Why Video Marketing MUST Be Part of Your Content Strategy

The content marketing field requires marketers to stay on top of numerous different strategies and channels. And while it’s difficult to label one particular strategy as “superior,” certain ones stand above the rest. One example is video marketing. When supplemented by robust traditional content, video marketing can maximize value and engage audiences in completely new ways.

Quantifying the Value of Video

It’s hard determine the value video marketing for specific industries because every industry is different, but you can clearly see the overarching value by studying this year’s trends. Here are some important takeaways you’ll want to take note of: 

• 52% of marketers believe video is the highest-returning content medium.
• Using the word “video” in the subject line of an email increases click rates by 65% and open rates by 19%. It decreases unsubscribe rates by 26%.
• 93% of marketers use video for some form of sales, communication or online marketing.
• [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]By 2017, research suggests 74% of all internet traffic will be video.[/inlinetweet]
• 65% of video viewers watch at least 3/4 of any given video.

Why Video Marketing Works

But how does video marketing work, and why is it being used by everyone from landlords and real estate agents to politicians and public figures to engage with customers and followers? Here are some of the specific reasons video marketing is valuable: 

1. Higher Engagement  – Standard content is valuable, but it’s becoming increasingly rare for younger internet users to actually read through an entire article. They’ll either scan it or avoid it. One way around this is to develop videos around your textual content. This allows you to reach multiple audiences with the same general content. And did you know that video is 10 times more likely to be shared, commented on or consumed than traditional posts?
2. Stronger Emotional Connection – There’s something about the combination of visual stimulation and audio that enhances the emotional connection between content and the human brain. Video content is able to persuade and influence readers exponentially more than written content.
3. Better SEO – According to Comscore, adding a video to a website increases the chance of obtaining a page one ranking by 53 times. From an SEO point of view, that’s reason enough to invest in basic video marketing. There are also plenty of ways to optimize on-site videos to make them more visible to search engine crawlers.
4. Increased Conversions – These all lead to increased conversions, which means more sales, higher market penetration, increased brand equity and added influence in your industry. 

Tips for Launching a Video Strategy 

Developing a content marketing strategy is a very personal thing. It’s not something that a company can copy from another organization. Your strategy must be unique and specific to your brand and your target market. With that being said, here are some helpful tips for launching a video marketing strategy that’s aimed at engaging and converting customers: 

1. Leverage the right resources. Your video marketing strategy will only be as good as the resources you use. This means finding a good videographer and publishing on the right platforms. Do you want to publish longer videos on YouTube or Vimeo? Or do you want to target younger consumers with shorter videos on Instagram, Vine or Periscope? You also need to use the correct sharing and advertising tools to attract viewers. Without the right resources, you’ll fail to extract value from even the highest quality videos.
2. Invest in appropriate topics. A good videographer and top-of-the-line equipment is only worth your investment if you choose the right topics. Find out which stories your customers want you to tell and work hard to create compelling content around these issues. Funny, emotional and eye-popping are the way to go.
3. Don’t over-sell. While the ultimate goal of a video marketing strategy is to increase conversions, that shouldn’t be apparent from the get-go. Avoid too much self-promotion and instead focus on quality, engaging content. If you can master this, you won’t have any trouble increasing conversions.

Invest in Video Today

[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]When used in conjunction with traditional content marketing, video marketing has the potential to take a campaign to a completely new level.[/inlinetweet] As a forward-thinking business with goals of reaching and engaging online customers, you can’t put off video any longer. Invest today, and experience the tremendous benefits that so many other businesses are already enjoying.

Anna is a freelance writer, researcher, and business consultant from Olympia, WA. A columnist for Entrepreneur.com, iMediaConnection.com and more, Anna specializes in entrepreneurship, technology, and social media trends. When she isn’t writing, she’s outside on her bike and contemplating her eventual trip to graduate school. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.