1) It’s Fast.
A video can deliver a complex message much faster than any other medium. In a 30-60-second video you can make a strong pitch to your target market that paints a picture of your unique value proposition. This can be featured on the front page of your website, displayed or “embedded” in the body of an email, or used by sales associates to educate leads. The ways in which you can use video are endless, but you should take care to make sure it is an integrated part of your strategic marketing plan.
2) It’s Fun.
How often do you see people sitting around a screen sharing a featured article? That’s right, never. People love watching and sharing videos, though. YouTube is the 3rd most popular website in the US (alexa.com) and a March 2013 study shows 85% of internet users watched videos online. Video’s ability to bring people together is a huge opportunity to create a community around your brand with which you can interact, thereby gaining valuable insights into how your product or service is perceived.
3) It’s Effective.
A 2010 COMSCORE survey indicates that 96% of online shoppers watch online video, looking for information that will help them make an informed decision. This stat has two important takeaways. One, that people trust video as a helpful resource, and two, that any video, whether cheap or expensive, has a high probability of being seen if placed correctly. As soon as it is live, a video provides metrics that can help you adjust your strategy, giving you insight into the effectiveness of your page layout, the accuracy of your market segmentation, or…’gulp’…your product itself.
Not having video at all is really ineffective. I have found in my research that although many of the statistics claiming people retain only 20% of what they read are false, well-established memory and cognition research has shown that when reading on a device we are more apt to forget what we have read. So if you want a message that sticks, go with a video.
4) It’s Valuable.
In a recent report, Nielsen/IAB recommends “moving 15% of TV budgets to online video in order to increase reach at a lower cost.” Video’s ability to draw people in is a another opportunity to create a community around your brand with an optimistic cost-benefit bent. These insights create actionable metrics instantly and can be analyzed to maximize reach while reducing unnecessary costs. In fact, it’s obvious (to a researcher, at least) that Nielsen/IAB’s recommendations are conservative considering online viewing increased 45% from 2010 to 2011, and they’re suggesting a 15% reallocation. These insights create actionable data which can be analyzed to adjust and maximize reach while better controlling or reducing costs. To curb the “marketing speak” – you get detailed information about your product’s reputation that is more helpful, delivered faster, and best of all, cheaper to come by.
5) It’s easier than you think.
43% of marketers cite lack of available video content as their reason for not using video in email campaigns – EMARKETER, 2013. This very same report showed that marketing emails that did include video showed increased click-through rates, engagement with marketing emails, and increased “shares” (I do not have #’s, apologies, apologies all around). Making an effective video isn’t rocket science. It all comes down to creating an effective script that depicts the right message for its audience. What’s your business about? How does your product or service make the world a better place for your customer? These types of questions can be answered in a brainstorm – and then distilled into scripts for interesting short videos (and I mean short!). Beware, what you put in is what you get out, so make a plan. If you have time but not money, spend that time crafting a message that presents a solid pitch of your organization you can deliver simply, as in a video made on your phone or web cam. If you have the money but not the time, hire an agency to develop and pitch you some ideas based on minimal exploratory research.
In the time you’ve taken (thank you, by the way) to read this blog, the statistical evidence for the popularity and power of marketing with online video has become even more solid. So don’t delay, and make a video (plan) today!
