If you’re still sitting on the fence about video marketing, we’re going to convince you that it’s time to come down and include the process as part of your digital marketing strategy.
“What if I’m too late in the game?”
You’re not.
Video marketing is still growing. Marketers still haven’t fully harnessed the power of video marketing in successfully promoting businesses and their products.
And as digital technology evolves, so will the strategies that can unlock the potential of video marketing for growing your business.
Did we get you to nod your head in agreement? Read on and find out why video marketing is important for the success of your business now and in the years ahead.
The Growth Of Video As A Medium For Storytelling
From 8mm film to the camcorder, people love shooting videos of their vacations, get-togethers, and special events like birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries.
Video has always been an excellent medium for storytelling. Capturing moments on video allowed us to relive the experiences every time we feel like it. And that’s the reason why TV ads worked.
TV ads capitalized on human emotion. Ad agencies created stories around brands that triggered the desired emotion for viewers to take the intended action – to purchase the product.
But video equipment has gone a long way from the 8mm film in the 1960s to the compact camcorders in the 1980s to the first mobile phone that could take pictures – the Kyocera VP-210 in 1999.
Within the next 10 years, tech companies developed phones that could capture both still images and videos. Anyone with an Apple iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy S series mobile phone could now shoot high-quality videos anywhere.
The video capabilities of mobile phones motivated people to expand their videography skills beyond family vacations.
Small businesses used smartphones to shoot videos of their products and share them on social media which was beginning to gain traction in the early 2000s.
The innovations in mobile technology and the popularity of social media created a synergistic relationship that would propel video marketing as arguably the most effective process in the digital marketing toolbox.
Key statistic: 46% of consumers use social media for recommendations.
Businesses Recognize The Potential Of YouTube As A Driver Of Content
It can be argued that the jump-off point of video marketing was in 2005 when YouTube launched its streaming services.
In 2010, after only 5 years in the social media industry, YouTube’s revenues reached US$800 million. By 2022, YouTube’s revenue was estimated to be at US$29.2 billion.
YouTube has become the second most popular social media network after Facebook.
The massive growth of YouTube has made the channel an important component of a business’s digital marketing strategy with 62% of businesses using the network to distribute their content.
In 2021, YouTube earned US$28.8 billion from ads. The company keeps 45% of the total ad revenue generated by its content creators. And the ads will keep rolling on YouTube because 26% of viewers buy a product that they’ve seen across the channel.
Why Are Businesses Paying For YouTube Ads?
YouTube is home to more than 60 million content creators. Every day, people are on the channel consuming more than 1 billion hours of content. It’s estimated that over 120 million people are streaming videos on YouTube every single day.
These videos aren’t just viewed. A number of the viewers share the videos they like and 99% of YouTube users have other social media accounts. Thus, these videos – and the ads – are seen by other people who aren’t on YouTube.
Given these astronomical numbers, it’s easy to see why businesses view YouTube as a viable platform to market products and services.
The Increasing Influence Of Video Content On Social Media
It’s safe to say that YouTube’s success triggered the influx of more image/video-based social media channels. Over the last 20 years, we saw the rise in the popularity of Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Vimeo, Vine, and Periscope.
Existing players in the social media industry – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn – tweaked their business models to make it possible for community members to upload and share videos.
These social media platforms have created their own platform for short-form videos. Facebook has “Reels”, YouTube has “Shorts”, and Snapchat has “Spotlight”. By short-form, we mean videos that run for only 7 to 17 seconds on average.
8 Reasons Why Video Marketing Is Important For Your Business Success
We’ve explained how video has become a popular channel for consumers to capture their experiences and why tech companies have prioritized the availability of video capabilities in their latest innovations.
You also know why more social media networks are providing video-specific features for their users.
With these facts in mind, let’s sum everything up, get into the details, and discuss the 8 reasons why video marketing is important for your business success.
1. Effective Medium For Delivering Your Message
According to a study by Insivia, people remember 95% of video-based content and only 10% of text-based content. This finding is supported by further research that was funded by 3M that showed people processed videos 60,000 times faster than text.
On average, it takes a person around 8.3 minutes to read a 2,500-word blog. But a study by Forrester estimated that a one-minute video is equivalent to a 1.8 million-word post!
What these numbers mean is that video is an effective medium for delivering your message – the Unique Value Proposition (UVP) of your business – because it can be processed and understood faster by your audience.
2. People Respond Best To Video Content
Videos give your audience the complete audio-visual experience.
It is the combination of sight and sound augmented by effects, actor performances, body language, facial expressions, dialogue, soundtrack, and other types of visuals that reach in and draw out the desired emotions and responses from the viewers.
These factors allow you to create a more effective, engaging, and compelling storyline. You’re able to successfully establish an emotional connection with your audience – one that helps build an alignment of experiences with your brand.
Here are 3 statistics that should prove to you how effective videos are in getting customers for your brand:
- 96% of consumers watch videos to learn more about a business, its products, and its services.
- 73% of consumers’ buying decisions were influenced by a video they watched about a business.
