Animated and video content has always carried substantial potential and prospect with it, especially in the marketing landscape due to its ability to portray and capture a wide range of emotions and feelings, all the while promoting its goal of convincing and persuading the user to ‘sell’ a particular product or service.
Thanks to much more information can be communicated in a video of short duration, and the fact that the content always feels visually striking and resonates among the users, this medium will always remain an effective marketing strategy.
That’s primarily the reason why so many brands now incorporate or integrate videos in one way or another, be it on their own e-commerce website or through a social media or networking site.
The Rise of Video Content
We can’t start a conversation about digital marketing without bringing Facebook into the picture. Especially with Facebook Business’ service ‘Video ads’, the platform seems to place a huge emphasis on it, particularly for mobile devices as Facebook IQ forecasts 78% of all mobile data to be video-related by 2021. These stats exonerate the profound benefits of video content and how important it is to incorporate this type of content in every marketing strategy.
Additionally, video advertisements work particularly well thanks to Facebook’s algorithm of filtering News Feed which ensures videos always take the top spot and are the first thing users will be observing when they log onto the platform. This helps brands enjoy greater outreach and enhances the awareness among the consumer base, thus making their marketing attempts much more calculated and effective.
It’s no doubt why various brands have adopted this rising trend with weekly video podcasts being hosted on their platform. Sophie&Trey is a great example of how powerful video content really is, they stream live every week to talk about their hot products and new arrivals as well as share information regarding any discounts or special offers.
Even outside Facebook any other embedded form of video content is favorable for promoting brand and allowing users to find your website more organically via search engines. As E Word notes down in their infographic, for SEO alone, traffic generated is increased by a whopping 157% simply by using videos on the company site while getting on the prestigious first page of Google Results is much easier with chances of getting there being boosted by 53 times. As E Word notes down in their infographic, for SEO alone, traffic generated is increased by a whopping 157% simply by using videos on the company site. Share on X
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When other particular social networking and media sites are considered, other than Facebook, the positive takeaways don’t stop. On Twitter, which by far is looked upon as the most ‘direct’ way of approaching consumers, 82% of all users regularly engage with the brands. On Twitter, which by far is looked upon as the most ‘direct’ way of approaching consumers, 82% of all users regularly engage with the brands. Share on X Since GIFS and under-a-minute long videos contribute a lot to keeping things crisp and people excited about a product, Instagram excels in this regard where 25% of all ads fall in the video category. Since GIFS and under-a-minute long videos contribute a lot to keeping things crisp and people excited about a product, Instagram excels in this regard where 25% of all ads fall in the video category. Share on X
Recommended: 7 Easy Ways to Create More Engaging Social Media Videos
Since short videos are often better at catching people’s attention and keeping them engaged, many other brands have started favoring this approach. ASOS, for instance, have included short videos on their product pages so potential buyers can get an idea of the fitting and dimensions of the apparel or dresses they might be interested in.
The popularity of such an approach has made brands even incorporate product videos, gifs, motion posters and cinemagraphs content. Patagonia, Netflix, Boden clothing and PinPointe are already using video content in clever ways via newsletters.
From a purely business point-of-view, 88% of visitors continue to browse through the web if they’re able to watch a video on it while conversion rates are boosted by 71% for video content accompanying products on an e-commerce site. 88% of visitors continue to browse through the web if they’re able to watch a video on it while conversion rates are boosted by 71% for video content accompanying products on an e-commerce site. Share on X All this success is being capitalized year after year as businesses are adopting this strategy in their marketing ventures. HubSpot reports in their survey findings that businesses which used video content for promotion of services raised from 63% in 2017 to 81% in 2018. HubSpot reports in their survey findings that businesses which used video content for promotion of services raised from 63% in 2017 to 81% in 2018. Share on X
The overwhelmingly positive numbers are the primary reason as to why 96% of all business owners globally invested in marketing via video content in 2017. 96% of all business owners globally invested in marketing via video content in 2017. Share on X Even on a platform like LinkedIn, almost 96% of Business-to-Business (B2B) marketers are looking forward to use video content in their marketing strategies. Even on a platform like LinkedIn, almost 96% of Business-to-Business (B2B) marketers are looking forward to use video content in their marketing strategies. Share on X
Where Does YouTube Fit in the Picture?
