Video continues to dominate the digital landscape. In 2019, people watched an average of 16 hours of online video each week (according to Wyzowl), and video is expected to make up 80% of all internet traffic by 2021.
Faced with these statistics, businesses must prioritize video as a viable marketing channel. But popularity isn’t the only reason marketers should be using this medium. In this post, we’ll break down why it’s vital to use video in your marketing, and how to get started if you aren’t already.
4 reasons why you should use video marketing
85% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and 92% of marketers who use video say it’s an important part of their marketing strategy. Why all the hype? Here are a few key reasons.
1. Video delivers a high ROI
A healthy ROI is a goal of any marketing campaign, and video delivers. In fact, 88% of video marketers agree that video gives them a positive ROI. Video reduces cost per lead by 19%, and promoted tweets with videos reduce cost-per-engagement by more than half for businesses.
For online stores, video is a powerful way to drive sales on product pages. The medium allows shoppers to see products from multiple angles and in action, so they’re more able to imagine using them in their own lives. That might explain why 74% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a software product by watching a video.
2. Video is popular and in-demand
Consumers crave video. People watch around 16 hours of online video every week, up 52% in the last two years. And they can’t get enough of it: 86% want more videos from companies.
YouTube is seeing high growth, with the number of channels reaching 1+ million subscribers increasing by more than 65% year over year. And on Twitter, video views are increasing 67% yearly, with more than 2 billion video views on the social media platform daily. The boom in social media’s popularity presents marketers with the opportunity to reach new audiences in novel ways.
3. Video captivates audiences
Video has proven to be one of the most engaging content formats. We skim or multitask when engaging with written content and podcasts, but are more focused when viewing video content. And people are willing to spend more time watching a video than in previous years, with completion rates for short marketing videos just below 90%. This data signals that marketers who use video are more likely to convey their message to audiences.
These trends ring true on social media, too. People are twice as likely to share social content that includes video. On Twitter, posts with video get 10x more engagement. In light of these stats, social media is the perfect space for distributing video content.
4. Video boosts SEO
Every marketer wants content to surface to the top on search engine result pages (SERPs) for maximum visibility. Video is an excellent way to improve your ranking odds and earn click-throughs.
There are a few specific ways video can boost your SEO efforts. For starters, a transcript from your videos can be used as additional content. This gives Google something else to crawl and, as a result, something else that can potentially rank.
Videos themselves can also rank and appear under search results. For example, if you search “creating a great digital experience,” this animated video whitepaper from Bython Media is among the top results.
This is all scratching the surface of how video impacts SEO. Video plays a vital role in SEO, and by proxy, in your company’s online success.
How to create a video marketing campaign
You don’t need to be an experienced videographer or have a big budget to get started with your own video marketing campaigns. There are many tools out there like Vyond that make creating videos easy regardless of production or design experience. Besides using accessible tools, marketers can follow these steps to produce engaging videos.
Start with a goal in mind
Determine your goals for your overall marketing campaigns, as well as for specific videos. Let’s say you want to launch a new product. The ultimate goal is sales, but not every awareness-building video is a conversion-oriented asset. For top-of-funnel (ToFu) video content, you might look at shares or engagement KPIs. But if it’s a product feature video on your product page, you’ll want to look more closely at video completion or conversion rates.
Choose a video format
There are a variety of types of videos to choose from: explainer videos, product videos, demos, testimonials, live streams, user-generated content (UGC), and more. The right format for your video depends on a few key factors:
- Channel: Where are you publishing and distributing your video? You might post a tutorial on your brand’s YouTube channel, but share a UGC video on Instagram.
- Audience: What types of video formats resonate with your audience? Conduct market research and competitive analyses to understand what people like and don’t like.
- Logistics: This includes considerations like budget and timeline. Animated videos, for example, are much simpler to execute than a live video that requires a set, camera equipment, and more.
Once you have the above problems solved, you’ll be ready to choose a type of content for video marketing. Then, it’s time to map out your video with a storyboard.
Create a storyboard and script
Storyboards and scripts keep teams on the same page. They’re a roadmap for executing the set vision for the video and minimizing the risk of costly reshoots.
To create a storyboard, start by outlining your ideas. With an idea of the video’s direction, you can begin to illustrate each part. If you’re not an artist, don’t worry! Stick figures will do. You just need enough visuals to communicate what’s happening at that moment in the video.
Now you’re ready to write your script. You’ll want to begin with an outline that centers on your call to action, followed by any characters and the general structure of the piece. After writing it, make sure you read it out loud—not just in your head. This will help you spot anything that sounds unnatural so you can adjust prior to creating your video.
Learn more about creating these resources with our guides on storyboarding and scriptwriting.
Create your video
You’ve done your prep work—now it’s time to bring your video to life!
The creation process depends on the type of video you’re making. For example; an explainer video may be a short whiteboard animation, while a product video may warrant multiple sections with mixed media.
Some videos are shot over several days, while others can be built in under an hour. If you want to create an animated video with Vyond, we offer a 14-day free trial of the Vyond Premium plan so you can try it out before committing to a subscription.
As you create your video, keep accessibility in mind. From both an audience-centric standpoint and a legal standpoint, it’s critical that people of all abilities and conditions are able to watch and engage with your videos. U.S.-based marketers can refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which establishes standards for making digital content accessible for all abilities. Compliance with Section 508 is also required of federal agencies and the companies that serve them.
Before you fully roll out your video campaign to the public, sample it with a select group to gauge their reactions and impressions. Send it to a few co-workers and ask for their input. Make necessary adjustments based on feedback before your full rollout.
Analyze and optimize your videos
Your work as a marketer isn’t over once the video is published. Monitor the content’s performance by tracking some or all of these KPIs:
Views: What counts as a view on one platform may not count as a view on another. For example, YouTube only counts a view if the video was watched for at least 30 seconds, and the viewing was intentional. Research what constitutes a view on any platform you’re using to ensure you are accurately tracking this important metric.
- Completion rate: Completion rate, like view counts, varies from platform to platform. For example, on YouTube, the completion rate will simply be per-video. On an Instagram story, you’ll want to note how many people completed all your stories for the day, or only made it through a couple.
- Click-through rate (CTR): If your completion rate is low, but CTR is high, that’s okay—it means people are interested enough to want to learn more. But when both metrics are low, you’ll want to brainstorm how your content can be more engaging.
- Conversion rate: This metric is especially important for product and demo videos, as it will show whether the content drove viewers to make a purchase or sign up for a trial.
- Engagement: Check how often users liked, commented on, or shared your video content on social platforms and YouTube.
All of the above metrics are important, regardless of where your video’s shared. But the location of the information can vary, as can the methods needed for gathering it. For example, your completion rate on an Instagram story will be nested within the story interface, while the completion rate for a YouTube video is on the channel dashboard.
When in doubt, do a search on the platform of your choice and find the metric you’re looking for. It’s almost always going to be available; it’s just a question of where.
Driving brand awareness and business through video
As such an engaging medium, video is perfect for keeping customers warm and piquing the interest of leads. After watching your video campaigns, your audience will be eager to stay connected with your brand and continue following its content.
Want to get started with your video marketing today? Sign up for a free 14-day trial and attend our bi-weekly tour of Vyond Studio.
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