is to use, the quality, and also the general messaging of the brand. All these things matter for consumers. Show them.
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Increases clickthroughs, especially when personalized
According to Jay Baer, “personalized video can increase click-throughs by 4.5x, it can keep viewers watching for 35 percent longer, and it increases the chance that late-stage prospects will buy.” Personalized video is created for the “individual”, that is, for a large sample of similar individuals where the content seems custom-made for their viewing, and where certain bits of info like names can be computer generated and plugged in (like with automated emails).
How to make video more engaging?
With audio.
Not only should you focus on getting crisp audio – we have some tips for microphones here – but also a good, strong soundtrack. Get your video soundtrack easily and customized to your content with our app, Smartsound Cloud. Try it here.