- 90% of survey respondents said they wanted businesses to produce more video-based content.
Put simply, people love videos because they show – and tell – a great story. Creating videos about your business will make you more accessible to your audience.
3. Develop a More Flexible and Adaptable Content Marketing Strategy
You can produce quick videos that run for only 15 seconds to improve engagement levels. Longer videos that run upwards of 30 minutes are great for brand building and for enhancing your reputation as an expert.
Create an explainer video and post a link to your website home page to help visitors learn more about your business in a short amount of time. How-to videos can be used to promote a specific product or service.
Podcasts can also be done in video format. A podcast will let the audience get to know you better. By inviting reputable guests to your podcast, you can build credibility and promote your brand to other communities.
4. Improve Search Rankings
Businesses invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with the primary goal of having their websites move up the search rankings, in particular, the first page of the SERP.
According to a study by Forrester, websites with videos have a 53% chance of landing on the first page of Google’s SERP. With those kinds of odds in your favor, surely video marketing should vault up your Digital Marketing to-do list!
But how do videos improve search rankings?
- Videos Help Raise the Quality of Content – You can include a comprehensive text description of your product, but a how-to video will greatly help the site user understand the best way to use it.
- Videos Encourage More Social Sharing – 92% of viewers share a video that they enjoyed watching on social media. Having your video distributed to other sites and communities will get more people to visit your website.
- Videos Improve User Experience (UX) – In addition to helping users learn more about your business and products, well-crafted videos can create an enjoyable experience and keep visitors on your site longer.
You can get more return on your SEO investment by incorporating videos in your website.
5. Generate Higher Conversion Rates
Do you remember watching this video of a type of rubber tape being used to put together a speed boat and to stop a surging water leak?
The video looked outlandish, campy, and unrealistic, but it helped the brand sell millions of the rubber tape. The brand’s marketing efforts wouldn’t have yielded the same result if the company invested in text content more than video marketing.
According to a study by Hubspot, videos can increase your website’s conversion rate by as much as 80%.
Videos simply make it easier for the site user to learn and understand your product compared to text content or product descriptions.
It’s possible to get written instructions wrong but a step-by-step video of how to use a product will take a potential customer through the process accurately and will definitely create an “aha” moment.
Keep in mind that buying can be an emotional decision. If the site user is impressed by the video, he might just buy the product right away.
6. Increase Engagement Levels
Video is a dynamic medium that allows you to break down the walls of creativity and develop content that not only entertains and informs but also compels viewers to act.
As we mentioned earlier, the majority of people will share videos they find enjoyable and useful. They will also click “like” or leave comments.
Remember this statistic:
88% of people will spend more time on websites that have videos than websites without videos.
When people are engaged on your website, they can become followers or customers. It will be easier to foster a strong relationship with site users when you have videos on your website.
7. Earn Better ROI
A 2023 survey conducted by Wyzowl revealed that 92% of marketers said video marketing generated strong and positive ROI on their digital marketing efforts. Based on the previous data that we’ve discussed, it’s easy to understand why video marketing has good ROI.
Video-based content:
- Generates 95% more views.
- Improves sales conversion rates by 80%.
- Influences 73% of purchasing decisions.
The cost of video marketing varies. Some businesses have the budget to fund a video marketing team with professional videographers, photographers, scriptwriters, actors, set designers, and graphic artists. For sure, these items can stretch your marketing budget at the seams.
But there are also businesses that have found success creating video content with just an iPhone. These are short-form videos that are shot to show how a product is being used, customers giving testimonials, or a company event.
The important thing to remember when shooting a video is to generate interest. As long as you get viewers glued to your content, it won’t matter if you shot it with your smartphone. The video will lead to positive results!
8. Attract More Mobile Users
Hubspot and Wyzowl collaborated on a 2023 survey on how the medium of video influences the changing online behaviors of consumers.
Here are some of the highlights:
- 66% of consumers watch videos to learn more about a product or service.
- 36% of consumers prefer videos that run 1 to 3 minutes long.
- 52% of consumers are more likely to share videos than any other type of content.
Now, here’s the most interesting stat…
75% of consumers watch videos from their mobile phones.
Why is this the most interesting stat?
Because 92.3% of people use their mobile phone to access the Internet.
Videos attract more mobile phone users. So if your website has videos and if you have videos to market your business and products, you will get customers!
Conclusion
Now is the best time to start a video marketing campaign for your business. Statistics prove that there are more people – 73% – watching videos to research a product, learn about a business, and make an informed decision.
And the number of people who will patronize social media and video streaming services will only continue to increase.
You don’t have to do a study on the viability of video marketing.
The massive growth of YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and other video-based platforms and the success experienced by businesses that ran their marketing campaigns through these channels are your proof of concept.
YouTube provides you with a high-volume platform that attracts billions of viewers and advertisers every day. All you need is a camera and a concept to get started.
If we’ve convinced you to try video marketing, contact us. We’ll schedule a meeting and map out the video marketing campaign strategy for you.
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