Of all the things I have to worry about on a daily basis, video marketing has really grabbed my attention, and I hope it’s starting to grab yours.
Video marketing is climbing in popularity because companies are realising how useful it can be to communicate with customers in new, more personal ways. If you haven’t been thinking about using video to market your brand, now is the time.
To get the ideas flowing, here are 16 facts about video marketing that will keep you up at night musing over how you can leverage the channel to better connect with customers.
1) YouTube—A Search Engine?
YouTube is the number two search engine in the world. Not Bing. Not Yahoo. But YouTube.
While everyone focuses so much on Google, YouTube is sitting there waiting to be used to generate leads.
Action Steps:
– Set up a YouTube channel.
– Choose a channel icon (think of it like your profile picture) that reflects your brand.
– Upload a trailer to introduce non-subscribers to what videos they should expect.
2) Increase Understanding
Videos increase people’s understanding of your product or service by 74%. If you have a complicated product, or you’re just trying to raise awareness of a new innovation, videos can help customers grasp new concepts.
Action Steps:
– Post product information videos on your website, and point back to them when customers have questions.
– Create a series of videos that explain your product with varying levels of detail and complexity. Which video you show to customers depends on their knowledge level and where they are in the buying process.
3) More Information
26% of Internet users look for more information after viewing a video ad. If it’s a well-targeted ad that lasts in the consumer’s mind, it’ll generate more views.
Action Steps:
– Always consider your audience when creating and placing a video ad.
- What types of videos do they appreciate?
- What do they want to know?
- Where do they hang out?
– Create a landing page that provides the information they’re looking for and entices them to navigate through other pages in your site.
4) Better Memory
80% of Internet users remember the video ads they watch online. This statistic really stands out to me because the web has become a chaotic, clustered place, and as a result, getting customers to remember your brand has become a daunting challenge.
Action Steps:
– Be intentional with what you put in your video ads. What do you want customers to remember? Product feature? Company name? Sales rep?
– Integrate other promotions via social media to further expose customers to the information you want them to remember.
5) More Willing To Watch
80% of your online visitors will watch a video, while only 20% will actually read content in its entirety. Even highly involved customers won’t take the time to finish reading your content. When customers aren’t personally invested in your product or service yet, video is a good way to still get their attention.
Action Steps:
– Do a video post on your blog discussing a topic you would have otherwise written about.
– Track this post to see what users say about it and how they interact with it.
– See the next statistic . . .
6) Vlogging
Blog posts incorporating video attract three times as many inbound links as blog posts without video—in case you needed another reason to try incorporating video into your normal posting schedule.
Action Steps:
– Take a poll of your readers to see if they would be interested in seeing more video content.
– Research competitor blogs to see how they are using video to discuss industry-related topics.
7) 1 Minute
45% of viewers will stop watching a video after 1 minute and 60% by 2 minutes. You don’t have a lot of time to make your point, so plan each second carefully. Every moment in your video should have a purpose.
Action Steps:
– Don’t waste time with unnecessary introductions or wordy answers. Edit these parts out.
– Always have a plan and a completed script when you film to make sure you’re touching on only the important points.
8) Shorter The Better
Videos 15 seconds or shorter are shared 37% more often than those that last between 30 seconds to a minute. Truly—the shorter the better. Respect your customers’ time and be as concise as possible.
Action Steps:
– Keep your videos short and sweet.
– Use applications like Vine and Instagram Video—both are perfect for developing to-the-point videos.
9) Extra Visits
75% of users visit the marketer’s website after viewing a video. It’s always challenging trying to find new ways to interest customers. Videos can pull customers into your website.
Action Step:
– Tweet, pin, and post videos on social media to distribute them as widely as possible.
10) Mobile Mania
Mobile users will watch a video anywhere from 2.4 to 5 minutes. While I just used the last two points to touch on the importance of keeping video lengths manageable, there is a place for longer videos, and it turns out, mobile users are more than willing to consume longer videos.
Action Steps:
– Optimise your videos for mobile.
– Make visuals and graphics large enough to be viewed on a smaller screen.
– Make sure your video can render quickly on mobile devices.
11) Data Trends
Two-thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2016. That’s less than two years away, and two-thirds is a large chunk of data. You need to have a mobile video presence by that time.
Action Steps:
– Even if it’s just one video per month that gives customers a company update, start posting—you may learn a lot from your customers’ initial feedback, and you will gain experience creating and posting videos.
– Optimise your video content so mobile viewers can have the best experience possible.
12) Introductory Emails
An introductory company email that includes a video receives an increase in click-through rate by 96%. That first contact with customers after they sign up for your email list is so important. You don’t want to waste it.
Action Steps:
– Use that first contact to introduce your company, employees, or even a special new product that the customer needs to know about.
– Begin incorporating video into your general email marketing strategy.
– Bonus stat: including video in an introductory email reduces the number of subscriber opt-outs by 75%.
13) Executive’s Love Video Too
75% of executives told Forbes they watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week. Talk about a great tool for B2B businesses. Video is an effective way to share valuable information and insight with other professionals.
Action Steps:
– Connect with other professionals by targeting them with informative videos on industry-related topics.
– Use LinkedIn to better target upper-level employees with more authority.
14) Average Site Duration
The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video. Not only do videos attract more click-throughs, they also do a pretty good job of keeping customers interested in your offerings.
Action Steps:
– Use video on product landing pages to retain customers and pull them further into the sales funnel.
– Consider adding video to your homepage to introduce customers to your company, brand, and offerings.
15) Comedy Club
Comedy is the most popular form of online video content among all viewers (39%). No secret here—people love to laugh. They love to be entertained, and if you can entertain them, you’ll build brand loyalty. People protect what they like.
Action Steps:
– Avoid being too stuffy with every video—show customers you’re human with a sense of humor.
– Keep your humor relevant to the industry. You still need to target an audience.
16) Increasing Investment
76% of marketers plan to increase their use of video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2014. Now is the time to get your team together to start developing a video marketing strategy. The longer you wait, the less of an impact your strategy will have.
Action Steps:
– Set your goals for video marketing. What do you want to accomplish by using this channel?
– Analyse some of the most viral video marketing campaigns out there, and then start piecing together your own strategy.
– Most importantly—get creative!
Final Thoughts
As I was researching these facts, I can’t say I was very surprised. The web has become very cluttered with content. If you can reach customers visually, your message is going to stand out. The more your message stands out, the more effectively you can reach customers.
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