As a business, it’s important to stay up to date with all of the latest marketing trends. Thanks to technology, they often change quickly and without warning, leaving you and your message in the dust.
Take heart, though. Just because the trends change, that doesn’t necessarily mean your old marketing ventures are no longer relevant. It’s important to incorporate those into your plan, but you’ll also need to add new techniques. In 2019, it looks like video will become more relevant.
The Impact of Video
Your brand is continually evolving, and your marketing plan needs to reflect that. Appealing to customers means you have to connect with them, and that can be accomplished by using video. Video creates an authentic, immediate, and real interaction with audience members. This can be incredibly beneficial.
Statistics show that 75 million people in the U.S. watch online videos. If you mention video in the subject of your email, you can see a click-through increase rate of up to 13%. Practically half of all videos are watched on a mobile device. It’s predicted that by 2019, 80% of internet consumer traffic will be video traffic.
If you have a video on your social media, it will generate 1,200% more shares than text and image will. If you have videos on your Facebook Page, it can increase user engagement by 33%. Embedding a video on your website can increase traffic up to 55%, and having one on your landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more.
In addition, it has been shown that 95% of viewers retain a video message businesses send better than when reading text, where only 10% retain the message. Approximately 75% of businesses are planning on using video to increase their brand awareness. Hopefully, you’ll be one of those businesses.
If you’re not using videos to market your business, you are seriously falling behind.
Get with the Times
Uploading videos are incredibly easy with the number of platforms that exist. YouTube is user-friendly and has launched the careers of numerous individuals and businesses that have used it to garner fans and gain exposure. Ask our Business Director, Ryan Noel, about this. He was previously one of the pioneers of video marketing on a national level with YouTube.
With Facebook adding live video feeds (YouTube has this feature also), it’s easier than ever to connect with people in real time and have them comment in real time, creating a connection and relationship that can’t be beaten.
The attention span of consumers is getting shorter, so getting them engaged quickly is important. There’s also an abundance of information on the web, so if they don’t find your message interesting, they’ll find something else that is.
Videos are a great marketing tool because they are often short and entertaining. If the vast majority of people are watching videos on their mobile devices, that probably means they are checking these things out while they are commuting to work or while away from home. Use this to your advantage to appeal to new and existing customers.
How to Create Effective Videos
Just because you add videos to your social sites or your webpage doesn’t mean that you’ll see an increase in traffic. Remember, audiences have a short attention span and you have to create something they find interesting and worth watching. If you don’t, they’ll find someone who can—and they have numerous options to choose from.
A few things to keep in mind when creating videos is to keep them under two minutes long. These seem to get the most engagement. If you’re creating a series of videos, end each one in a cliffhanger so it gives audiences an incentive to watch the other ones. You may also get more engagement and views if you ask questions or “tease” what the video is about in a short caption.
Some other things to consider when creating videos include the following.
- Tell a story — No one wants to listen to a sales pitch, and you’ll turn off audiences incredibly quickly if this is how you develop your videos. Instead, tell them a story and appeal to a customer’s desires and needs.
- Develop an exciting and interesting title — This will be the first thing that grabs a viewer’s attention, so make it something worth clicking on. You’ll also need to include relevant keywords so that it will show up in search engine lists.
- Keep the content interesting — Your video can and should teach the audience something new, but don’t make it boring. If your video feels like a movie that would be shown in school, it’s probably not exciting enough to keep anyone’s attention.
- It should be mobile friendly — Remember, half of the people who watch videos are watching them on their mobile devices, so your video will have to be able to be downloaded and have the right parameters so people can view it on their phone.
- Include your URL — If people are interested in your video and they like what your company offers, make it easy for them to find you on the web. Include your URL in the video or in the comment section for easy access and clicking.
- Don’t forget the call to action — Just like your blog posts call for people to act, your videos should too. You’ll have to decide what that call to action is depending on what your video is about, but include it at the end so customers feel the need to move forward and click on your website link.
- Use customer-generated content — One of the easiest and best ways for a company to find new customers is through word of mouth. This means that customers who like your products will go out and tell their friends and family about you. This can also be accomplished through videos and potentially reach a larger audience.
It’s not enough to have videos on your social sites or websites, they have to have a purpose and be created with intent. You should already be doing this with your blog posts and other marketing material, so taking the step into video shouldn’t be too difficult. If you’re not sure the best way to approach this task, contact Glint and we will help you put your best foot forward.
Your Marketing Plan for 2019
The new year is upon us. Hopefully, you’ve been putting together your marketing plan and deciding how you are going to engage and appeal to audiences in the coming year. There’s still time to tweak those decisions and add video to the list if it hasn’t been already—and it really needs to be added to the list.
Diversifying your marketing strategy will give you the opportunity to appeal to current and new customers and will keep you from getting lost in the busy world of the internet. With more people turning to technology to find information, giving them what they want in fun and interesting ways is imperative. Videos are just the ticket.
At Glint Branding, Advertising, and Consulting, we have the expertise and professionals who can help you create videos that will engage and create a relationship with your audiences. Contact us today to see how we can help you with your video needs and increase your customer base and sales.
