Video Marketing – Editorial PR

22/Oct/2020

With the average person set to spend more than an hour and a half a day watching online videos in 2021, there has never been a better time to invest in video marketing. Here are five more reasons why video can benefit your business during the next 12 months.

Educate and inform

The old adage that a picture can tell a thousand words rings true for many consumers who defer to visual content when attempting to gain a better understanding of a product or service. 97% of marketers believe that videos help to communicate the features and value of something to audiences, according to research by HubSpot.

Sales pitches in videos are unlikely to resonate though. Brands should instead attempt to provide added value by offering an in-depth, balanced review of a product, showing how it works and the best way to buy it.

Optimise for SEO

Google is all about serving high-quality content in search. Video fits neatly into this objective and will be readily consumed by viewers. Cisco forecasts that over 80% of all web traffic will consist of video by the end of next year.

To optimise your video for search so that it has a better chance of featuring near the top of rankings, you will need to include a meta description for SEO with the right mix of keywords and a detailed overview of what it is about. A strong title is also helpful.

Competitive edge

Videos are being deployed in content campaigns by 81% of all businesses, according to HubSpot. While written content is excellent for exploring certain subjects in detail, video usually has the edge for storytelling and delivering succinct and memorable messages.

If you fail to invest in some form of marketing, you may lose out to competitors that have a more mature approach to video marketing. Social media is also a hotly contested battleground where a viral clip can do wonders for awareness and engagement.

Live video

Video is also a space where brands are being more creative to reach audiences in new ways. Live video has emerged as another potentially important lever in the marketing toolset as it helps to build a sense of community by offering real-time interactions.

Cisco believes that live video will make up 13% of the web’s traffic in 2021, with Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat among the key drivers in this form of content consumption. In the continued absence of physical events, you could use live video for digital conferences and webinars.

Convert

Nine in 10 consumers say that videos are a valued resource when attempting to make a decision about a purchase. Furthermore, 74% of people who get to see how a product works in a video then go on to buy it.

This highlights again how content that is customer-focused, rather than brand-related, can actually have a greater impact on sales. Videos on landing pages are particularly effective at converting customers who have clicked through from a link in an article or via a search engine.

Meanwhile, videos published on webpages should aim to increase metrics such as ‘time on page’, as keeping people around and engaged is usually more than enough to move them on to the next stage of the sales cycle.

Annie

24/Oct/2016

Video marketing is becoming huge, with content strategists increasingly using this medium to gain momentum and interest through their campaigns. However, it is vital to recognise that the first five seconds of a video are crucial for maintaining interest. If a brand is unable to hook a viewer immediately it risks losing some business, so it’s essential to focus on video openings.

New research from Cisco suggests that over 69 per cent of content could consist of video by 2017. This shows that the video marketing approach continues to excel; however, it also indicates there will be far more competition than ever before, meaning that videos must be expertly curated if they’re to keep consumer attention. Users are becoming extremely fussy over what they watch during their precious time, so companies need to catch them during the first five seconds, otherwise, people will simply move on. If it’s a small firm they’ve lost interest in, they may well forget that brand name forever.

There are numerous reasons why the first seconds are vital. For example, research has shown that the average attention span has shortened. In just 15 years, it has dropped from 12 seconds to 8.25 seconds. It now means that human beings have an attention span less than goldfish; which has an average of nine seconds. With it being harder to catch and keep people’s attention, brands must now offer some form of instant gratification.

Viewers need to be hooked instantly if they’re not to click back and forget about a brand. To do this, video needs to speak to the consumer directly and answer any questions to confirm they’ve found the information they’re looking for. When a consumer knows they’re in the right place, they’re more likely to stay around. In addition, the first five seconds of a video can be used to set the tone – not only of the content to come – but the brand overall. There are many ways to do this, including voice tone, visual style and music.

Finally, all video content must spark curiosity. Most consumers will not stay around long enough to watch the entire piece if it doesn’t make them wonder what’s to come. Five seconds is not a lot of time to work with and it’s a huge challenge to get any form of complex idea across. However, by hooking viewers and making them curious about the content, people are more likely to stay for longer. One good tip is to open with a question they’ve asked themselves; thereby indicating the content has the answer. Alternatively, outlining a common situation they may find themselves in and indicating that the video will have solutions is a good option.

Video marketing is set to continue growing in appeal over the coming months and years. It is, therefore, essential for content strategists to start honing their expertise in this space. With falling attention spans, hooking consumers immediately is of growing importance, especially if brands are to get people to watch an entire video, regardless of its length.

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Five reasons why video marketing is so important

Content marketers must focus on first 5 seconds of video