Video marketing is often seen as an expensive, luxury form of marketing, reserved only for big brands with equally big marketing budgets.
When it comes to getting (and keeping) consumer attention, there’s little doubt video does the job. Video marketing is bigger than ever, with online video accounting for a staggering 50% of mobile web traffic. We just can’t get enough of those cat videos it seems.
Remember that on a mobile, video takes up the whole screen, so you can almost guarantee you have their full attention. With large amounts of text your customers can quickly lose focus, a video helps to get the same message across in a lot less time. A video can be a great tool for making a memorable impression.
Using videos is a proven way of increasing trust in your brand. In many cases a video is a far greater way to showcase the benefits of your product than plain text alone, a video makes a welcome change for most. According to Forbes, 59% of executives would rather watch video than read text.
Overall a video helps you build a relationship with your audience. When it comes to creating content online, it’s often better to think about how you can maintain relationships, not just try to sell to people.
Video Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, or complicated
There is often an assumption that video marketing is too expensive or time consuming. In reality a smartphone or budget camcorder can look just as good. You can get hold of some cheap lighting and hire a video editor to add a professional touch to your video, all for a small cost.
In fact you can use video marketing without creating a video at all. Think about all of the videos available on YouTube, if a video gives value to your audience; ask the content creator if you can use it on your website. Very often they’ll be happy for you to share their video for them.
Why use video marketing?
Thinking about using video marketing? Here are some reasons why you should start:
- Video marketing improves email campaigns – Using the word “video” in an email subject line can increase open rates by 19%.
- Video marketing increases the time people spend on your site – Visitors spend 2 minutes longer browsing websites with video than those without.
- Video marketing increases your search ranking – If you want to increase your search ranking, a video is a great way to achieve it. Research by Forrester found that having a video on a web page makes it 53x more likely to appear on the first page of Google. How much value can you put on that?
- Video marketing helps make purchase decisions – In a survey by swimwear boutique, over 90% of shoppers surveyed found video useful in making purchase decisions.
These are just some of the benefits of using video in your online marketing.
Video marketing tips for small businesses
Creating a video is one thing, making sure it has an effect is another. Before you start with your first video, take a look at some of these video marketing tips for small businesses:
- Keep your videos short – People will be far more likely to click a video that’s 2 minutes than one that’s 15. Equally they’ll be more likely to view the whole thing.
- Link back to your website – There’s no point using videos if you don’t get your visitors to take action from it.
- Make your video valuable – People want to gain some sort of value from your video, whether that is learning something new or being entertained. Don’t simply make your videos promotional otherwise your audience will lose interest.
- Show your personality – Be true to your business, what makes your business different?
Simply put, video is an affordable marketing tool that makes an impact. Video can help your business to stand out from the crowd and keep people interested in your brand.
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