Video is no longer a “nice-to-have” marketing commodity. It’s a powerful and essential part of a company’s online marketing strategy.
These days, our teenagers seem to have their heads perpetually buried in their phones and mobile devices. What are they watching for all this time? YouTube reports that mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year and according to a 2015 Cisco report, by 2019, 80% of all Internet traffic will be video based. There is a good reason Google bought YouTube and they now use video increasingly to rank a company’s website and online presence. Our teenagers are tomorrow’s business leaders and entrepreneurs so what will be the most effective way to engage with the new generation?
U.S. statistics show that 96% of B2B organizations use video in their marketing campaigns and 73% of those report positive ROI as a direct result. A video on a homepage can increase conversion by 80% and 64% of consumers are more likely to buy as a result of watching an online product video.
The numbers speak for themselves but it’s perhaps more useful to look at what lies behind the statistics. Why is video such a powerful marketing tool?
Firstly, video provides a multisensory experience, which is hard to ignore. You can hear the laughter, the music, the birdsong and the engine roar; you can see the passion in an interviewee’s eyes, how smoothly the machinery runs and the glowing lights on a child’s toy as they merge through various colours. Whose mouth doesn’t water at the sight and sound of sausages sizzling in a pan? If you log on to a website and an image moves at the edge of your computer screen, where is your eye naturally drawn?
It is also important to consider the emotional impact of video. A carefully considered and produced video can ‘touch’ a consumer on many levels. If we can see and hear the passion, excitement and conviction in a person’s expression, body language, voice and tone it is much easier to engage with that ‘live’ person than simple text and photographs. A carefully chosen music track and pacing can be used to target specific audiences. Well edited imagery and script can instill a sense of ‘need’ in the viewer.
Video also makes you memorable. When you meet people you have seen in a movie, on TV or on YouTube you feel as though you know them already. You can relate to their gestures, language and tone and this leads to an instantly more comfortable and familiar relationship. But more importantly, it makes your product or service more memorable. TV commercials have been doing it for years. Think of a product and the first thing you will probably think of is the TV advert designed to sell it to you. It is much easier to relate a business or product to a video and if a viewer sees your ideas in action it’s simpler for them to understand what your business can provide.
Perhaps most importantly, it helps to break down the barriers of geography and time. With the growth and increasing quality of mobile devices and improving broadband speeds, videos can be watched anywhere and at any time. Even when you’re asleep your online video can promote your business 24 hours a day on every continent.
Finally, I would strongly suggest that homepage and online video works best as part of a company’s marketing mix. Aside from the obvious exceptions, such as conference presentations and seminars, which target very specific audiences, videos are best kept brief to provide instantly available information designed to entice the viewer to click through your website for more information or to order your company brochure or catalogue. Video improves search engine optimization by providing links between video hosting sites, social media and your website. Even the spoken content within a video can hugely affect your Google ranking so a well structured, well thought out and well produced video can help to push your company to the top.
If you want to stand out and ahead of the rest, video deserves serious consideration.
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