Statistics indicate people have insatiable appetites for videos. They watch more than 500 million hours of YouTube content daily and upload more video content in 30 days than TV networks made over three decades.
Moreover, a study from Forrester revealed there would be more than 200 million online viewers in 2018. It also showed that by 2023, advertiser spending on videos would reach $103 billion. The projected total for 2018 is $91 billion, confirming an expected continued and growing interest in the format.
Indeed, brands have compelling reasons to incorporate videos into their marketing campaigns. An infographic from One Marketing shows more than half of companies are already doing so.
And, seven in 10 people have more favorable impressions of brands after watching interesting clips from brands than before consuming that content. The infographic also mentioned if given a choice between video or text-based marketing, more than two in three people would prefer watching a clip than reading about a product.
Brands that were on the fence about relying on video marketing to achieve their goals should realize now is the time to update their strategies and include video. Audiences love videos, and that kind of media offers advantages not necessarily present in other forms of advertising.
Here are four things brands should do to make videos work effectively for them.
1. Decide Which Types Are Most Appropriate
All marketing requires analyzing an audience to determine the marketing methods that are most relevant to them. If a brand wants to connect with older generations who might balk at using the Internet, they could focus on TV, radio and direct mail ads instead of website banners, for example.
Concerning videos, the options brands could pursue are numerous. A company might create an explainer video discussing tips for using one of the brand’s most popular products, or it could make a clip about notable aspects of the organization’s culture. The latter option could be useful for giving an organization an element of relatability or making people interested in working at its offices.
2. Show What Makes a Brand Stand Out
It’s also worthwhile for brands to figure out the best ways to use videos to convey why what they offer is different from what competitors provide. A video could show the user-friendliness of an interface, the efficiency of a process or how much people enjoy making the items a company sells part of their lives.
In any case, brands should strive to get to the point quickly when showcasing such things. Viewers often don’t have the patience for overly long videos, and will likely stop watching if they get bored.
3. Give Videos a Dedicated Section on the Company Website
Some brands assume it’s sufficient to provide a link to a YouTube profile to highlight videos. Instead of only doing that, it’s useful to reserve a website section for videos. By doing so you can not only earn more views for your videos but also can retain customers on your site instead of sending them somewhere else.
A Wistia survey from 2016 found people browsed pages with videos 2.6 times longer than those without them.
4. Use Videos to Reduce the Input Needed From Customer Support Experts
When brands manufacture and distribute items for customers, they often employ teams of specialists who handle the most common queries about those products. Videos could minimize the number of times people seek outside help, especially if brands research the most common customer support topics, then create tutorial videos addressing them.
Research shows 47 percent of brands depending on videos that way reported a reduction in customer service queries. Company representatives should also keep in mind that many people appreciate being able to troubleshoot matters themselves, especially if they don’t like the idea of potentially waiting on hold for help from a human.
Brands could even insert an audio clip into the hold music they use when people call for help. Besides informing people the approximate waiting time remaining, the audio information could invite them to check out the database of support videos and provide the necessary URL. It’s also smart to give the video library address on a “Contact Us” page, thereby increasing the chances people will go look for videos first before dialing a support number.
Videos Help Organizations Progress Toward Goals
The content above gives tips for making beneficial videos. So, after reading it, brand managers might wonder how to determine if videos have the desired effects.
In short, an ideal way to do that is to choose well-defined purposes for videos — such as to increase sales or website traffic — then measure whether the content moves companies closer to those positive outcomes over time. If it doesn’t, reassessments may be in order.
