We are on the cusp of another monumental shift in marketing. The last impactful push was the crowning of content as King. Deep breath, marketers — the throne has not been compromised. But when the industry decided content was the most powerful way to reach audiences, a chain of events were triggered.
And nearly a decade later…we’re just now starting to deal with the repercussions.
There’s more content available online than any one person can consume in a lifetime. And the onslaught of information has exceeded our mental capacity, rendering audiences in a state of “content shock”. In other words, it’s become more difficult to engage and captivate people. And that means our brand stories and messages aren’t getting through to target audiences. Other side effects of content shock include:
But the best marketers aren’t panicking, they’re adapting. We already know that targeting is the heartbeat of marketing. And relevant content is the lifeblood. But what about the vessel in which your message is being delivered? Relax, readers. We aren’t about to flash back to high school biology. We’re talking about giving your message a faster, more effective vehicle. Instead of text alone, marketers are finding that video is the most powerful way to deliver stories and messages.
Consider this: YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in existence. 55 percent of people watch at least one YouTube video every day, and 70 percent of the top 100 search listings on Google are videos.
Google owns YouTube, so this isn’t terribly surprising. But it is a giant flashing sign for marketers to step up their video game. Here’s the catch — video marketing isn’t as easy as deciding one day to give it a shot. It’s easy to get caught up in the fantasy of a video-gone-viral, like Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise, a promotional video for the movie release of Carrie. Or Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches. But these are the exceptions to the rule. The reality — video marketing requires consistency and strategy, just like any other marketing approach.
Understandably, video marketing seems a bit ambitious for some marketing teams. It requires time, energy and possibly a bigger budget (cue music of doom). But video will eclipse text content in the years to come, and the bottom line is — organizations can’t afford not to implement it.
If hiring an in-house video team isn’t an option, consider partnering with an outside video marketing agency. They have the manpower and artistic direction to help you produce targeted and compelling video campaigns (but without the overhead). More importantly, they offer sage advice on details like the ideal video duration given the message being delivered, how to target and engage audiences using visual/audio components, and which distribution channels will deliver the greatest impact.
Trade secret: The other advantage to working with a video marketing agency is their vision and ability to repurpose video content to stretch the investment and contribute to greater content consistency. For example, splitting a video into smaller clips and re-distributing them, implementing minor tweaks for use at trade shows and other promotional events, or transcribing a video and re-distributing the story as a blog article or eBook. Content Marketing Institute did a case study that repurposed one video into 8 different assets!
Video isn’t a fleeting trend. It’s quickly becoming the future of marketing. If you don’t have the capability to create your own, chum up with an agency that can help. Every brand has a story. Every story has a message. Doesn’t yours deserve to be told in the best way possible?
What's the best example of marketing communications video content that you've ever seen? Let us know and we'll help you figure out how to achieve the same for your organization!
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