Content marketers are constantly trying to stay on the cutting edge of new strategies, tactics, and mediums to improve their work and results.
Successful content strategies utilize multiple online platforms and juggle producing different forms of good content regularly that capture their audience and nurture them through their marketing process. It's no easy task.
Audiences are always changing, especially in how they consume their content. As more and more content is produced, different mediums resonate better than others. Today, one of the fastest growing forms of content for marketers is video, but why should you incorporate video into your marketing strategy?
It Works
According to this survey of over 100 content marketing professionals, over 80% claimed that their efforts in video marketing have been successful. Video marketing can be a very impactful tactic, especially in the awareness stage of the buyer's journey.
Video helps to validate and improve your branding, lead generation, and online engagement because it (literally) gives your content a voice. Video helps to make your brand and your content more human and relateable, which leads to better results. In fact, the same survey states that a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 80%.
Videos hold two key advantages over written content: brevity and control.
The most successful videos in B2B marketing usually are only one and five minutes in length, meaning that you can convey your message to your audience quickly and efficiently. Second, when done correctly, you have complete control over what information your audience sees and the order in which they see it. Unlike text, a video does not offer your audience the opportunity to "skim" your content; they must watch from beginning to end to get cohesive information.
A large percentage of people would rather get their information visually, but videos often are most effective when they complement copy as well. It is best to give your audience a choice in how to obtain their content.
Your Competitors Are Using Video
Video is one of the largest areas of content growth over the past three years. According to a survey from Brightcove, The Content Marketing Institute, and MarketingProfs, 76% of content marketers use videos as part of their strategy (as opposed to only 68% claiming to still use white papers). This percentage has consistently grown by 3% over the past three years, and is poised to maintain that trend.
One of the reasons more and more marketers are taking advantage of video as a medium is because it fits into their current content strategies. Most social media platforms offer their own respective video publishing options. This helps marketers target and segment their videos for their respective social audiences, which results in more online interaction.
What perhaps is most interesting is that a significant portion of respondents saw YouTube as the most successful social media platform after Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. In fact, many claim that it is more successful than Pinterest, Google+, and even Facebook for engaging with potential customers.
It's Easier Than Ever
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of video as a content medium is that it is more accessible than ever before. Traditionally, many barriers to using video, such as cost, technical ability, and time have made it impractical. Today however, many of these barriers are no longer an issue to create professional grade videos fit for marketing. While the equipment for making videos will vary depending on the type of video you will be producing (screencast, talking head, demonstration, etc...) a professional-quality setup for basic videos is more available and affordable than ever.
Not even 10 years ago, a camera that produced decent colors and depth of field (also called shallow focus) cost well over $1,000. Today, you can use a DSLR or a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera to produce gorgeous videos for sometimes less than half that price with a lens included. For some platforms, especially Facebook, Twitter, and Vine, nothing more than a cell phone is required to post a video to interact with your audience.
Even editing has become easier with programs like iMovie and Final Cut Pro adapting more user-friendly interfaces. Plus, with Adobe's Creative Cloud Suite (which you might already have for Photoshop) you also get access to industry-standard editing and compositing software.
Lights, Camera, Convert!
As more and more content marketers enjoy success with video tactics, will you take advantage of this trend, or get left behind?
Get in touch with us to discuss how you can improve your marketing results. Contact us today.