Video content has become an important tool in the content marketer’s toolkit in 2018.
In fact, according to video company Wyzowl and the results of their State of Video Marketing Survey, 81 percent of companies use video for marketing purposes in 2018. That’s a lot of businesses making video part of their strategy, up from 63 percent from a 2017 survey. And the 65 percent of respondents who don’t currently use video, plan to start soon. Clearly, there’s a surge in interest in video content marketing.
It could have something to do with the 1.5 hours of video the average viewer watches per day, according to the same survey. Or the 1.5 billion logged-in monthly users of YouTube watching more than an hour of mobile video per day. It could also have something to do with these six reasons to start making video content:
Reason #1: Video Boosts Sales
According to the 2018 Wyzowl survey, 81 percent of respondents have been convinced to buy a product or service based on a video that demonstrates that product or service’s use. Which makes perfect sense. People would much rather see something in action than read an exhaustive description about what that thing looks like, or what it’s supposed to do. Visually, a well-edited and produced video cuts to the chase and shows customers everything they want to know better than a static image can.
Not that self-explanatory…
Reason #2: Video Builds Trust
Piggybacking on the last point, well-made videos can lend your brand authenticity and help build trust. Visitors to your company’s website want to do business with people they trust. So, try making a story video that shows off your company culture. Make a product video that demonstrates how something works. And testimonial videos can show how customers benefit from you. 95 percent of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a brand—hell, some information is best conveyed visually (see: the Nintendo and its console-hybrid Switch). If your video content contains interesting and valuable information—and, above all, it’s entertaining—then your audience will have an easier time deciding whether to trust.
Reason #3: Video Promotes Higher Social Engagement
83 percent of respondents said they would share a branded video with friends if it was entertaining—that’s up from 76 percent from last year. By creating fun videos that encourage viewers to “like, share, and subscribe”, your chances of drawing more traffic to your site will increase. What’s more, the most popular video platforms out there are free of charge: Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitter’s Periscope simply require an account for each site. But that content? It’s got to come from you, and it must be authentic, informative, and entertaining enough for the shares and embeds to roll in.
Now that’s more like it.
Reason #4: Video Appeals to Mobile Users
Without a doubt, mobile content marketing should overlap with your video content strategy. Hopefully you’ve already got the responsive design part of mobile figured out. But what about video content? More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices. The number of smartphone users keeps growing, too. And since almost half of people want information delivered visually instead of through plain text, it makes sense to create video instead of a long article that takes a while to read for users who are on mobile devices.
Reason #5: Video Provides an SEO Boost
When you search in Google, depending on the search term, you’re likely going to get several YouTube videos at the top of the first page in the search results. That’s because Google has been rewarding video with good SEO for some time now. With video, you’ll have a huge advantage to rank high, and an increased chance that visitors will linger on your web site longer, depending on the video length. When optimizing your videos for SEO, be sure to write eye-catching titles and keyword-heavy descriptions, complete with backlinks to your site and services.
Reason #6: Video Has a Strong ROI
It’s true! About 52 percent of marketing professionals say their video content has the best return on investment. It’s easy to see why. Platforms such as YouTube and Twitter, and devices like the smartphone, have basically democratized filmmaking. Tangerine, an acclaimed indie film, was shot on an iPhone 5S. Software to create and edit video comes with most phones. Live video, say, through Twitter’s Periscope, requires no editing whatsoever, and some viewers prefer to watch someone explain something on a stream than read about it on a blog. You can even repurpose a blog article to become an entertaining video. Place that video on your landing page, and you’ll gain more qualified leads.
Entering the video content game is tricky. It requires creativity, an abundance of energy, and plenty of technical knowledge. But it’s not impossible, and it’s not inessential either. Video is here and it’s here to stay. Why not make it part of your content marketing plan? Don’t hesitate to reach out, and find out how S&G can help with your video content needs.