There is no doubt that the eye is attracted to moving images. In colour and vibrant, video is like millions of small movies, and is beginning to take centre stage as a number one engager for both entertainment and information. In short, it has become one of the most versatile and profitable digital marketing tools for business out there.
Some facts that are driving up the popularity of videos in business
- Adding a product video to your landing page can increase conversions by up to 80% – which means videos have the potential to make you serious money.
- When you use a video to explain a product or service, studies have shown that over 70% of viewers will go on to buy that product. So, providing you are producing good, entertaining, informative, persuasive content on your video, you can impact sales very positively.
- Visual is how we see the world, how we engage and assess. It outweighs print and audio every time. Our eyes present us with the dominant sense of sight to analyse our world. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Well, a moving picture is worth much more than that.
- A video’s purpose is to track us deep into a story, a happening. It builds sequential pull, scene by scene – intriguing, leading, revealing in a way that makes us feel we can’t let go of the experience until the end; moving pictures boost our engagement like nothing else.
- For business, the reach is phenomenal through social media. You can easily distribute video to tens of thousands of people via platforms like YouTube, but there has been a huge increase in the use of social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to develop a video-based presence.
The value of video
- It’s immediate and confronts the senses with considerable power.
- It shows people in real or imagined situations that smack of reality, and are easily identifiable as a possible part of our own lives. We are attracted by the similarity and the dream of that possibility for ourselves.
- The video is more than an advertisement, it becomes a mini-movie playing for longer time in a legitimate way that presents consumers with solutions to issues and offers a more in-depth way of not only dreaming of life goals, but actually reaching them.
- More especially, video offers ways to attract younger consumers whose digital-savvy minds prefer this form of marketing.
- And the beauty of video is that small businesses can manage this medium themselves. You can document the life of your business, share events in your sector, and put out your own opinions on current topics in the world. Online video has created the opportunities for any business to be its own content producer, using no more than a camera or smartphone.
- Today so many people are watching videos – from business people for fast financial, business and strategic issues, to kids looking for their favourite characters or games, to grannies wanting to view a complicated knitting pattern. People know they are either going to hear informative material or be entertained in possibly some unexpected way. Putting your business video into this maelstrom of willing minds, offers a way to create huge impact on your brand profile.
What on earth is a Vlog?
A vlog is a video blog. Instead of the traditional written diary-type blog, a vlog will contain moving images in video message format so the blog can be watched rather than read. Vlogs are great when you have to show people how to do things, such as makeup or crafts, or get information across quickly (they are short, 3 minutes or less). Vlogs are also used for interviews, or showing amenities in a hotel or tourist spots around a town or country. Here’s how video really works well in a blog:
- With a vlog, you won’t need to do a whole lot of writing. Vlogs can be spontaneous but exciting and entertaining. You have the opportunity to give direct, practical advice or share information in a personal way that will get your audience thinking.
- Online videos are easy to share, and they appeal to a range of people.
- Vlogging may be more expensive than blogging because it may require sophisticated equipment. For a quality vlog, you’ll need one or more microphones, a good camera, and a quiet place to make your videos.
- But with today’s technology, you can record straight to a cell phone. It might be rough, but people like the authentic, real you. And the practice can be perfected.
Where online video is going
Putting your video out on social media is crucial to obtaining a wide reach. Using Facebook can grow your audience through likes, shares, reshares, while Twitter can do well with retweets and comments. YouTube is another important platform, in fact the second most popular search engine. People know they will get a host of videos to choose from on the topic they seek to entertain or solve a problem. Making videos for your business is no longer just an extra to make your marketing strategy to look good, it is a genuine, crucial, very real way to increase your online presence and potential leads.
Facebook Video: Set to reach 90% of FB feed content and have the highest organic reach. Focus on producing videos that have your consumers best interests at heart. Live video allows you to engage with your audience in real-time while creating an instant dialogue.
Instagram Video: These are mainly aimed at mobile users, and you are only given 60 seconds to get your message across. Short and snappy – rather like an upmarket but really personalised advertisement.
Instagram Stories: Creating short stories in the form of ‘updates’ that only last for 24 hours. You can add to your story multiple times a day, giving the audience quick sequential insights into your business. This is a way of sharing information in small, ongoing bites that don’t overwhelm but are powerfully informative.
Instagram Live Video: Instagram Live enables the video to disappear as soon as the stream ends. Viewers can like, comment and ask questions. It makes the engagement immediate, with a sense of urgency and fun. It’s a great way to interact with an audience for real time response.
YouTube Video: One billion hours of video are watched on YouTube in a day. It allows you time to express your brand’s personality and provide entertainment. If used cleverly, it is a powerful way to promote your business in a continually popular medium.
Snapchat Video: Ten billion daily views take place on Snapchat. It’s casual but creative, raw and authentic. You can be more personal with your audience using this platform. Traditional, professional marketing is not high on the list, rather things that catch the eye, a little more off the wall and relaxed. Be surprising, unexpected, rather than trying to sell something.
Surprising is what we do at Out of the Blue!
Come and talk to us. We’re in that edgy business of surprise called marketing. At Out of the Blue Creative Communication Solutions we work with clients to build communications that do better business through concepts that are smart and relevant.