Now that we’ve looked at video content having an imposing presence in the digital marketing world, it’s only fitting to take a look at one of the biggest hubs and platforms that deals with such a tactic: YouTube.
YouTube now has become the most popular social media platform almost on par with Facebook, by bringing in 1.8 billion users every month. YouTube now has become the most popular social media platform almost on par with Facebook, by bringing in 1.8 billion users every month. Share on X In fact, even back in 2015, YouTube was already ahead of the race when it came to being more relevant to mobile YouTube users than actual television watchers. As of last year, YouTube saw an astounding 300 hours of video content being uploaded every minute. As of last year, YouTube saw an astounding 300 hours of video content being uploaded every minute. Share on X
When it comes to daily usage statistics, almost 5 billion videos, not concerning the duration, are watched with each passing day. What makes all these numbers stand out even further is that 80% of the audience responsible for such viewership are in the age group 18-49 or the ‘millennials’ who are the main group of individuals that most businesses today are targeting and aiming their marketing attempts at. Almost 5 billion videos are watched daily with 80% of the audience responsible for such viewership are in the age group 18-49 or the ‘millennials’ who are the main group of individuals that most businesses today are targeting. Share on X
Furthermore, YouTube is always upping the game to continue existing as a fashion, a trending medium and remaining at the top of the charts when digital marketing is concerned. Now we have informational tutorials, course lectures, live streaming, VR and 360° views and a bunch of advertisements before, during and at the end of any video associated with a popular channel on the platform.
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What to Expect in the Future?
Judging by YouTube’s already growing success and making accurate predictions for the future, we can deduce the ever so prevalent significance of the platform for digital marketing for years to come. Apart from boasting a large library of videos that is rapidly growing, YouTube works as an incredible search filtering channel, an alternative search engine where people will head to next after inputting their search query into Google.
In fact, YouTube is now the second largest search engine by Google and it processes more than 3 billion searches in a month. YouTube is now the second largest search engine by Google and it processes more than 3 billion searches in a month. Share on X Due to the accessibility of the whole platform itself, majority of the audience will lean towards YouTube for intriguing and elaborate answers to any of their queries.
As YouTube grows more into the corporate and business fields, particularly marketing, just like Facebook, it has introduced new tools for business owners and will continue to do so to facilitate them. Using user’s search history of Google and YouTube, a targeted ad campaign, named Custom Affinity Audiences, can be started with only the most relevant ads being brought to those interested.
Moreover, ads can be spread across a series of potential videos that a viewer may watch instead of pushing all marketing attempts into a single video to frustrate the observer. This new tactic comes under Video Ad Sequencing, once again aimed at marketers who can better utilize the platform and therefore approach the consumer base in a more natural and softer way.
When it comes to the actual content of the advertisement, as Think with Google follows up on the trend, multicultural marketing is the next step of the digital marketing staircase. As the era calls for it, ethnicity and racial diversification are already becoming subjects and important political topics in all media from films to television to video games.
Even with the numbers, the need for representation of multiple cultures in ad campaigns is much greater as 3 out of every 4 black millennials concur with that fact. When Hispanic millennials were asked about YouTube ads including some semblance of their culture, 43% agreed that this is the aspect they look for in video content marketing which allows them to confirm their purchases online. When Hispanic millennials were asked about YouTube ads including some semblance of their culture, 43% agreed that this is the aspect they look for in video content marketing which allows them to confirm their purchases online. Share on X
Thus, business owners and marketers throughout the world are curating their content with videos to provide consumers with a personalized touch. Videos and development tools have really changed marketing strategies for businesses from varying sizes.
Conclusion
Video content at the heart of all marketing provides a wide outreach and accessibility in the online environment. With sheer numbers of individuals operating such platforms that support video content such as YouTube, marketers should focus their strengths on how to capitalize and integrate video content into their strategies. The future seems bright as the individuals globally favoring streamlined video content that covers all tastes, ideas and human emotions, which is just as equally relevant to marketers and ‘persuaders’ as it is to content creators.
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Jenny Harrison is a passionate marketing and business blogger. She loves to engage with readers who are seeking B2B and B2C marketing related information on the internet. She is a featured blogger at various high authority blogs and magazines in which she shared her research and experience with the vast online community. Currently, she is associated with www.PNCDigital.com, an Orlando based E-Commerce Development Company specializes in OpenCart, Magento, Shopify Web Development. Follow her on twitter @MJennyHarrison for more updates.
