If you’re a marketer, the word “video” is probably imprinted on your brain. Everywhere you look — somebody is talking about video; 73.4 million somebodies, according to Google. Clearly, this is not a boy-who-cried-wolf situation. There are real, tangible, evidence-based, overwhelmingly accepted benefits to using video. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it should lead your entire content marketing plan. Here are 9 reasons why:
1. Organic Traffic
In short, video hasn’t reached the point of saturation that other forms of content have. It will eventually, but for now — there’s still enough pie to go around. According to WordStream, we’re talking about a potential 157 percent spike in organic traffic from search engine result pages (SERPs).
2. Search Engine Ranking
A video on a landing page makes your website 53 times more likely to rank on page one of search engine results. Google ranks video higher than other types of content. It’s no surprise. They own YouTube! Plus, there’s plenty of ways to optimize your videos for search engines. We give you a few of our top secrets in this blog.
3. The Engagement Factor
Marketers are obsessed with increasing their audience’s engagement with campaigns. Why? Because when audiences are clicking around and following through with CTAs, they’re connecting with your brand on a deeper level and revealing valuable information about themselves. If their engagement happens to be social signals, they’re also helping to distribute your video content.
FYI: social videos generate 1200% more shares than text and images combined (Wordstream).
4. Valuable Performance Indicators
With text-based content, you can measure time spent on a page, click-through rate, or return visits. But analytics can’t tell us any more about how a visitor spent their time with the content, or which parts of the content most appealed to them. Video takes performance metrics a step further and allows marketers to measure drop-off points, repeated segments, number of times watched, and more for each individual viewer. With this information, they can determine exactly what’s working, and what isn’t.
5. Increase Retention Rate
When it comes to building relationships and brand awareness with your potential customers — every second counts. Videos less than a minute long achieve an average 80 percent viewer retention up to 30 seconds. This percentage drops as video length increases. But even a five- to 10-minute video sees more than 50 percent viewer retention at the halfway point.
6. Email Performance
Video brings greater value to your email subscribers by giving them information in the format they prefer. In fact, subscribers love video so much, just the existence of one can double your click-through rates. Include the word “video” in your email subject line, and you might just boost your open rate by 19 percent!
7. Perfect Match for Mobile
In 2016, mobile web browsing officially ranked higher than desktop. By 2019, mobile advertising will represent 72 percent of all US digital ad spending. Which would you prefer on a mobile device: tiny print that requires a ton of scrolling to get through? Or a quick video that fully utilizes that Retina display screen you paid a pretty penny for on your smartphone? The other factor to remember — if prospects are searching via mobile device, there’s a good chance they are multi-tasking or on the move. Video is more helpful in those scenarios than text, which requires undivided attention to digest.
8. Connect Intellectually and Emotionally with Audiences
What’s the point of content marketing? Yes, to inform people. But more importantly, it’s about creating touchpoints with your audiences and opportunities to connect with them on a deeper level. Through this connection, we can nurture and guide them to a purchasing decision. Text and static imagery — when good — does achieve this. But no form of content is more effective than video, which combines motion picture, face-to-face interaction, powerful music, and a compelling storyline. Collectively, these elements trigger emotions and drive stronger relationships between brands and buyers.
9. Catalyst for Conversions
Video on a landing page can increase conversions by more than 80 percent (Wordstream). And online shoppers who check out a video demo are 1.81x more likely to buy. In other words, video is incredibly convincing. It allows audiences to see products or services in action, or listen face-to-face to satisfied customers,Keep in mind, leading your content marketing plan with video doesn’t mean doing away with other forms of content. Winning strategies find the right balance and leverage all types of content to interact with and educate their audiences. Next up, check outthis blogthat pairs specific video campaigns with specific universal marketing goals.
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