Marketers and brands are constantly commissioning studies to discover how best to reach target audiences, grab their attention, and hold it. Way back in 2015, research showed that 78-percent of marketers said that video was an important part of their overall strategy. By 2020, that number reached 93-percent, according to Wyzowl.
The growth of apps and platforms that make sharing video simple and fun for users, as well as the events of the pandemic which drastically accelerated digital transformations and irrevocably altered media consumption habits, have only strengthened the reach and impact of video. A study of consumer behavior found that a whopping 96-percent of people said they started watching more video during and after the pandemic.
Today, virtually everyone has bought into the power and potential of video, but just in case anyone still needs convincing, here are the ten most compelling reasons why every brand needs to leverage the full potential of video in 2023 and beyond.
1. Improved SEO Results
Streaming platform Brightcove reported that video can boost organic traffic from Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) by as much as 157-percent. That’s likely because Google strongly favors websites that are able to hold audiences’ attention. The relevant metric is called ‘dwell time,’ and online shopping platform Oberlo’s research shows that the average web user spends 88-percent more time on webpages that have video when compared to those that don’t.
A healthy supply of inbound links (also known as backlinks, which are links from other websites) are another important factor for SEO, and martech brand Moz found that certain pages, such as blog posts, generate three times as many inbound links when they contain an embedded video.
2. Faster Revenue Growth
Forbes reported that marketers effectively using video see revenue growth that outpaces their less technologically sophisticated rivals by 49-percent. That’s likely because studies show video is an exceptionally useful tool for swaying consumers, with 84-percent of shoppers saying they have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a video from that brand.
3. Expanded Reach
No matter how polished or helpful a brand’s content is, it can’t deliver a positive Return On Marketing Investment (ROMI) if no one sees it. Drier content like whitepapers still have their place, especially in highly technical industries, but even the most traditional and conservative brands today, including B2B firms, are finding that video helps them get their message to a wider audience.
Video is highly shareable and numerous platforms exist for no other reason than to showcase video content, including YouTube and TikTok. Even on the platforms that host a more diverse range of content, video is quickly becoming dominant. Over half a billion people watch videos on Facebook every day. On LinkedIn, video is shared an incredible twenty times more than other types of content.
84-percent of shoppers say they have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a video.
4. Longer Recall
For marketers, getting the right message to the right audience at the right time is part of the battle. The real trick is ensuring that the message sticks and that consumers will be able to recall it at the appropriate time, such as when they are in the consideration phase of their buyer’s journey.
Video, because it engages multiple senses at once, and because humans are naturally drawn to interpret the world visually and pay attention to things in motion, leads to stronger recall than static content. Hence, it’s not surprising that online ad platform Wordstream found that viewers retain 85% more information from a video than from reading the same content in text form, and that 80-percent of people that watch a video ad can still recall it 30 days later.
5. Deeper Engagement
In addition to being more shareable on LinkedIn, video also drives improved engagement with content. The business social media platform’s own analytics report shows that video gets five times more engagement than non-video content. That high level of engagement also supports information retention, with studies showing that when a viewer is engaged with a video they will retain 95-percent of the message. Compare that to reading, a medium with much lower associated engagement, where retention of just 10-percent is common.
6. Durable Relationships
All mutually beneficial relationships, including between brands and their audiences, are built on trust. Brand credibility is built by consistently proving thought leadership and adherence to state values and by acting as a reliable and helpful partner.
Consumers are increasingly expecting the brands they patronize to take on the role of educator, offering explainer videos, tutorials, and other resources that help them make decisions and solve problems. And video has rapidly become the leading format for delivering that information, with 73-percent of users saying, according to Wyzowl, that they prefer watching a video to learn about a new product compared to any other form of content.
80-percent of people that watch a video ad can still recall it 30 days later.
7. More Effective Emails
Video-based marketing may be the new kid on the block and can boast impressive results, but one of the oldest channels is still the ROI king: email marketing. Yet, adding video to email makes a powerful marketing tool that much more effective. Campaign Monitor found that video increases email open rates by 19-percent and click-thru-rates by 65-percent — while reducing unsubscribe rates by 26-percent.
8. Boosted Conversion Rates
Video isn’t just moving the needle for brands at the top and middle of their marketing funnel when their audience is getting to know them and starting to compare options. It’s also a powerful tool at the bottom of the funnel for driving conversions.
Whether that conversion is something as simple as a form fill or as significant as a major purchase, video helps reduce friction on the buyer’s journey. Adding video to a landing page has been shown to increase conversions by as much as 80-percent. In 2021, for example, Nike touted the use of video to expand its market share in South Korea and found that tailored, event-driven video campaigns increased their conversions rates by 54-percent.
9. More Mobile Interactions
In baseball, batters try to ‘hit it where they ain’t,’ but that won’t fly for digital marketers. We have to be where the eyeballs are, and increasingly that place is on mobile devices. Moreover, the dominant medium on mobile is now video. Globally, there were 2.33 billion mobile phone video viewers in 2021, and research shows that users are much more likely (1.5X) to watch a video daily on their phone than on their desktop.
10. Stronger Storytelling
Every brand has a story to tell and video is one of the most effective means of sharing it. Accomplishments, expertise, brand personality, core values, and other key features of a brand’s makeup all come to life in video in a way that other mediums can’t replicate — which is why Wyzwol reported that 94-percent of markets say video greatly helped them increase user understanding of their brand and product.
Hanlon offers comprehensive video content strategy and production services. We use our marketing expertise to develop video content that connects with brand audiences to inform, persuade, and delight. Find out how we can help you take advantage of all of the video’s possibilities.