The world of business has changed so much in the past year, but one thing still rings true today – video marketing is a necessity. No matter the size of your company, video marketing can help your business thrive despite these trying times. Sceptical? Read on to learn 10 reasons why you need video marketing in 2021.
The role of video in the modern business landscape is now more evident than ever. It is no longer an option, but a necessity that is imperative to growth. More businesses are realising its power and taking full advantage of it. As of 2020, about 86% of brands have been using video marketing. This has increased by 41% since 2016.
If you’re wondering whether video is a marketing tool that you should be using in 2021, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to delve into all of the reasons why you should be using it this year. We’ll also show you how to use videos effectively.
Let’s get right into it.
#1 Video is still the most engaging type of content
Staying ahead of the competition in a highly saturated market is not easy. Even with paid ads across various social media platforms, businesses of all sizes often struggle to stand out. Sure, the platforms can get your ads to appear on the news feeds of your target consumers. However, they can’t guarantee that people will look or pay attention to your ads.
The highly engaging nature of videos can change that. Using video ads, you can grab the attention of prospects. You can make them stop scrolling for a brief moment.
Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. As of January 2021, it has 2.8 billion active users. They spend about 1.3 seconds per post. Our brain simply breezes through the static images we come across online. Using video, you can hold a person’s attention about five times longer.
Take this video for example. It uses fun, attention-grabbing animations along with bold, easy-to-read captions.
A video like this will keep your viewers watching until the very end.
Pinterest might not have the same reach as Facebook, but it is still a very important platform, especially for creative professionals. Although it used to be dominated by static content, it now allows short video clips. The platform saw a 240% increase in video pins in 2020. If you are on Pinterest, you might as well use video pins to draw attention and inspire action.
Aside from social networks, you can leverage video to rank high on search engines, especially Google. If your video content performs well, it will be more visible on the search results. Simply put, its view count, positive comments and other factors can help you gain more visibility online.
#2 Video reduces ad spend without diminishing the results
Video can help you reduce your advertising expenditure. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your brand. By spending a few cents per view, you can pique the interest of a vast yet highly targeted audience online.
YouTube might not have as many active users as Facebook, but it continues to be the platform of choice of video marketers. It has new advertising opportunities that are worth looking into, especially if you have an e-commerce company.
Now, it enables advertisers to run interactive ads. Under a video ad, consumers can see a list of products and their respective prices. They can scroll through the list and, in a few clicks, purchase the items they want.
In this video, you can find out how to optimise your Facebook Video Ad campaigns.
Another type of ad that you can use is the lead form. This type of video ad is engaging and persuasive. You can grab your prospects’ attention from the start. At the same time, it makes it easier for them to sign up for a free service or an event. Thus, it can prompt your prospects to take action.
#3 Video builds customer trust and loyalty
In an ever-changing business landscape, trust is a very important asset for your brand. You can leverage video to build a trusting relationship between you and your audience. So, how can you do that exactly?
Well, you can do Question and Answer (Q&A) videos. This allows your audience to ask questions and voice their concerns. In doing so, you’ll be able to foster trust and build stronger relationships with your audience.
Using video marketing, you can humanise your brand. Putting a face on your brand can make it more relatable, authentic and trustworthy in the eyes of your consumers. They’ll feel a deeper connection with your brand. Moreover, they’ll be more likely to recommend you to others.
Animated videos might not show actual people on screen, but they’re an effective way to relay crucial information about your brand, products, and services to consumers. Here’s an example of how you can use animation to create informative videos that are easy to consume.
Explainer Video of World's Leading Newswires
#4 Video drives engagements on social media
Due to the global health crisis, brands can’t interact with consumers in the same way as before. According to a new Wyzowl study, about 91% of marketers believe that video content is now more important in the COVID-19 pandemic. This seems to be in line with consumer habits because about 96% of them say that the amount of video content they’ve watched has increased because of the pandemic.
On Instagram, video ads receive three times more engagements than sponsored photos. Even organic video posts perform better than photos. They receive roughly 38% more engagements than pictures.
The same goes for Facebook. Video ads have 20% to 30% higher conversion rates than photos.Their click-through rates are also about two to three times higher.
Although video is highly engaging, not all videos will perform well on social media. You have to optimise your content to fit the preferences of users. This can vary from platform to platform. For instance, the ideal video length on Facebook is two to five minutes. Twitter and Instagram users, however, prefer shorter videos that are about 30 seconds long.
On Facebook, users often watch videos without sound. By adding descriptions, you can raise your video engagement rates by 0.18 to 0.39%.
#5 Live streaming enables you to connect with consumers everywhere
Live streaming has changed the way brands interact with consumers. Aside from ads and organic video content, you can go on a live stream to engage your audience in real time.
As mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the business world in many ways, especially the way brands interact with consumers. Since in-person events are still impossible for several countries, live streaming has filled that gap.
The live streaming industry has seen tremendous growth over the past year. If you’re not taking advantage of this marketing tool yet, you might be missing out on a lot of traffic.
You can live stream videos with industry experts, employees and customers from all around the world. It’s an effective way to build brand authority in the industry and to gain customer trust. Aside from Q&As, you can stream product launches in real time. You can generate buzz and draw attention to your new offerings.
The footage can be repurposed for other video content. You can, for example, pick out the highlights from the streams and share them on your social channels. You may also use them on your website to make it more engaging for your visitors. There are a bunch of ways to create live streaming content for your audience.
Here’s a short video on how you can live stream using IP cameras.
#6 Video boosts your website’s search engine ranking
Adding videos to your website, from your homepage to your blog, will encourage your visitors to stay on the page longer. Your website is 53 times more likely to appear as the top result of a search query on Google if it is embedded with video.
Search engines like Google use various ranking factors to determine a web page’s visibility online. Many advertisers believe that dwell time is a ranking signal.
Dwell time refers to the amount of time a person spends on a web page before clicking back to the search results page. This metric tells search engines how interesting, useful or entertaining your content is.
If visitors spend a long time on your website, it indicates that they consumed your content. It means that they found something worth their time. Thus, improving dwell time can help you boost your search engine ranking.
Video content can make your web pages look more professional. For instance, adding videos to written content can help you earn high-quality backlinks, which can also improve your ranking on search engines.
Aside from increasing dwell time, adding a video to your website can help you boost sales. Check out this video to find out how you can do that.
5 tips on how to increase sales with video
#7 Mobile users love videos
Mobile video consumption is on the rise. Video is the most popular type of content that people consume online, while mobile is the preferred medium for its consumption.
About 75% of video views come from mobile devices. Additionally, 92% of videos that are viewed on mobile devices get shared with other users.
If you are using video, you need to optimise it for desktop as well as mobile use. Currently, we’re seeing a change in the video format. The vertical format is now dominating social channels from Instagram and TikTok to Snapchat.
Aside from the vertical format, captions and subtitles are important for mobile videos as many viewers prefer to watch them without sound. It also promotes inclusivity as it makes your content available to people with hearing disabilities.
Don’t forget to add calls to action to let viewers know what you want them to do next.
#8 You can benefit from other videos
Some businesses don’t use video marketing because they think that it is expensive and hard to do. Well, that isn’t entirely true. You don’t always have to make new videos. You can share high-quality videos from well-known professionals in your industry. You can create content around those, too.
For platforms like YouTube, you can place ads on high-performing videos. This guarantees that your ad will be seen by your target audience.
#9 Video simplifies concepts and makes them easier to recall
Video content enables you to condense complex information into bite-sized pieces that are easier to recall. You can use short-form videos on your FAQ pages to reduce inquiries. This gives prospects the help they need without paying for customer support.
About 75% of consumers purchase a product after watching a video about it. If you have complex products or services, you can explain them well using video content. You can add these videos to your landing page to help customers make well-informed purchasing decisions.
Take a look at this explainer video below. For beginners, understanding how a real-time locating system works might be a little complicated. This explainer video simplifies that for prospects by using animation.
Whiteboard video explains real-time locating system
#10 Email marketing is more interesting with video content
The great thing about video content is that you can use it for any marketing campaign. Email marketing is no exception.
Igloo, a B2B software company, made 200 videos about their workplace culture within three months. They added these to their monthly newsletters. Just like that, they were able to double their click-through rate.
Make sure to let your prospects know that your email has video content. Just adding the word “video” to the subject of your email can increase open rates by 6%.
Let’s say you have a new product out on the market. Attaching a product video such as this one to your monthly newsletter can inform your audience of the new offer. At the same time, it can get them curious about it.
Explainer video for LAYGOMATIX Air Mattress
Conclusion: 10 reasons you should start using video in 2021
It goes without saying that video is still an important marketing tool in 2021.
If you’ve yet to leverage video marketing, there’s no better time to do it. Amid such trying times, video brings you closer to your audiences. It enables you to connect and build deeper relationships.
Here again are the 10 reasons at a glance:
- Video is still the most engaging type of content.
- Video reduces ad spend without diminishing the results.
- Video builds customer trust and loyalty.
- Video drives engagements on social media.
- Live streaming enables you to connect with consumers everywhere.
- Video boosts your website’s search engine ranking.
- Mobile users love videos.
- You can benefit from other videos.
- Video simplifies concepts and makes them easier to recall.
- Email marketing is more interesting with video content.
Don’t know where to begin?
Contact us if you need help planning and creating your video marketing strategy for 2021.
