Video marketing is a very important element of the digital marketing space and it will remain this way for the foreseeable future. Video is so popular right now that a Facebook executive has even mentioned that in the future, the platform might focus on providing video content exclusively.  

Starting with 2017, video content was one of the top marketing tactics and the focus started to be on expensive production, but not enough analysis. In the next two years, 2018 and 2019, it became more than a marketing tactic: it turned into an entire business strategy. 

Right now, video content is part of a holistic approach and is created in a measurable way to analyse its impact and to be able to make better future decisions. Taking all this incredible evolution into consideration, you may ask: what is video marketing? Why is it so important? 

The definition is very simple: using videos to promote or market a brand, product, or service. It includes how-to videos, corporate training videos, customer testimonials, entertainment videos, and also videos from live events, so there is a wide diversity of it.

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Why is video marketing so important? 

One of the first reasons why video marketing is so important is the fact that it is a gold mine for SEO. It can increase click-through rates, search engine ranking, open rates, and conversions. For example, videos are now 70% of the top 100 Google search result listings and over 80% of all traffic will consist of videos by 2021. Besides, YouTube is the second largest search engine and is owned by Google, so using YouTube videos can help your SEO efforts. 

Video boosts conversion rates and sales more than other content formats

In terms of higher conversion rates, 90% of consumers claim a video will help them make a purchasing decision. Landing pages are a great place to insert videos, which will hypothetically boost conversion rates up to 80%. 

They also work great for websites, which applies especially to those people who don’t like to read or whose eyes could be tired from looking at a screen. Although creating videos requires a significant investment of both time and money, it has a positive impact on sales and ROI. 

A study shows that 80% of consumers believe having demonstration videos is helpful when making purchases as seeing a product in action rather than just reading about it influences their buying decisions more. Therefore, doubt is eliminated and a final decision is made from a place of informed understanding and trust. 

Moreover, videos can be helpful during the entire customer buying journey as backend analytics provide useful data for predictive social network analysis to salespeople who can qualify leads and track customer engagement. 

Video content tells a story about a company, product, or service, making it more likely that the followers will watch it. By sharing videos on social media, brands can show customers or potential customers what they do, who they are and what makes them stand out, and where they’re headed, making it possible for them to define their voice. 

Providing data and valuable insights

When brands share their videos on various social media channels, they also benefit from powerful data. Based on that, they can market viewers in different ways. For example, those who have abandoned videos early on can be sent information that appeals to them, whereas those viewers who watched a video partially, can be sent specific details or calls to action. 

Building trust

When deciding to buy a product or a service, customer reviews and testimonials are extremely important, so sharing such videos on social media is a great idea. 

Another example of video content that builds trust is live videos. They boost authenticity and establish trust with the target audience. Such videos are popular especially on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. Live videos can be used for tips, various demonstrations, as well as Q&As and important announcements. 

It explains everything better than written content

A one minute video is worth approximately 1,800,000 words, which means it communicates more details than any other form of media. According to a study, 44% of consumers want to learn about a service or product from watching videos compared to 5% who prefer talking on the phone, while 4% would like to read a manual. 

It encourages social shares

The desire of consumers to engage online through video content is proved by a recent study which states that 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others. Besides, 43% of people want to watch more video content from marketers and according to Bloomberg, 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter. Plus, stakeholders are more likely to share and reshare a video than other forms of content.

Marketing specialists need to keep in mind that videos usually share emotions, so they need to create videos that are entertaining, engaging, and funny. Although emotions don’t mean money, the social shares can improve traffic to your site and 76% of users say they would share a branded video with their friends if it was entertaining. 

For a good ROI from social media video marketing efforts, specialists need a clear call to action, so they need to make sure they identify the goal they are planning to achieve. Aside from this, they also need to collaborate with a talented and experienced web designer to help them achieve that. 

As there are many web design specialists, sometimes it can be quite difficult for companies to select the most suitable candidate, they need to read a freelance designer hiring guide to simplify the process and to know exactly what questions to ask and what to look for.

Why video rocks email marketing campaigns

Marketers should never forget that they are always in a competition to reach their audience’s attention and using video in their marketing campaigns is very useful in this sense. 

Videos can turn into anything a brand needs: from promotional showcases of services and products, interviews to corporate videos. Video in email marketing leads to a high engagement rate and increased exposure. Additionally, it increases open rates by 19% and click rates by 65%, according to Campaign Monitor. 

When using videos in emails, other elements are very important such as the quality of the video, the subject lines, allowing recipients to play the video right from the message, keeping videos short, and clear CTAs. 

Which social media networks are best for your brand and why

YouTube has been used for social media marketing efforts for a long time now. Although Youtube has to compete with Instagram and Snapchat, it still has a lot of potential. As it is the second most popular search engine and it’s owned by Google, it mimics it and allows marketers to optimize YouTube videos with the proper keywords for higher search rankings.

Video tutorials, product reviews, instructional videos, and any other similar content can be created and promoted on other social media accounts. 

Facebook’s wide user base makes it one of the most important social media platforms, which is also due to its extremely well-developed advertising platform. Marketing specialists can target by age, gender, interests, relationship status, as well as purchasing behaviours, and much more. 

As this network is a place where people chat a lot and use it to relax, the tone of voice should be friendly and light. The feature “Facebook Live Streaming” helps brands create and improve relationships and display products and services. 

LinkedIn has turned from a job search platform into a social network for professionals with native video posts and Live video broadcasts. LinkedIn is used by B2B marketers as its audience comprises professionals from a wide range of fields, many of them holding decision-making roles. According to HubSpot, LinkedIn is 3 times more effective for generating leads than both Twitter and Facebook. 

General recommendations for a better video marketing strategy

Choosing the right social media platforms can be a difficult decision sometimes as spending too much time or money on particular social media platforms can be risky. 

The solution is to evaluate each network carefully and choose the right one for a particular business, which maximizes both time and efforts to ensure there will be a high return on investment. There are several recommendations for a better video marketing strategy such as:

• determine your purpose – you need to know what you want to be able to set the right measurable and revenue-based goals 
• do thorough research and make sure you know your audience – this will lead to creating videos targeted to the audience’s questions and needs; it will attract more people who want to align themselves with the brand and mission naturally
• invest in social media analytics – this helps specialists find out more about their audience, which makes it easier to build a plan and create targeted video content
• use the power of stories – it will increase engagement and show how a product and service can solve various problems
•  use a friendly, conversational tone – this will help engage with your audience
• video marketing should target a specific buyer persona – once your buyer persona is mapped out, it will be easier to know exactly who your target audience is
• always brand your videos – it builds brand awareness, trust, and loyalty with your customers
• use social proof – this takes the form of views, likes, comments, endorsements, votes, as well as collaborating with influencers and experts for your video strategy; social proof helps people make decisions more easily when they have doubts
• optimize your videos – it’s not enough to create high-quality videos – people need to find them first; optimizing needs to include the best practices for video on each platform

Nonetheless, by doing in-depth research in advance and knowing what platforms can do for you, there is a better chance to succeed on social media as each platform has its perks and perils. It’s not a must to be present on all social media networks.

Actually, for particular companies, it would be completely unproductive to have a profile page on Pinterest or LinkedIn, for example, as their customers do not use these networks or the type of business is not appropriate for these social media platforms. 

As consumers prize videos over other types of content, this social media trend is difficult to ignore. No matter your industry, video content can advance your marketing strategy, helping marketing specialists build trustworthy brands, as well as a large user base. 

As in 2021 video content will account for more than 80% of Internet traffic, if a company hasn’t already started to use and develop its video marketing strategy, it might have several issues.