5 Reasons Video Is Essential For Your Marketing Strategy

By Keith Jolie

This past weekend I was busy volunteering with the annual Polar Bear Dip for Habitat for Humanity in Toronto. Amid all the interviews, media interactions and watching around 700 people run into icy cold water,  I was struck by the prevalence of video at the event.

One of my interviews with a larger news media company was via Facebook Live, and many of the dippers had GoPros strapped to them as they ran into the water. Those videos, shared by a significant percentage of the participants, have allowed the event organizers to market the excitement of the event to a very large audience and to grow the event year after year.

Video has grown to become in many cases, the linchpin of a successful content marketing strategy. While content marketing is a bit of an overused buzzword, the concept is sound.  Marketing your business or organization involves engaging several channels in order to attract customers and as with traditional advertising, mediums like search engine marketing ( SEM ), social media marketing, and email marketing all rely on quality content to entice the customer to engage with the medium and for you to meet your marketing objectives.

If you’re not already using video as part of your content marketing strategy, here are five reasons why you should give it a second look:

1 – Critical Mass

Recent statistics gathered by Google pointed out that 53% of consumers on mobile feel more favorable towards companies whose websites feature video content. Video more than ever has reached a critical mass.  It is expected by your customers, and much like a business or organization that doesn’t have a website, not having video content will soon be seen as a sign that your business or organization isn’t professional.  

2 – Distribution Options Abound

There has never been a better time for businesses to embrace video as part of their content marketing efforts, and with both free and paid distribution options it also has never been easier.  Any business can easily (and for free) create a YouTube channel to feature video content and videos can easily be embedded in your website, sales presentations and used as part of conference displays. About 100 million hours of video are watched every day on Facebook.  With both Facebook and YouTube (Google Adwords) offering complex targeted distribution through their paid advertising models, more than ever you are able to direct your video content to the most appropriate audience and measure the results.

3 – High Definition and High Speed is Everywhere

In 2017, high speed data is a reality on even the most basic of mobile networks and most newer mobile phones now feature high definition displays and sound that would have been unimaginable even a few years ago.  This advancement has caused the global audience for video to grow exponentially. While high quality video looks best on the big screen, it is superbly suited for mobile consumption because it requires no user interaction and it can be shared easily.  Video allows a mobile user to take in a large amount of information without having to scroll through lots of text or click through from page to page and the audience is definitely there.  On mobile alone in an average week, YouTube reaches more 18+ year-olds during prime time TV hours than any cable TV network. (Google Think, 2016)

4 – It’s a Supercharger for your SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a constantly moving target with search algorithm updates being released frequently. Recent observations by SEO professionals agree that the inclusion of video on your website continues to have a very positive impact on how frequently your website appears in related search engine results pages.  The benefits come from a few specific traits of video. First – multimedia content, and graphical (picture) content has for a long time had a positive impact on page SEO. Second, video content is sharable and social media shares are metrics that feed back positive SEO signals for your page. And third – properly embedded and encoded videos with script information expand the relevant keyword possibilities for any page that includes them.

5 – Buying Decisions Are Heavily Influenced By Video

The buying decision process in both the consumer and business to business markets has undergone a massive shift in recent years.  Product and service information that was once only available from sales staff can now be readily accessed from a wide variety of sources including review sites, best of lists, and industry publications. For businesses and organizations, ensuring that your content is front and centre during that critical research stage of the buying process is more and more important. With 68% of YouTube users (70% in Canada) indicating that they watched YouTube content to help them make a purchasing decision, the importance of ensuring that it is your message that they receive in that video becomes even more magnified.

While video isn’t the only element of a content marketing solution a business needs to employ, there is a strong argument to be made that most businesses should be prioritizing video as part of their marketing strategy. To find out more you should also check out our video called “Why Video”.  

Double Barrel Studios can offer your organization guidance as you consider video – give us a call, and let’s get talking.