10 Best Uses of Video Marketing
When Music Television, also known as “MTV,” first came out, it blew people away. Why? Because you could watch your music now! The thrill of videos brought an entirely new level to enjoying your favorite song. MTV revolutionized the industry and gave musicians a totally different platform for expression. It was more engaging than any radio on the planet. This is how important video is to the masses. It can rewrite the way an entire industry does business.
Don’t let the power of video stop on the big screen. All brands need a video marketing strategy. Digital marketing professionals and video makers understand how integral video is to growth hacking the current market. Therefore, video must be the center of your advertising and outreach.
Some quick math for you: Let’s assume the old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words is spot on. How many words would you say a video lasting approximately 60 seconds is worth? Forrester Research estimates your 60-second video marketing effort is worth 1.8 million words! You can’t beat that kind of engagement.
If you’re going to use video in your marketing efforts, it’s good to have a place to start. Here are some of the best uses for video marketing:
Bump Your SEO Ranking
Adding a video keeps visitors on your site longer. Search engines like Google read into this data and infer your site is relevant to keep people on for so long. You’re 53 times more likely to bump yourself all the way to the coveted “Page 1” ranking just for embedding video on your website. Yup, search engines simply love video content that much. That’s why Google has a special place for them at the top of the page.
Increase Brand Awareness
Video marketing is an essential tool to reach and engage new audiences. It’s a means of getting your brand message out to a wider array of people. While you may think to put it on the back burner, in fact, brand awareness is a key influencer in any conversion process. When people are aware of your company, they buy your stuff more. Pretty simple.
One of the unique aspects of video content specifically is they can create a legacy for a business. People will form connections with who you feature in these videos and will make judgments about your values based on those key characters. In fact, 64% of people polled rank shared values as part of their reasons for choosing to build a relationship with a certain brand. Modern consumers crave connections first and foremost, so don’t be shy and put someone wonderful right in front of the camera!
Rock Your Email Campaigns
Incorporate videos into your email marketing campaigns. Why? Your click-through rate for an email featuring a video is approximately 96% higher than without video. Emails are making a comeback as more people crave personalization and unique brand experiences so give them what they want with a little extra sparkle.
Adding video not only will help you stand out from the other boring emails floating into your customers’ inbox but can also better stimulate engagement from the viewer by making the message interactive. Video and email make a fantastic team and one that many marketers have yet to consider. So be a leader, not a follower!
Convert the Laziest Buyers
Video is beyond-easy to consume—which makes it a great tool for education. No one has time to read lengthy product descriptions or drown in a sea of text. Today’s prospective buyer wants to see what you’re selling and fast. They want to see what it can do and why it’s better than the competition. Video is a driving sales force to show all that. On a landing page alone, video marketing can increase conversions by 80%. So really…what are you waiting for?
Encourage Social Sharing
Every video maker has to keep in mind a few facts about social media:
- Social media channels encourage video content.
- 76% of users share emotions, not facts.
- Visuals travel faster than text, every single time.
Because of this, you should focus on making brand videos entertaining. And while shares may not be the initial ROI you’re looking for, they can increase traffic to your site in the long term. More traffic translates into more conversions. People share when they are happy and happy people buy stuff.
Appeal to Mobile Users
Video and mobile devices go together like peas and carrots. That’s why 90% of consumers watch videos on their phones. Altogether, mobile video views have grown 233% since 2013! Mobile video consumption now makes up more than half of all internet traffic. People are super busy. They’d rather watch things that get the message across fast and efficiently. And they want to do it in their palm.
There’s more than just an impulsive appeal at work. Users interact with their phones differently than they do with their computers. That’s why considering this demographic should be at the top of your to-do list.
Explain Product Use
Video makers ought to pay special attention to video when it comes to product launch time. Product explainer videos are powerful pieces of content. Everyone watching these are already familiar with your brand and seek to know it further. This is why 45% of businesses who use video marketing feature an explainer video on the company’s website.
Make a Point Quickly
Use video to drive your point home with less effort. Today’s attention spans are on par with those of a goldfish. Arriving at your thesis as quickly as possible satisfies the reader’s need for the information while they also remain engaged.
Here’s a bit of advice: Keep your video short and convey your message within the first 10 seconds. It’s within that window that most of your ad will be recalled. Finish with a CTA and it’s on like Donkey Kong!
Bolster Traffic to Your Site
Use video marketing to drive traffic. A call to action placed at the end of a video ad can send folks to your website straight away. Tagging your video and placing watermarks on sites like YouTube can also tell the viewer where to go next. These are the little bits at the end you can’t afford to overlook. No matter how exceptional your creative may be, you’ve got to elicit action for the video to have real marketing value rather than simple entertainment.
Get the Most from Your ROI
Excited, yet? It gets better.
Turns out, 83% of video marketers shovel their video marketing ROI in spades. Spades. Yes, they aren’t always easy (though they’re about 1 million times easier now with Promo). Yes, it’s a process. Well, congrats, that process pays off!
Your video doesn’t have to be flawless, but it beats a blog any day of the week so go for it. Really, it’s the content that matters. Above anything, explain yourself and be clear about who you are as a brand and what you have to say. Connect with the viewer and bridge a relationship with them and your video will have viral potential. Ultimately, video marketing is about giving the audience what they want to see in a format they prefer. It’s about putting them first and elevating their status. When you treat modern consumers as partners over purchasers, the payoff is two-fold.
