Here’s why…
Over the course of the last several years, we have seen a prodigious shift in the demand for video. Youtube became the second largest search engine behind Google, video streaming services have become extremely popular (RIP Blockbuster and Hollywood Video), and social media platforms have begun to cater to video creators.
The future of marketing content is headed in the direction of video and in order to successfully grow your brand and have an effective marketing strategy, you need to start utilizing it.
Why Video?
Better Data collection
By implementing video, you open up an array of potential data points that can help tailor your content even more to your clients. Unlike written or photographic content, video collects data regarding how long a viewer watches the video, how many times they watched it, as well as all the other data this is traditionally collected. This means you can grasp a better understanding of how long you keep your viewer’s attention, at what point do they tune out, and what to do going forward.
It Builds Trust
Video content opens up the possibility to be transparent with your audience. No longer are they interacting with words on a screen or page, but instead, they are interacting with a person. By adding video content to your marketing, your audience will establish a much more intimate relationship with you. Sometimes without even meeting face to face.
Search Engines Love Video
Ever notice when you Google something, there is usually a video linked at the top? Ever since the acquisition of Youtube, Google’s algorithm pushes video content to the top of searches. In fact, you are 53x more likely to make it to the front page of Google if you have a video linked on your homepage. This results in roughly 41% more web traffic compared to sites that do not use video.
People Love Videos
People aged 18 to 55 wants to see more video content. Videos in an email campaign increase open rates by 20% and click-through 2 or 3 times. Not only that, but your website benefits from videos too! Clients and customers spend about 90% more time on a website with video content. Additionally, there is a growing trend in engagements on social media platforms and video content. Social media posts that have videos receive 38% more engagement than image posts and 2.1x the number of comments.
As a result of the conversion, marketing, and retention statistics, adding video content to your marketing strategy increases revenue growth by 49%.
So now what?
Below are some helpful tips when adding video content to your channels.
Make sure your video content is Optimized for Mobile
With the introduction of the smartphone, people are able to access the internet with hardly any barriers. This results in more time spent searching, interacting, and using mobile devices. In fact, on average people spend nearly 3 hours every day on their phones. This opens up huge opportunities for marketers and businesses. However, it requires adapting to new viewing styles and interactions.
While some social media apps allow for horizontal orientation (facebook, twitter), most people don’t use it at all and other apps like Instagram and Reddit do not even allow for horizontal rotation. So, edit your videos accordingly. Taking more space on a social feed is a great way to get more eyes on your content.
While re-editing the video to fit portrait dimensions is a little extra work, it will pay off by keeping the viewers’ eyes less distracted and will benefit with more views, interactions, and shares of your content.
Silent Viewers
With people constantly on the go, people often view and watch content in public spaces. This typically results in people view videos silently. Facebook has done a good job of adding closed captioning to videos when played silently, but adding some extra flare or motion graphics to your videos can help capture the attention even more! So if you have the resources, don’t be afraid to add your own closed captioning with some fun fonts and movements.
Add Motion to your Emails
Like we talked about earlier, adding video to your emails can greatly increase opening and click-through rates. However, the last thing you want to do is have an email so media intensive that it doesn’t load quickly, and with videos, file sizes can get large very quickly. One great way to implement videos into your email is with GIFs. Some great options are creating small animations or taking a segment from the full video you want to share and adding it to the email.
In closing, video content will be king, if it isn’t already. Those moving newspaper headlines in Harry Potter may be a reality sooner than we think. You don’t need to spend a bunch of money on high production value, just tell a good story. Give the people what they want and make more videos. Your clients, customers, and business will thank you.
Want video but don’t know where to start? Email us at applied@vsg360.com
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