Videos have a way of connecting your audience to your brand in ways that aren’t possible with other forms of marketing. Through videos, you can tell stories, evoke emotion and create time lapses. The average user spends more time watching videos online than any other activity, and it’s been predicted that 74 percent of all internet traffic will be video by 2017. To create an online marketing strategy that doesn’t leave room for video content would be senseless in this day and age.
Here are a few compelling reasons why video content should play a key role in your 2015 marketing plan.
It Shows the Real You
Your brand has a voice, but it can be hard to accurately portray this voice through written content alone. Video content allows you to position yourself and your product or service before you sell it to customers.
Why? The brain is wired to see a human face as a trusting source of information. When your audience watches a video and sees real people talking, they build trust more quickly than if they were reading words. Plus, when humans talk, the words are more meaningful than if they were simply read on paper.
It Improves Engagement
Knowing that the human brain responds well to human faces, voices and emotions, you can understand how videos pull people in right off the bat, leading to more engagement. The more people watch your video, the more they will share it with others, bringing massive exposure to your brand. With so many ideas for video content that range from telling stories to making people laugh to generating discussions, there is always room to cultivate new interest.
It’s More Influential
One of the exciting parts of content marketing is watching your leads, followers and sales increase as a result of the valuable information you put out there. When people feel that you’ve offered this value and left them wanting more, they’re not shy in following through with the desired action, whether it’s subscribing to a blog, signing up for a newsletter or joining a fan club.
Videos have a way of being influential, so you can expect to see your leads, conversion rates and sales increase. Make sure that you have clearly defined goals so that you can write a powerful CTA and measure conversions and sales.
It’s the New Marketing
Video content marketing should be part of your overall online marketing strategy. It fits in nicely with the other things you’re already doing. For instance, video content can improve open rates and click-through rates and reduce unsubscribers to your email list. You can repurpose some of your popular content into short videos. Additionally, you may use short videos for social media engagement, SlideShare presentations and for establishing a channel on YouTube.
Video ads are not going away anytime soon. With so many people using their mobile devices for entertainment and information, videos fit seamlessly into this context. Your customers will expect you to be creating videos as well, and chances are high that your audience accounts for at least some of the 90 million people who watch videos regularly.
