THE IMPORTANCE OF VIDEO MARKETING

Among the many channels and strategies for marketing today, there is no denying that video has slowly taken over as a top, if not the top, form of engagement and an essential part of any marketing plan. With 66 percent of B2B buyers reporting they prefer to learn about a product or service through video versus reading text,1 it is no surprise that it has become the most commonly used format in content marketing, overtaking both blogs and infographics.2 Not only does well-crafted, useful video content better engage and inform today’s buyers, but it also helps dramatically improve the results of your related marketing efforts, from social media to SEO and email campaigns. Over 80 percent of marketers utilizing video content find it has directly contributed to increased sales.3

Social videos

Video content generates 1200 percent more shares than text and image content combined on social channels,4 providing opportunities for sharing, commenting, and other interaction. While B2B videos are unlikely to go viral in the traditional way, they simply need to be passed around by the right people within the value chain. In fact, 93 percent of brands report gaining at least one new customer directly resulting from a video shared on social media.5

Email videos

Including video content in your email strategy is almost guaranteed to increase the success and return on your campaigns. Video helps increase email open rates by 19 percent and click rates by 65 percent, and it has also been shown to reduce unsubscribe rates by 26 percent.6

Landing page videos

Having a video on your landing page not only drives a 157 percent increase in organic traffic from SERPs,7 but can also increase conversion rates by up to 80 percent.8  Your website is also 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google search results if it includes video content.9

 

Best practices to consider

  1. Keep it short — optimal length is 30-90 seconds. Roughly 33 percent of customers will stop watching after 30 seconds, 45 percent of them by one minute, and 60 percent of them by two minutes.10
  2. Keep movement on the screen to keep things interesting (if you are showing images or screenshots, utilize movement through panning, zooming, or animating).
  3. Be real and personable — videos reach people quicker if they are based on human emotions, rather than a cold, calculating business model.
  4. Use captions or subtitles if possible — up to 85% of videos viewed on social channels are played without sound.11
  5. Include a call to action that prompts viewers to the next steps — whether that’s visiting your website, reading your blog, viewing another video, or contacting you for more information.
  6. Utilize a variety of different types of videos and content to keep things interesting — vlogs, video case studies, webinars, tutorials, product demos, and customer reviews are just to name a few.
  7. What to avoid:
    • Low resolution quality, poor sound quality, and lagging load time
    • Taking too long to get to the point — make sure to cut right to the chase
    • Lacking personal/emotional connection

 

By now it’s probably clear how adding video to your marketing strategy is not only essential to staying ahead in today’s competitive market, but can also help you drive better results from the marketing efforts you are probably already doing. However, many organizations find that creating video content is difficult due to a lack of time or lack of budget to create something both polished and effective. If you are interested in incorporating a video content strategy but don’t have the time or resources in-house, our seasoned pros at Cadence Preferred can help.

Learn more about our video services and see what we’ve created for industry leaders like Microsoft and AVID, or connect with us today to schedule a consultation!

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