We all enjoy a good YouTube video or even a funny commercial, but have you ever considered the benefits of using video as a marketing tool? Here are our top five reasons why not using video as a marketing tool can leave you in the dark ages:

It is highly digestible.

One of the best things about video is how, when used properly, information can be laid out in a way that is extremely easy to understand. Video requires much less effort from the audience and is therefore way more likely to be watched through completely than an article is to be read from start to finish. Plus, with 90% of consumers watching video on mobile devices, video content is ideal because it can be accessed and watched from anywhere in the world.

It can be entertaining and engaging.

While there are many different types of video, the best ones for online marketing are explainers, interviews, product reviews and demo videos, live video and video ads. While these may seem pretty straightforward, there’s a few key factors you may not have yet considered.

Types of Videos for Online Marketing:

  • Explainer
  • Interviews
  • Product Reviews and Demo
  • Live
  • Video Ads

1. Explainer Videos

These type of videos are great when you release a product that may need more explanation, for instance this video made by GTBank, a Nigerian financial institution, has a short anecdotal hook at the beginning and then proceeds to explain what their newest application is and how to use it. It is entertaining and funny and has almost two million views on YouTube, which is awesome exposure for the company. It’s also animated which can be a great choice for explainers and video ads as using storytelling as a marketing technique engages more people and is overall more memorable content than the alternative. After all, 97% of marketers say videos help customers understand products and help them to make purchasing decisions. (explainer videos are also great for social causes too, like this video that illustrates the dangers of texting or talking while driving)

2. Interviews

Say you work for a company that spells specialty shoes that are supposed to improve posture, circulation, etc. Making a video interviewing someone like a foot and ankle specialist who can give an expert recommendation for your product can be extremely useful. This is also a great opportunity to bring in social media influencers or celebrities who can vouch for your product and get your video more exposure as well.

3. Product Reviews and Demo Videos

Ever heard of user generated content, or UGC? This is the perfect opportunity to spread awareness of your product to potentially a previously untapped audience. You or your company can use brand ambassadors to make their own content or review of your product and promote it to their followers. This is especially important when trying to reach a younger audience as many college students are willing to be a brand or campus ambassador just for the experience. Another great thing about UGC is that because it is mainly posted and shared on social media, you can actually consider it a form of market research, helping you to identify key publics to appeal to and where to put out your main messaging. There is also a ton of YouTube videos that are product reviews and serve as free or earned advertising, assuming it’s positive feedback of course.

4. Live Video

Live video is great because it builds trust in your company or organization by letting your audience get to know the inner workings of your organization. This type of video is more engaging as it’s seen as a more face to face type of interaction than just you sending out messaging to your audience. It’s also fun and interesting for consumers to see a “behind the scenes” view of your company, it’ll make them feel more familiar with your company and in turn fosters brand loyalty.

5. Video Ads

As we mentioned before, storytelling is a great marketing technique, and while a picture is worth a thousand words, video ads that have a distinct beginning, middle and end are much more entertaining and memorable than their still counterparts. In 2017 84 Lumber wanted to increase brand awareness for their company so they created this video ad. It has an emotional appeal, grabs people’s attention and is very memorable. Another good approach for video ads could be illustrated or animated because they can advertise your product in a way that is understandable and retainable.

Videos give high ROI and Search Engines love websites with embedded videos.

To make a really professional, good looking video, you could either hire a video production company, or try to do it yourself. Now either way, it is going to cost you, but because video can reach such a large audience, you have the potential to make back the money you spent on the process and then some. Also, search engines like Google love videos embedded in websites. In fact, they love them so much that pages with video are 53 times more likely to show up on the first page of Google search results than those without. This is a great way for your company or organization to improve your search engine optimization, or SEO, because search engines see video as high quality content.

Video boosts conversions and can improve sales.

In a study conducted by Social Media Today, 90% of consumers claim a video will help them in making a purchasing decision. Since most people look at product reviews before making a purchase, having a video that stands out from the rest can boost sales and improve your conversion rates.

It is easily shareable.

Consumers prefer watching a video to reading an article, so keeping that in mind, creating a video that is entertaining, engaging, tells a story and is also consistently branded has the potential to go viral and in turn increase traffic to your website, which, once again, can lead to more sales and conversions.

If these reasons didn’t convince you that video is an excellent marketing tool, you might be interested to know that YouTube reports that by 2021 80% of all web traffic will consist of video. Another reason to get ahead of this trend is that 81% of businesses are already using video for marketing purposes. So, next time you sit down to write an advertisement, consider using a video instead.

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