If you think that your website and social media marketing campaigns can do without video, think again. Did you know that one video is equivalent to about 1.8 million words of content in the eyes of the viewer? Or that 46% of all internet users watch at least one video per month (with the average number of videos per person per month being 33? How about the fact that 100 million people view videos online daily? Need a more sales-orientated number?
90% of all online shoppers have reported that a video on a major retailer’s website has been very helpful when it comes to their shopping and buying decisions. Or how about that when all the video ads at the beginning of online videos are added up, the average viewer spends almost 17 minutes a month watching ads online?
Other Reasons that You Should be Incorporating Video into Your Marketing Strategy
Okay, enough with the hard numbers. It’s quite clear that video is an excellent local business marketing strategy. It makes up a substantial portion of what people come to the internet for and if you’re not taking advantage of that, you’re not living up to your business’s full potential. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world (behind Google) and is bigger than Yelp! and Bing combined.
Combine that with the fact that Google owns YouTube and it’s easy to see why having videos up on YouTube will increase your rankings. Uploading and tagging your video on YouTube not only builds another avenue to your site, it also helps increase your website’s rankings in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
Google’s algorithm actually adds more weight to sites that have a YouTube video not only embedded, but also associated with YouTube via links and tagging. Further, your video will show up on SERPs, taking up more real estate (and thus pushing your competition below the fold where people are less likely to scroll down to see them).
The bottom line is that videos are a major marketing opportunity and if you aren’t hitting them, your competition probably is (or soon will be).
Three Benefits Your Business Gets from Making a Video
As if that weren’t enough, here are three more reasons that your business needs to incorporate videos into your marketing strategy:
1. Videos Attract People Who Learn Visually. Not everyone acquires knowledge in the same manner. Some like to read content, some like to look at data charts and others like to watch videos. Videos are unique in that you can attract both audio and visual learners at the same time. Plus, videos can condense a lot of information into a short period of time, making it perfect for the multi-tasking, on-the-go consumer who doesn’t have time to read your brilliant content.
2. Videos Make You Human. Businesses don’t always have the best face when it comes to public relations. A corporation might be a necessity, but that doesn’t mean people want to be reminded they are dealing with a business and spending money. Instead, a video helps you put a personal touch on your brand. You can show your human side and build confidence in your audience. This also helps put the value proposition at the forefront of the transaction, i.e. what they are getting, not what they are spending.
3. Videos are Engaging. When your lead is watching your video, they are thoroughly engaged. Not only are they watching, they are listening, they are clicking and they are reading any information you put on the screen. This is a fantastic way to get your main points across and have them stick, thus reinforcing consumer confidence.
Video Marketing FAQs
Q: Can I make my own videos?
A: You certainly can, but be wary of producing poor quality videos with bad audio or shoddy camera work as these can be detrimental to the quality image your brand is trying to portray. Hiring a professional video marketing team isn’t that costly and your results are guaranteed.
Q: Will videos work for any business?
A: Indeed they will, depending on how you go about it. Videos do work better for certain industries over others, for example, businesses that have complicated products see a lot of benefit because videos simplify their explanation (showing instead of telling). If you are creating a video for say, a manufacturing plant, you can still get some upside, perhaps by uploading a video of your employees parodying an internet sensation or something else that shows the human side of your company through fun videography.
Need help developing your Video Marketing campaign? Contact us to learn more David@StreetSmartSalesAndMarketing.com or call 858-442-3131
