1. Video is where your customers spend their time.
- YouTube alone has more than 4 billion views per day, and it’s the second-largest search engine, right after Google (which owns YouTube).
- 78 percent of people watch at least once a week and 55 percent watch every day.
I should just end the article here. Game, set, match. I win. Everyone is watching video. You need to be making ads, promos, branded entertainment, Web series, video blogs, funny viral videos, videos of your cat, your dog, your cat riding your dog—whatever style and format best reaches your customers.
2. Video is already helping your competition.
- 81 percent of senior marketing executives now use online video content in their marketing programs, up from 70 percent in 2011. (MarketingProfs)
This is also known as “the cold war approach.” Scare them with the knowledge that their most hated archrivals are escalating their video marketing programs and are way ahead of them. Convince them that they need to get with the program and escalate quickly before it’s too late.
3. Video is easily searchable.
- Video results have appeared in almost 70 percent of the top 100 search listing on Google in 2012. (Marketing Week)
Consumers are looking for your products and services. How are they looking? Most likely, online search is one of the top ways. Social media can affect organic Google search results as well as be an entry point to your website, microsite, or promo page. YouTube is the second-largest search engine, meaning videos get ranked high in Google results. Photos, graphics, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, and other networks are also searchable.
4. Video is shared easily and frequently.
- More than 500 years’ worth of YouTube videos are watched daily on Facebook.
- More than 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every minute.
Video sharing is a huge part of social media, and social media is a huge part of our lives. Get your product or service message out there in a fun and shareable way.
5. Video levels the playing field.
- Online video production will account for more than one-third of all online advertising spending within the next five years. (Borrell Associates Annual Benchmarking Results)
Video has created an even playing field on which brands, business, and organizations can compete. The advantage is still with larger, more established brands, simply because they have bigger budgets for video seeding and media buying, but the trick is just to keep being more creative and do a better job of targeting, in order to reach your consumers.
6. Video entertains, educates, and inspires.
- More than 60 percent of consumers will spend at least two minutes watching a video that educates them about a product they plan to purchase. (MarketingCharts.com)
The term “moving pictures” has a dual meaning. Video is way better at moving viewers to laugh, cry, get mad, learn, and take action than photos, text, or audio. Video is a great storyteller and keeps consumers glued to your site.
7. Video allows for real-time feedback and interaction.
People love to comment on videos, and that’s where you can learn more about your consumers. Comments and response videos help you redirect your fire based on their feedback and needs. How cool would it be for fans to leave comments on a video, then find themselves mentioned by name in the next video? Answer: Pretty cool.
8. Video is measurable.
Analytics are so accessible, and they do a great job of telling how successful your videos are. No more guesswork. Measurement can help your boss, partners, and you to determine which videos and surrounding social media activities are leading to increased sales and moving your marketing in the right direction.
9. Video lives forever, making it more cost-effective over time.
Videos stay online and in Google results for a very long time and typically require an executive order to be removed. This can be both good and bad, depending on what kinds of videos you’ve made. You may consider an initial media purchase or video seeding to promote your video, but unlike TV ads that get taken down once the rent isn’t paid, video content stays online, working for you and reducing your overall per-unit spending over time.
10. Video is one click away from the ‘buy’ button.
- 34 percent of apparel shoppers are more likely to purchase after viewing an online video ad, versus 16 percent after watching an ad on TV. (ReelSEO)
If you’re watching a TV ad, you can’t just “buy now.” You have to go somewhere else like your phone or laptop. Properly set up and executed, consumers should never be more than one click away from the opportunity to buy the product or service you are selling. You can put direct links in video descriptions, surrounding text, banners, or overlays that let viewers click directly on the video.
11. Video is about selling, not just playing around.
- Shoppers who viewed video were 174 percent more likely to purchase than viewers who did not. (Retail Touchpoints)
Far too many “video marketing experts” are wasting clients’ time and money playing around with videos that are either so boring they don’t get shared or so vague they don’t connect viewers to the products or service and don’t sell anything. Make it clear to your boss or partners that video is a way of selling more products and services, not just entertaining for the fun of it. Video initiatives and the surrounding activities should revolve around clear objectives and calls to action, to create an environment where consumers know what they’re supposed to buy and can easily purchase it.
12. Video is mobile.
- Online video now accounts for 50 percent of all mobile traffic and up to 69 percent of traffic on certain networks. (Bytemobile Mobile Analytics Report)
- 30-second mobile video ads have an 88.3 percent completion rate. (Rhythm Insights)
- More than 85 percent of marketers have reported that they plan to increase their mobile advertising budgets in the near future. (Association of National Advertisers and MediaVest)
People take video with them on their phones and watch it because they’re interested in a certain topic (see No. 3) or just entertaining themselves. With mobile video you have the potential to be in people’s hands, understanding everything about what you offer, and one click away from their buying your stuff—which is the whole point.
Armed with these talking points you can convince anyone of the value of video marketing. If you need backup, give me a shout.
A version of this article originally appeared on the Supercool Creative blog.This article first appeared on Ragan.com in April 2013.
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