When we talk about content marketing, many of us think about the print word- long form content and articles that people read and share, or share without reading. Many forget that video is a form of content as well, delivering a higher impact because of its engaging nature that requires more than just your visual sense.
1 minute of video = 1.8 million words, according to Forrester Research, enough said.
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The Case for Video
It really takes quite little to justify why businesses should include video as part of their marketing mix. Statistics from research and media agencies have shown the overwhelming success of videos :
- 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — up from 63% over the last year. (Hubspot)
- 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television. (Google)
- Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year. (Insivia)
- 64% of consumers purchase after watching branded social videos (Tubular Insights)
- According to Video Explainers, a business is 53x more likely to appear on the first page of Google results if it utilizes video on their website. The inclusion of video improves SEO, which consequently boosts a business’ site in the rankings
- Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Insivia)
- A Facebook video receives, on average, 135% more organic reach than a Facebook photo (Socialbakers)
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Endless ways to Use Video in Your Marketing ToolKit
So how can businesses use videos to amplify their audience reach? At the heart of all video is about telling a story – your story to be precise. And the style, voice and length of your video can greatly impact what you are trying to achieve.
Corporate Videos
Marketers love using videos to tell their brand story, and it’s not hard to see why. It is much more interesting to tell the history of your brand, what you stand for and what you are trying to achieve via a 3-minute video compared to 3 pages of text on your website.
There are in fact many styles and types of corporate videos you can explore and a myriad of ways to use them. For example, corporate videos can include recruitment videos that emphasise company culture, corporate social responsibility videos or “before-and-after” case studies. When done right, these can help clients to identify with and feel closer to the brand.
Corporate videos are great for filling time before presentations, creating brand awareness at corporate events, used for sponsorship, as well as creating brand awareness via social media. Optimise the money you’ve spent on a good quality video by re-using it on different channels.
Product Explainer
Using a video to explain your product is one of the best ways for your audience to learn or understand how to use your product and highlight its unique selling points. This is especially efficient for explaining intangible products – software, technology, complex financial products or how an online platform works. Compared to reading a user manual, videos help the viewer to retain a better memory of the product and is pretty efficient as a sale kit as well.
Testimonial
No one really trusts a company that blows its own trumpet, but people will listen to other people’s opinions about you. Clients’ testimonials help to build credibility and authenticity for your brand.
There are many ways to utilise videos as part of your marketing and advertising effort. For one, you can implement a video ad on a publisher’s website to reach your audience, include a video link in an email blast (Forrester Marketing found CTR increased to 300% with an explainer video link in email marketing) or upload a series of videos on youtube or your social network to gain a following. Check below for a list of video ideas and some great examples:
- “How it’s made”: Discovery Channel – Coca Cola
- User-generated: Unilever – All Things Hair
- Knowledge: Khan Academy – You can Learn Everything
- Tutorial: Michelle Phan – Youtube channel
- Event: CloserStill Media – Cloud Expo Asia 2014
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Using video marketing has proved itself to achieve far superior results compared to many other channels. If video is not yet a part of your marketing strategy and you are keen to explore its potential, contact us to find out more!
