Do you remember the first movie you ever saw as a kid? You can probably recall everything from the opening credits to the outfits the people wore to the outcome of the big plotline.
That’s the power of visual storytelling, and in an era where virtually anything can contain a screen, from your phone to your watch, that power has become something advertisers are eager to harness. Over the past decade, but especially in the last five years, video marketing has really taken off. Brands believe they can convince people to buy their wares by employing the same visual, story-focused tactics as filmmakers — and they’re correct.
The video marketing impact on the advertising community has become undeniable. Let’s take a deeper look at why this form of promotion is so powerful and effective.
Video Marketing Statistics
First, in case you need any convincing of how ubiquitous video has become, consider these statistics:
- IP video traffic will make up 82 percent of all consumer web traffic by the end of 2018
- The number of videos viewed on YouTube each year rises by 100 percent
Clearly, video has become inescapable online. Like with any trend, that means advertising isn’t far behind. Already, marketers have seen evidence of video marketing’s effectiveness:
- More than half of respondents in one survey said they’d most like to see more video marketing over other choices, such as blog articles and newsletters
- Conversion rates can soar as much as 80 percent with video marketing
This information is the key to understanding the video market’s success. It works, and because it works, people invest more and more money in this form of advertising. Now comes the next part of the equation — the why. Why does video marketing resonate so much with people? The answer goes back to the storytelling.
Video Marketing Feels Personal
When you go to see a movie, you often feel as though you’re the only one in the theater. Every special effect, every dramatic closeup, every love scene feels as though it was filmed just for your entertainment, even though there may be 300 other people in the theater with you.
Video has the power to connect with viewers on a personal level, and that makes it compelling. When you see a character develop opinions or make decisions, you can identify with their emotions. That process leads you to feel more invested in the outcome of the video. You care about what’s happening. Achieving this type of investment marks the ultimate goal of any form of marketing.
Video Marketing: Making Connections Through Images
Video has visual power. So many forms of advertising rely on words alone, whether it’s radio or print ads or pop-ups on your smartphone. These methods require more effort on the consumer’s end. They have to read and sometimes even engage with the material to get anything out of the experience.
Not so for video. This passive medium requires nothing from you except the willingness to watch. With innovations in the way video is presented, you don’t even have to press play anymore. A marketing video will queue up immediately when you navigate to a new page. It invites the viewer right into the ad, and it’s an invitation that can be difficult to turn down.
Video Marketing Ties in With Social Media
Social networking has become as much a part of most people’s days as the daily paper and a freshly brewed pot of coffee once were. We consume social media voraciously throughout the day. Anything that plays well on social media turns into an immediate marketing hit, and that certainly has been true of video.
Video came of age around the same time that social media gained widespread usage. The two have become symbiotic, with posts dedicated to different videos going viral and videos drawing more people to social platforms. This relationship, in turn, has boosted the effectiveness of both media types.
Google and YouTube: Video Marketing Synergy
Of course, you also can’t overemphasize the effect of YouTube on video marketing. That one of the world’s most dominant internet companies, Google, owns YouTube certainly helps explain why video has become such an integral part of marketing strategies. Google is eager to share relevant content on YouTube in searches, and the ads it plays before the content make a huge amount of money for the search site — an estimated $3.96 billion in 2018, up from $2.24 billion in 2015.
Video Marketing Presents the Opportunity for Exceptional Content
As dominant as YouTube may be, video marketing would not have taken off if it weren’t effective. Here again, we see another reason for its power. The video format provides a welcome chance for marketers to explain their products or services in an engaging way. A video can:
- Show a problem being solved
- Demonstrate a product in action
- Make a memorable impression through storytelling
These goals are all valuable ones. Achieving even one of them can help sell a product, but doing all three at once leads people to gain an understanding of your product that they may not get through other forms of advertising. This potential leads to the high conversion rate for video. The power of video, as we mentioned before, can be attributed to its effectiveness, and any medium that allows people to see why they should buy something will cause the best return on investment.
Harness the Power of Video Marketing
Are you ready to see what type of impact video can have on your marketing strategy and watch your customer base grow because of it? PixelFish works with companies of all sizes and budgets to implement video marketing. We talk with our clients to determine the best fits for their needs and tailor our strategies precisely to their business and goals.
Get in touch with us today to discuss your video marketing options and how we can assist your company. Fill out this form right away to get a free quote on your next project.