If video doesn’t loom large in your marketing plans, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Video rules the world of premium content, with 78% of people who love videos watching weekly and 55% watching video daily.
As a result, you’re not only missing out on the opportunity to increase reach and engagement but also seeing better conversions. In fact, video consumption has risen almost 100% each year, with about 94% of marketers crediting video for helping their customers understand their offering.
It is a proven marketing tactic to help develop your brand audience base, with 86% of businesses using some form of video marketing strategy. Although you might feel you lack the talent to create engaging videos, they can result in higher engagement rates than any other content you produce and even boost your SEO efforts. Here’s why video should be part of your premium content strategy.
1. More Engaging Than Images and Text
Videos are far more attention-grabbing than even the most attractive images. Despite the old adage a picture is worth a thousand words, the fact is an image is very limited in the message it conveys. Video, on the other hand, is very clear in its messaging. In fact, it can deliver several messages easily, often in minutes or even seconds. Hence, the popularity of TikTok. People also digest more info quickly watching a video than reading the same information. Conversation in videos is also more easily understood than in written content, which is important when trying to share more complicated information.
2. More Versatility
With video, there is more than one way to skin a cat. You aren’t stuck with a basic structure limited by word counts, headings and awkward keywords to boost SEO. Instead, you can get as creative as you like catering different types of videos to suit the platform used, the audience you target, and the goals of your campaign. Whether you are creating explainer videos to show people how to use your product, leadership videos to share industry insights, or even entertaining videos to expand brand awareness, you can create engaging videos targeting each stage of the customer journey, different customer personas, and specific customer segments. Better yet, you get more bang for your buck with video by sharing links across all your content, including social media, blogs, email marketing, newsletters, customer support, FAQs, landing pages, etc.
3. Raising Brand Awareness
Most trending content is video-based, because it tends to have further reach than other types of content. This is directly related to the fact people are more likely to like and share videos, making it the ideal solution to raise brand awareness. Post more videos on your social media pages with a good hashtag, and watch it spread organically. Because video is very effective at triggering emotional responses, it also helps people trust you. The more authentic you are in your video, and the more willing you are to share the goings on within your organization, the more likely you are to appear trustworthy and accessible to your audience.
4. Video is SEO Friendly
If you depend on SEO as a major contributor to brand discovery, 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic originates from a video. If you want Google to boost your rankings in organic searches, you need to appeal to Google’s weakness for sites with videos. Using YouTube is a good start since Google just happens to own it. Create a YouTube channel as the base for your videos, use keywords in your video titles and descriptions to help people find you, and enjoy the boost you will start seeing in your rankings. Also, be sure to choose an intriguing thumbnail to appear in the SERPs so you can attract more attention.
5. Mobile Friendly and Engaging
Keeping your audience engaged is one of the biggest challenges when creating content. The reason video is considered “premium” content is because it is so engaging. It is the best way to create compelling content that is more likely to entertain, keeping people on the page longer. Even dry content is easier to digest when it is in video form. Video is also mobile friendly, allowing people to just click play and watch without worries of scrolling, ads, inadvertently clicking a link, etc.
It is conversational and uninterrupted information that keeps people more invested in finishing the video until the end. As a bonus, viewers can interact with your brand and other followers on social media and YouTube, something you can’t really do, or at least not do as easily with blogs. Engagement drives sales, and any positive commentary helps provide social proof your products and information are trustworthy.
6. Increase Conversions
Nothing helps overcome common objections better than video. When a customer is hesitant to buy a product or respond to your CTA, such as requesting a quote or subscribing to your newsletter or blog, it’s usually because they are fearful that what they are seeing in an image or reading in a brief product or service description isn’t providing a clear enough picture. This leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which tends to send them elsewhere. However, with videos, you have an endless opportunity to include as much or as little information as you please. You can provide the details a customer expects to help instill trust, even with a short video, far more than an image or written content can. You can even do a video showing how your product works or fits or explain how your service helps resolve pain points.
It’s an action that demonstrates in clear terms what you offer. They don’t have to use their imagination but instead see exactly what to expect. You build trust and establish credibility, especially if you post user-generated videos. How-to, instructional, and tutorial videos are super popular because they answer questions, so customers feel confident enough to take the next step. Voila – instant conversion.
In six quick points, we’ve shown you it’s pretty clear why you should invest in a video marketing strategy for your business. Videos can be a game changer for your business. With the right marketing partner, your videos can start converting leads like never before! If you need a little help with this, we’re happy to chat.
