Reel them in: how video content enhances your marketing

You’ve no doubt noticed an increase in the number of web videos on business websites and social media these days – whatever the sector, target audience, or product/service. And there are reasons for that.

With the trend towards cleaner, more visual, dynamic, less wordy and mobile-friendly web designs, video has become indispensible in replacing the clutter of text. A well-produced video can, in as little as 30 seconds, convey the same as an entire page of text – in a much more memorable, engaging way. In fact, various studies suggest people remember 75-80% of what they see, compared to only around 20% of what they read.

By far, the video format seeing the biggest increased use is the explainer video, which is typically either animated or an infographic with voice-over and/or music.

An explainer video runs anywhere from 30 seconds to 8 minutes, and can be an overview of your business or highlight a particular product or service. They’re especially useful in conveying complex information in a simplified, sometimes humorous way.

Why use explainer videos?

• Better Google search ranking: an engaging video will keep viewers on your site for on average, 2 minutes longer, which leads to your site ranking higher on Google for greater visibility.
• Share-ability: video content is easily shared on social media, spreading your brand and message far and wide. It might even go viral!
• Boost conversion rates: US statistics from the last few years suggest that viewers are between 64-85% more likely to buy after watching a product video.
• Simplify your message: people are more likely to “get” you and your message from a short video (with a great script and voice-over) than from pages of text, which is often open to interpretation.
• Video is the future of marketing: Cisco Visual Networking Index projects that by 2018, global IP video traffic will be 79% of all consumer Internet traffic, up from 6% in 2013.

So if you’re ready to add video to your marketing strategy, be aware that there’s nothing worse than a DIY clip – it’s a surefire way to damage your credibility and turn viewers away from your site! Instead, seek out a professional video company; one that understands your objectives, target audience, and the best way to tell your story visually, to create memorable, share-worthy viewing!