According to The Buggles’ hit song, video killed the radio star. According to content marketing trends on the other hand, video is simply killing it.
As outlined in Hubspot’s 2020 State of Marketing report, video has become the most commonly used content marketing format, overtaking blogs and infographics. Why? Let’s take a look.
It’s easy to consume
More than 500 million hours of video content is watched on YouTube each day. 500. Million. In our tech-driven society, video content is everywhere and can be quickly and easily accessed on a variety of platforms. Anyone who’s fallen prey to the modern problem/joy (take your pick) of binge watching knows just how easy it is to fall down the video content rabbit hole. And although mindless viewing is certainly a reality, research has shown viewers retain 95 per cent of a message when they watch it via video compared to a lowly 10 per cent retention through reading.[1]
It’s eminently shareable
Combining the strength of both auditory and visual formats, video is a particularly powerful form of storytelling. A great social video will be quick (two minutes has been shown to be ideal), concise and relatable, and this is the share-worthy trifecta. The numbers don’t get much better. Social video generates a whopping 1200 per cent more shares than texts and images combined.[2]
It increases engagement
Unlike traditional marketing, video content – and content in general – shouldn’t come across as a hard sell. In fact, it doesn’t need to sell at all. Quality content is authentic. By employing an audience-first approach, it should engage and inspire by providing interesting, entertaining and/or useful information. This helps build trust and establish long-term relationships which, in turn...
…increases traffic and sales
Like we said, video content shouldn’t come across as a hard sell. But that doesn’t mean it won’t help you sell. According to Wyzowl, 87 per cent of video marketers say the format has increased traffic to their website, while 80 per cent say video has directly increased sales.[3] Video also increases organic traffic from search engine results pages (SERPs) by 137 per cent. And get this. Simply mentioning the word 'video' in an email subject line increases the click-through rate by 19 per cent, while adding a video to a landing page can increase conversion by more than 80 per cent.[4]
You don’t need Hollywood directors or Oscar-winning actors to produce effective video content. In fact, simple and raw will bolster the authenticity factor. Just remember to keep your audience front of mind.
As with any form of content creation, video content requires a robust strategy and plan. Read more about building an effective content strategy here.
References: [1] https://www.impactplus.com/blog/video-content-the-importance-of-video-marketing#:~:text=While%20convenient%20and%20efficient%20for,print%20and%20direct%20mail%20combined. [2] As above [3] https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics [4] https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing
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