Many marketers and companies have jumped on the video bandwagon and are incorporating videos in their websites and email marketing. Social media platforms have made it easier to post video content and ads, and videos are more accessible on mobile devices, too.
A recent study conducted by ReelSEO found that out of 600 marketers, 93% of them are using videos in their marketing campaigns, and 82% confirmed that video marketing had a positive impact on their business.
If you need help with your video, social media, or sales marketing, check out our Ultimate Marketing Summit Guide.
Why Video Marketing Works
Videos aren’t the easiest pieces of content to produce. To look professional, they require scripting, planning, filming, and editing. So, why should you go through the trouble of creating video marketing content for your company? The answer is simple – it’s what consumers want to see.
Videos offer a personal connection that is unlike what other types of marketing content can provide. While blogs are a great way to start and enhance a relationship with potential customers, blogs are still just a stranger writing content. Even if there’s a by-line and a headshot, readers can’t interact with a still photo or read emotional cues and facial expressions.
Videos can provide the same information as a blog, but they also give readers a personal connection with a person talking directly to the viewers. Video content reveals the face AND personality behind the content.
Additionally, videos give your audience an easier way to consume information. Reports show that if there is both video and text on a page, 60% of visitors will watch the video before reading any text. The same goes for business-to-business marketing, as 59% of senior executives reported they prefer video over text.
Where Engagement Is Increased
Videos will make more of an impact on your audience. A study conducted in 2007 found that 80% of viewers recall a video ad they watched in the last 30 days, and 26% of viewers went on to look for more information about the product in the ad. The impressive stats continue as 22% of viewers went on to visit the product site, 15% visited the brand site, and 12% made a purchase. A majority of consumers feel more confident making a purchase after viewing a video about the product.
Videos also increase inbound links to your blog posts. Video posts are shared 1200% more than links and texts combined, and viewers are much more likely to press a “share this video” button than they would with text.
In email marketing, introductory emails benefit big time from videos. Click-through rates are increased by 96% if the first email a subscriber receives has a video, and you’ll enjoy 5.6% higher open rates when a video is included. Just including the word “video” in the subject line is enough to increase open rates by 7%.
With the demand out there for video marketing, here’s how you can use it to your advantage and experience higher customer engagement.
Keep Videos Short and Sweet
It might be tempting to make the most out of the time and effort that goes into creating video content by cramming tons of information into it. Don’t do it! A long and rambling video won’t perform as well as one that it short and to the point.
A study conducted by Wistia in 2012 took a look at the relationship between video length and viewer retention. Not surprisingly, the longer a video went on, the lower its retention was. Videos under one minute kept 80% of the viewers up to the 30-second mark, and videos two to three minutes long had 60% viewer retention. Even videos five to ten minutes long (which is about the longest you should go for marketing purposes) had over 50% retention at the halfway point.
If you’re not sure how long is too long, a good rule of thumb to start with is to keep your videos under two minutes and focus the script on three major points. You can experiment from there with longer and shorter videos.
Know Where to Use Videos
Videos can be used in many places, and effective video marketing will require an understanding of which channels work best for your brand and your audience.
Landing pages are a great place to start with your video marketing since landing pages with videos lead to 800% more conversions. Visitors tend to stay longer on a site with prominent video displayed, as well. Uploading videos directly to Facebook instead of linking to Youtube helps engagement rates due to Facebook’s algorithm.
You’ll want to experiment with cross-promoting vs. direct upload and track engagement rates across multiple platforms.
If you haven’t started using video marketing yet, it’s time to start. The statistics speak for themselves, and it’s easy to see how video marketing can make a positive impact on your business.