In the ongoing challenge to reach qualified prospects and customers, businesses are using video marketing to give themselves an edge. A recent study showed that 70 percent of professionals in marketing say that video converts prospects into customers better than any other media. Here are several benefits of video marketing to consider when evaluating if it is right for your business.
Access to captive audiences
Every day, more than 100 million web users access an online video. That’s a lot of video! With busy lives and demanding jobs, video marketing is often easier for time-strapped consumers to consume information than reading a long text-based article. Moreover, people want to watch video content online, so you’re reaching audiences using a medium that is sure to resonate. People are constantly watching video content, so you better have video content available for them to watch!
Increased recall
The Online Publishers Association reports that 80 percent of Internet users can recall a video advertisement they viewed on a website in the past month. Of that number, OVER HALF took an action after seeing the ad—some looked for more information, others visited the website in the ad, and others purchased the product outright. These are the actions that drive business! This metric alone shows the pulling power of a quality video production related to your product or service.
B2B expertise
Video marketing is not just for consumer-based companies. Three-quarters of executives in a recent Forbes study said they consume work-related video content on business websites at least one time every week. Many firms like Cisco, the giant networking hardware provider, are using video in B2B selling. Because many B2B products are large and complex, video for business is the perfect vehicle to help explain and demonstrate complicated products and services. Educating B2B buyers on innovative technology and cutting-edge features makes them more comfortable when signing purchase orders for those products. Plus, the extra production value doesn’t hurt!
Ten seconds to impact
Here is one of the keys to effective video creation: generally, marketers have 10 seconds to create an impact on video viewers such that they want to continue watching. Even if they continue on, more than 30 percent leave after 30 seconds, and almost half close out the video by the one-minute mark. The key is to create engaging material that addresses their questions and concerns—and don’t be boring! For many brands, capturing attention in those first few seconds is the hardest part, so seek out the expertise of video experts if you don’t know how to kick off your content effectively. The difference between a strong start and a weak start can completely transform the effectiveness of your content.
The rise of video marketing
The Internet continues its ongoing transition from a text-based environment to a visual medium. The rise of image-based websites like Instagram and Pinterest as well as the popularity of video sites like Vine and YouTube point to the popularity of image and video content on the web. Take advantage of a video for your business to increase customer engagement for more sales and higher profits!