The Benefits of Video Marketing

My last article post, video marketing 101, gave you a better idea as to what video marketing is all about. Now let’s take a look at the main benefits of video marketing. We’ll look at how exactly video can benefit your business, and tips on how to get in on the action. But first though, here are some interesting statistics on video:

1. YouTube is the second most popular search engine, right after Google, which of course owns YouTube.
2. YouTube gets more than 4 billion views per day.
3. currently, over 80% of marketing executives include video content with their marketing strategies.
4. Online video accounts for more than 60% of all mobile traffic.
5. A huge number of people watch online videos everyday.

Looking at these statistics, you can see why video content is such a crucial element of your marketing efforts. Let’s look at some other ways online video benefits both large and small businesses:

Video is easily searchable

People are always looking for products and services. Where do they look? More than likely, they conduct an online search. Search results can be affected by your social media presence. This is where your official social network pages act as an entry point to your website, micro site or promo page. YouTube is the second most widely used search engine and popular videos get high rankings on Google rankings. Other elements such as graphics, photos, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora and other similar networks are also searchable but you’ll have more customers coming in from your YouTube videos.

Video makes it easier to share your brand or service

About 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every minute. This can make or break your business, depending on viewer attitude. Video sharing is a vital part of social media and this can have a huge impact on your brand’s visibility if used properly. Majority of the videos shared from YouTube are short, fun and informative; and they pull in droves of web traffic to the respective websites, leading to growth.

Video levels the playing field

Traditional TV advertising can be very expensive; which is why it is reserved for the larger more established companies or organizations. But online video can be accessed and used by anyone, regardless of the size of their marketing budget. The trick is to be more creative and target your audience more specifically.

Video gives real-time feedback and interaction

A lot of people leave comments on videos, which is an excellent way to learn more about your consumers. When you create videos that captivate and present the viewers an interactive platform to post views or comments, you’re basically giving the consumers a voice; allowing them to pinpoint specific areas of your business that require improvement. In the process you gain a lot of useful information about tastes, likes and preferences, and you learn to engage with your audience.

Video is easily measurable

Analytics exist in the form of simple tools you can access online and they do a great job of measuring every aspect of the video marketing campaign. You need to know which videos are getting good views, which aren’t and how the views translate into new customers. There are dozens of nifty tools available for measuring video analytics and they should help you get a more accurate report on the performance of each video.

Video doesn’t die

The videos you upload on YouTube will play a part on your marketing strategy for a much longer time than other forms of content. This might be good or bad, depending on your strategy, but generally the video keeps conveying the message and reduces your overall spending considerably. You may consider making an initial media purchase or video seeding as a way to promote the video but whatever you decide, the ad won’t get pulled down as TV ads sometimes are when payment isn’t made.

Video is always a click away from the BUY button

34% of apparel shoppers are likely to purchases after viewing an ad online: only about 16% of consumers make a purchase after watching an ad on TV. When properly set up, online video allows a consumers to quickly access your product or service by following links to your website or sales page, where they can make a purchase. TV viewers typically have to log on to the site using a separate device in order to make a purchase, which undermines the effectiveness of TV adverting in relation to online video.

Video captivates the viewer

When a visitor stops by your website and watches a video they usually stay a little longer than intended, which is one of the main reasons video is used in every part of the marketing campaign. Every video on your website should captivate the viewer and have them spend more on your services or products. Even simple ‘how to’ videos can have a great impact on sales provided you keep the content customer oriented.

Video is about selling

Or at least it should be. Far too many people miss out on opportunities by uploading videos that are so boring they put viewers to sleep. Or post videos that are so vague they leave the customer completely confused. Another interesting scenario is where marketers focus so much on creating entertaining videos that ultimately they miss the bottom line. Remember you’re trying to sell, don’t focus entirely on entertainment, and instead try to communicate clearly, and make sure the customers know exactly what they’re support to purchase and how. Mobile video brings with it more opportunities for short, funny videos to advertise their products. 30 second mobile videos have an 83 completion rate according to Rhythm Insights. More involvement has to be centered on mobile video so you can find new ways to get people talking, sharing, and more importantly, buying your products.

Wrapping it up…

How can your business benefit from venturing into online marketing? New entrepreneurs are well placed to make use of the features and benefits to their businesses. Find out just how your business could be using this tool to gain these advantages. And find a way to implement a video marketing strategy that works.