There is no doubt that visual media, once a luxury for businesses operating on the web, is vital to a content marketing strategy. Instagram, SnapChat and other social media platforms are using video as a business tool. The changes made to Facebook such as Stories and Watch (their video content platform) means users expect more visual content, and it isn’t just photos, illustration and infographics. If 2019 will be remembered for anything, it will be as a year of video. More businesses are using video for lead generation and directing ad resources to YouTube than ever before.
2019 Marketing Stats
There are many reasons for the increase in business videos. Technology makes it both cost effective and viable as a cornerstone of your marketing strategy. Facebook and Instagram are reacting to that new demand, not creating it.
Businesses that already use video content as part of its marketing strategy report better lead generation and conversion rates:
- 90% of all marketing professionals use video on a regular basis
- More than 30% of ads on the web today are in video format. Businesses are producing videos and customers are responding well to them
- Website analytics commonly suggest that video as a tool of marketing increases your CTR by as much as 300%
- YouTube’s own studies report exponential increase among users, effectively doubling each year at present
This is reflected in what customers are telling those businesses when questioned. Reports suggest in 2019:
- For B2C transactions, 60% of buyers say that a video review, summary, or other marketing material would make them more likely to buy the product or service
- Web browsers spend about 33% of their time online watching video content
- 75% are more likely to share video content than written content, meaning great free marketing outreach for you
The remaining elements in the top 3 list of contenders for lead generation, are surveys and white papers. Video by far the most effective form of visual content with a much higher ROI.
Video is Memorable
Psychological studies show that information retention is higher in people when accompanied with visual cues. Many state education systems introduced visual aids and demonstrations years ago. The same is true of your customers regardless of your industry. People are much more likely to remember your video content weeks after watching it than anything they might have read on your website. Even if they can recall written information on your landing or sales page, they will remember far less of it than accompanying video.
Humanizing Business
There is a growing mistrust for faceless brands. Increasingly, customers expect to be engaged on the human level. They expect a human face or a voice with whom they can feel an emotional connection that will then entice them to buy your product or service. That’s something only video can provide; written content cannot do it at all, while photography has its own limits. Even if no face appears in a video, it will likely to feature a voice. That voice can be a symbol of your brand and humanize your business.