For quite some time now, I have been talking and preaching about the uses of video in content marketing and lead generation. Today I am going to keep it short and sweet, and walk through the top ten reasons why you should consider using video in your marketing.
Even though video is often viewed as new to marketing, it has been the first choice of marketers for as long as television has been around. Let’s face it: what’s the most costly form of advertising? Television of course. Marketers knew right away the power of the medium–to tap into the emotional triggers of buyers and prospects and compel them to action.
Quality video used to cost tens of thousands of dollars to produce. Today it can be done for a fraction of that. Don’t let this fact fool you. Even though the tools and technology might be more accessible, it still requires professional talent to make it work. You can go out and buy a professional camera, but that won’t instantly make you a professional photographer. And the sounds and images are only part of it. Without a story, it’s all pretty boring.
With the millions of videos uploaded daily, the video space is still not too crowded…not yet anyway. I am amazed at how many marketers have not yet invested in this powerful medium. No doubt, it takes lots of work. But the results, when deployed correctly, make for a great payoff.
Video consumption will make up 74 percent of all internet traffic by 2017. Research indicates–and Google’s actions back this up–that video will continue to grow as the dominant internet medium.
Video is audio, visual and conceptual stimulation happening all at once. Think about the expression, a picture is worth a thousands words. Now imagine how that translates to video!
Video engages people emotionally, which leads to ACTION faster than engaging with copy alone. Think about the last time you watched a movie, or even an interview that hit you emotionally, to the point of even making you cry. Need I say more?
According to a recent report, simply including the word “video” in your email subject line increases your open rates by 19 percent, click-through rates by 65 percent, and decreases unsubscribes by 26 percent. I have no idea why this is the case, but given the challenges of email marketing these days, it’s worth noting.
While there is no SEO magic bullet, video comes close. I use this expression very carefully. There will never be a magic bullet–but the truth is in the marketplace people have not begun to leverage the power of video to be found online by their prospects.
Google is the number one search engine; YouTube is number two. Who own’s YouTube? Google does..for a reason. We all know that Google acquired YouTube several years back at a very high cost–much to the chagrin of others. But Google saw the future, and it is video.
Most Google searches do NOT yield video in their normal search results. But Google WANTS to rank video …but the market has yet to provide the content. This fact is what most people don’t know about video! When you go and do a normal web search on Google, most of the time, it will yield only web-based results (no videos). Once in a while, videos will come up–and you will know it right away because of the thumbnail images that stand out from the typical text-based web listings.
Why is this? When it comes to video, people are doing the right things; they just aren’t doing them right! Next week, I will list out some of the things that people are doing wrong when it comes to leveraging video.
Until then, keep an eye out for videos you think are bad, and those you think work. Feel free to check out (Like and comment if you please) one of our latest productions–this video promoting bookkeeping services in Columbus, Ohio. We also have another for painters in Columbus, Ohio, as well as a health advocate in Columbus, Ohio. Until then, consider all the Google searches you do, that don’t yield video results. You know what that spells? Opportunity.
Photo Credit: Miles Cave via Compfight cc
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