Written by Shane Barker
Videos are all the rage on the internet. In fact, YouTube is the second most visited website in the world.
Additionally, millions of people watch videos on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter every day.
Photo-oriented platforms like Instagram, too, have started shifting towards videos with the introduction of features like IGTV, Stories, and Reels.
This clearly indicates that video marketing is the new deal.
That’s why it’s also become a preferred form of content for marketers.
If you haven’t started video marketing yet, it’s time to get on the bandwagon now.
But, before we get into more detail on why you should use video marketing, let’s understand what it is.
What is Video Marketing?
The simple definition of video marketing is using videos to promote your brand and its products and services on digital channels.
The type of videos could include customer testimonials, how-to videos, explainer videos, training videos, and much more.
In this post, we will look at the reasons why you must have a strategy for video marketing in your digital marketing plan.
7 Reasons for Utilizing Video Marketing for Your Business
Here are eight reasons why you should include video marketing in your digital marketing plan.
1. Videos Can Increase Sales Conversions
Videos are extremely useful in providing social proof and explaining your product or service to prospects.
This makes the purchase decision easier for consumers and helps drive more sales conversions.
The types of videos you can use for this purpose are product tutorials, demos, how-to videos, and customer testimonials.
For example, consider this product tour video by Airtable. It clearly shows potential buyers what the product does and what the user interface is like. Anyone remotely interested in buying the product will be more convinced after watching this video.
These types of videos can be effective in converting leads into customers. So, create such videos for your business and drive more sales.
2. Videos Provide a High Return on Investment (ROI)
While videos may not be the easiest or the cheapest type of content to make, they certainly provide a good return on investment.
That said, due to technology improvements, it has become a lot easier to create videos using a tool like Promo Video Maker.
Videos tend to generate more interest among the audience due to their interactive nature. This is why the ROI of videos is high too. In fact, a Wyzowl survey found that 89% of marketers say that videos give them a good return on investment.
3. People Prefer Watching Videos Over Reading
While there will always be a place for the written word, most people prefer videos as they are easier to consume than reading any kind of text.
In fact, according to the same Wyzowl survey, about 66% of people say that they prefer watching videos to learn about a product as compared to 18% who prefer to read.
Most users would watch a “how-to” video than read an instruction manual because it is easier.
Besides, with a video, you can easily engage your viewers with visuals and sounds. It’s also possible to convey the information to them in short.
4. Videos Can Help You Build Lasting Customer Relationships
Given the visual nature of videos, they are effective at evoking emotions and engaging your audience at a deeper level than other forms of content.
Many businesses and marketers use this quality of videos to connect with their customers and form lasting relationships.
One way to leverage videos to connect with your customers is by telling your brand story, what you stand for, etc.
Take this video by Burt’s Bees, for example. They have told the story of how the brand was formed, who the founders are, and what the brand stands for.
This helps humanize the brand and form long-lasting brand-customer relationships. After all, people like buying from brands that they like and connect with.
5. Videos Generate Social Shares
Videos containing informative and engaging content are most likely to be shared on social media for better engagement and better customer engagement.
In fact, according to the Wyzowl study, people are twice as likely to share videos than any other type of content with their friends.
When the video is shared by people, you’ll be able to benefit from its widened organic reach, which wouldn’t be as much with other forms of content.
Therefore, you should consider creating videos and then scheduling them using scheduling tools to post them consistently.
6. Videos Can Explain Things Clearly
The best thing you can do after launching a new product or service is to share an explainer video.
Many businesses have an explainer video right on their homepage to get immediate traction from the audience. A video is the type of content to easily explain a complex concept or an innovative product.
What’s more?
About 36% of people want to see more explainer video content from brands as well.
7. Videos Help with SEO
One lesser-known benefit of using videos is that video content can help you increase your SERP real estate. Some SERPs do show a video carousel and if you use structured data, videos can appear as rich snippets on the Google SERPs. This can help you get more traffic to your website.
So, use videos on your website and enrich them with structured data to drive more traffic to your website.
When done right, video marketing has the potential to increase traffic to your website and even help you rank better on Google search results.
Ready to Get Started with Video Marketing?
Videos are great for engaging your audience, providing information, and even driving conversions. They have high retention rates, can generate social shares, ask for referrals for products or services, for help with SEO, and more.
It cannot be stressed enough that video marketing is here to stay and will become more important in the future.
Therefore, if you don’t use video marketing, it is high time that you start doing so.
Do you have any questions about video marketing? If so, let us know in the comments.
About Author
Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Content Solutions, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.