It’s no secret that the digital world has undergone a huge transformation over the last decade. We truly live in a mobile video content world. People do their research on employers, restaurants, products to buy, and more organically throughout their day on mobile devices.
Initially, computers were bulky, expensive, and inaccessible. Today, you can access, store, and create information anywhere in the world at the blink of an eye. As a result, the world of content marketing has had to undergo incredible changes. And it is still evolving all the time.
One of the biggest changes has been in terms of video. The rise of video has transformed how digital brands can send messages. It has also changed how customers most like to receive them. Let’s explore the importance of video content marketing. It will likely only grow if current trends continue.
Consumers Like Digital Visual Content Better
Ultimately, consumer preference has largely driven the popularity of video content. Do you want to attract fans, followers, and customers? Then you need to provide them with the kind of content that they want to experience. It will help them be open to your messages.
According to Smart Insights, 72% of people prefer video over text content when learning about a new product or service. In many cases, video is not even the quickest way to learn about something. However, it is what people overwhelmingly prefer.
They Are Also More Likely To Share It
On top of this preference, 83% of consumers also said that they would consider sharing a video they enjoyed with friends. This offers your brand even more benefits. It helps to boost brand awareness, grow engagement, and improve your ROI.
While people used to get most of their visual content and advertising from television and films, that is no longer the case. In fact, according to Google, 6 out of 10 people would now rather watch online videos than television.
Video Content Can Help Your Brand Shine
There is a lot more you can do with video content than many people realize. Video content can include:
- Explainers
- Presentations
- Vlogs
- Tutorials
- Webinars
- Ads
- Customer Testimonials
- Interviews
- Product Videos
- Live Video
- Social media content
These can be anything from hours-long presentations on your site, to 5-minute YouTube tutorials, to 10-second TikToks. Your overall content strategy will likely benefit from a mix of video content. This content will need to serve different purposes, be meant for different platforms, and be of different lengths.
You can use video content to build your authority, build your brand’s likability, appeal to entirely different audiences. One major brand who has taken an interesting approach to social media video content is The Washington Post. They regularly post fun content showing a take on life inside their offices to their over 130,000 TikTok fans.
Regardless of how you choose to use video content, it is a powerful tool that you cannot afford to let pass you by.
Video Content Shapes Shopping Behavior
While video content’s popularity is especially high amongst Millennials and Gen-Z, it is actually influential across all age demographics. Video content overwhelmingly helps to shape shopping behavior. According to Hubspot, nearly 50% of all internet users look for videos related to a product or service online before visiting a business in person.
You can use video to make powerful first impressions and get conversions.
76% of people have said that they purchased a product or service after watching a video. Nearly 60% of consumers think it is important for products and services to explain themselves in a video format. Also, over half of Millennials find video content to be the most engaging of all types of content.
It is difficult to capture consumer attention online. There are numerous reasons for this. Consumers get tired of advertising tactics quickly. This means that marketers must always evolve. Another reason is that content is endlessly being created. On YouTube alone, 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute.
There is so much constantly being added to the digital sphere. People around the world flood the internet with content daily. As a result, it would be impossible for any single person to be aware of it all. It is easy for your brand to get lost in the mix without a smart strategy.
However, if you can create video content that connects, you will be able to properly guide your customers on every step of the customer journey. In an evolving digital marketing landscape, this is very powerful. You never know exactly when and where someone will interact with your content.
Boost Your Reach And Overall Engagement
Of course, having shareable, clickable, content in everyone’s favorite format will boost your reach and engagement. However, numbers reveal the surprising extent of the powerful effect that video content can have.
Videos attach 300% more traffic and can help to nurture important leads. Also, did you know that a website is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes video? This is according to research from Insivia. Video gives you powerful benefits.
Video Draws People In
People simply spend more time on web pages with video content attached. This means that it can help you improve your bounce rate. This may play a role in Google determining how relevant and useful your site is, boosting its rank.
Did you know that including video content can even improve your email performance? According to HubSpot, adding video content to your emails can increase click rates by 300%. Video has numerous applications across your entire digital branding and content strategy.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Video content is a favorite of both consumers and marketers. In fact, the majority of consumers prefer video content. They even say that they say they want more of it from brands.
Many brands have found that video content is their best performing content. According to Hubspot, 52% of marketers say that this type of content has the best ROI. If you are not leveraging video content, you need to start.
The Future Of Video Is Bright
The overall popularity of video content is only set to grow. In fact, video is expected to make up 82% of video traffic by 2021. Even on Instagram, which largely came to fame as a place to share images, video is taking over. User-time spent watching videos is up more than 80% year-over-year. This is a massive climb.
Video is an effective and engaging medium. You can achieve numerous goals for your business and brand through it. Video can be applied across social media, your home base, emails, and more. It is in the process of sweeping the internet. So, you can’t afford to be left behind.
Which types of content do you also think are important for the future of marketing? Comment below…
