Video content is hot. It’s a powerful storytelling medium that supports a brand’s marketing campaigns and helps create deeper, more satisfying relationships with an audience. As digital marketing has evolved, video has moved to the forefront, reaching more people every day.
First, some stats. Over 80% of Twitter users watch video content posted there while 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook and/or YouTube videos a week. And experts predict that in just a couple years online videos will make up to 85% of U.S. consumer internet traffic.
Worth 1.8 Million Words
Ready for one more stat? Forrester Research estimates that just one minute of video is worth 1.8 million written words!
While all these numbers are pretty impressive, video as part of an overall marketing strategy is only successful if it entertains and provides value to viewers, just like the written word. Still, video marketing is now one of the best tools at your disposal, so it’s worth understanding what it can achieve, and how you can make it work for your campaigns.
Video Content and the Buyer’s Journey
Video's an exciting medium, so it’s easy to forget its purpose is the same as with all inbound marketing strategies: to identify your audience’s needs and then determine which message your content should contain. A great way to do this is by focusing on the buyer’s journey and creating your videos accordingly.
- In the awareness stage, your viewer realizes she or he has a problem that needs to be solved. This is the time for educational videos that increase visibility and build brand awareness. Short narrative commercials and social media videos also increase engagement and drive visits to a website.
- In the consideration stage, your lead begins their research and evaluates possible solutions. Videos in this stage are for providing solutions. Explainer videos catch the audience’s attention and give them the information they need in just a few seconds. Explainer videos are perfect YouTube vehicles, helping you boost leads and increase conversions. Webinars and how-to videos are also effective at this stage.
- In the decision stage, the customer decides to purchase your product or service. What better way to achieve that outcome than through customer testimonial video content? People love hearing from other people who have used your product or service. This type of video helps generate brand trust and close deals. FAQ, company story, and product features videos can all help bring your leads to a final purchase.
Video Content and Influencer Marketing
As a marketing pro, you know that people are more likely to buy a product or service that’s recommended by someone just like them. Consumers put great weight in the opinions of their peers and are much more influenced by their reviews and endorsements.
Video content offer endless new ways to connect with your audience on social media, engaging them in a quick, captivating way. If your brand offers a consistent stream of helpful content and insights, you can accelerate your influencer status much more quickly than with written content alone.
Related: Why Video Content Marketing Is The Future
The Bottom Line
Video content creation can be a powerful tool, but it’s not the easiest marketing technique to master. As you might suspect, the video landscape has become a noisy and competitive one. With so many videos competing for eyeballs, there’s no guarantee how quickly you’ll see a return on your investment, if at all. But with the right plan and a little creativity, just about any brand can benefit from using video to tell engaging stories and motivate their audience to take action. To learn more about video content marketing, check out our white paper, "What is Content Marketing? And Why Is It So Important?"
