No matter what industry you’re in, everyone needs marketing. So much of that is done online today – we’re almost always talking about social media, your website and paid advertising like Google Ads and the assortment available on social platforms. No matter which path you choose, digital marketing is founded upon the media that you use. On social media, it’s your post… With ads, it’s your display and copy… For your website, it can be anything from your design’s aesthetics to showcasing or explaining your products or services.

Here’s the thing…

You don’t want to be using only photos and text. In nearly every scenario, everything that a great photo and exceptional copy can do, video can do better. It’s one of the best ways to both get people’s attention and to keep it (which is arguably harder and even more important), it’s exponentially easier to consume and it does a much better job of sharing the details of things.

Best of all, it can create an emotional response and foster a connection that is much more difficult to pull off with just photo and text. Think about it: if you were thinking about seeing a movie, would you read the synopsis or watch the trailer? What if there was no trailer? Without that visual aid, things suddenly become a lot less interesting and a lot more work to get on board with.

In marketing, you want things to be as interesting and as painless as possible.

In marketing, you want things to be as interesting and as painless as possible for your audience. That’s what those movie trailers are for, after all. Including video content in your digital marketing plan can be just what the doctor ordered to get attention, develop interest, and encourage people to take an action with your brand. (if you haven’t been, you should be thinking about your purchasing funnel!)

Statistics

According to statistics by Wyzowl, 63% of businesses are using video as a marketing tool for their products or services. Out of those businesses, 82% said they feel video marketing is an important part of their strategy.

84% of consumers have been convinced to make a purchase after watching a video from a business.

Not only do you have to use a video advertising a product/service, but you can also create a video explaining how they work. These “explainer” videos have been used by 62% of businesses and out of those businesses, 81% said it helped sales increase. 

Here are four reasons why you should be using video!

1. Increase your traffic and awareness

SEO: Search Engine Optimization. It’s on every digital marketing professional’s list, and it’s one of the most important factors in your digital marketing scheme. Guess what – video production gets you found on search engines, too. How, you ask?

Without getting too technical, it gives you another opportunity to have the right keywords and metadata in place on your website (or other channel) to get found by the right people. For the same reasons that you might use a blog on your website, keywords on your homepage or even create entire sections of your site to be found by people relevant to your industry, video can serve the same purpose.

There are two major advantages of using video to increase website traffic and brand awareness:

• Both search engines and social media platforms “prefer” video content because it creates a higher quality user experience. For your site, you’re 55x (55 times!) more likely to be found on the first page of Google if your page has video on it. On social media, the algorithms are a little harder to measure – but you rank significantly higher on average on Facebook & Instagram and are 6x more likely to be retweeted on Twitter.
• Also, people are much more likely to find and stay on a page with video – making them more likely to explore the rest of your site or channel, and ultimately bring them closer to your brand. For the pro marketers out there, you’re getting a better chance to take them through the Interest part of your “funnel.” After getting found to begin with, getting them to keep engaging with you is the name of the game.

Use your newfound attention alongside good calls to action and lead collecting techniques like a strong mailing list plan, and you’ve got yourself a great way to drum up some business. P.S.: You know that all of the leads you collect from that are good ones – you already know they’re interested in what you do, after all.

Want to learn more about how your digital marketing videos can bring you more clients and leads? Read our article on inbound marketing! 

2. It’s more impactful

According to Social Media Today, videos are shared 1,200% more times than links and text combined. Why? It’s really thanks to psychology. We’re just programmed to respond to and remember visual and auditory stimulation more than reading words on a page – it’s human nature! That natural attention we give to video also opens up the doors to creating a real emotional connection or response to something in a way that you just can’t get without those stimuli. It’s like comparing reading a book to watching a movie – I love a good book, but the movie is much more immediately impactful and it comes at much less “cost” in mental effort to feel that impact.

Video is great at getting people to feel and understand your message with very little effort and in a very short time. That results in:

• More social media shares
• A better understanding of your message, service or products
• An increased likelihood people will actually get your message in the first place. Think how many people you’d miss out on simply because they didn’t read your caption or fully understand your website
• More interest and engagement with your content

Here’s a few extracurricular articles if you want to learn more!

What makes a “shareable” video?

Why do people respond to video so much more?

3. Develop your brand image

One of the biggest hurdles as a brand is convincing people that you’re the right choice for what you do. That’s different for everyone and there’s a million ways to go about it, but no matter what, you’ll have to broadcast your “pick me” in some way through your marketing efforts.

The way your brand and its values are represented is one of the most important factors of developing a strong foundation, and videos are a perfect way to capture what your business is about. It can humanize your brand by giving potential customers a face and voice to the service or product. It allows you to present your business as one that cares, that’s trustworthy, that’s reliable or an authority in your industry, and not just some people trying to sell something.

4. It results in increased sales

How? That would be reasons 1-3.

It helps get you found in the first place, is a much more effective tool to explain, entertain and persuade, and it allows you to show why you’re the right choice. Here’s a great stat for you in case you’re not convinced:

• 84% of consumers have been convinced to make a purchase after watching an explainer video for a product/service

Set yourself up some effective calls to action to encourage people to contact you or do whatever it is that works for your business. Make sure you’re collecting your leads all the while and following through with strong communication in order to fully take advantage of your content!

What to think about when creating video

When you think about the type of video you want to create, you need to remember people share more emotions than facts. If someone finds the video they just watched interesting or entertaining, they will be more likely to share it with their colleagues. Keep it professional, but also entertaining so it encourages social shares.

Here are three things you should think about when coming up with a concept for your video.

1. Define your audience. Know who you’re creating for and target your content at them
2. Have measurable goals. Track sales, site traffic or social engagement to see whether your content is working for you or not. It’s not all about getting likes!
3. Have a plan. Know why you’re creating specific content and how it will serve your goals. Generally, the more you help/benefit your audience in some way, the better the results

Don’t have a video production team under the roof? Our team at Access Media can help you produce videos for you company or brand, that will effectively tell your story and help you achieve your goals.