According to a study conducted by Cisco, by the year 2017, videos are set to account for at least 69% of the overall internet ‘traffic’. Video on demand on its own would increase at least three times. This is a clear indicator that the future of content market is videos – more so because there do not seem to be any ‘contraindications’ to suggest that the growth will not continue unabated. Given these statistics and ‘signs’, online videos are quickly becoming an integral part of the content marketing strategy for companies to satiate the needs for information and entertainment of their customers and other viewers. Businesses that fail to include videos in their online content marketing strategy would be doing so at their risk and could find themselves struggling to succeed and maybe survive. Studies and stats show that at least 64% of marketing persons expect to use videos as part of their content marketing strategy in the not so distant future. As you read on, you will understand why.
Just by virtue of its sheer reach, videos are incomparable and nonpareil. YouTube alone receives more than a billion new visitors each month, which is more than any other online channel, except Facebook – which receives around a weekly visitor count of over 20 million people in the United Kingdom alone. Every company can have access to this large audience if they use videos well. Any company, irrespective of size and industry, cannot ignore the
tsunami of reach and visibility, since online videos are not a passing fad or trend. Online videos are becoming the ‘super tool’ in the digital space and is only set to get bigger, better, and more powerful. Another study conducted by Cisco shows that of all the internet traffic, 82% will be for videos – this will be a rise from 70% as recorded in 2015. Given that the number of devices and platforms for viewing these videos have also increased, the opportunities to reach an even large audience and untapped markets is a reality now.
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Does your company’s content marketing strategy include videos? If not, you could be in some serious trouble.
The Rise and Rise of Online Videos
With the rise and advancement of technology, everything has become more conducive to video uploading and viewing. Better resolution, improved streaming services, and a plethora of distribution platforms and viewing devices. With so many features and access literally in the palm of the user’s hand, it is not surprising that online videos, as the future of content marketing are here to stay. As mentioned above, with more than a billion viewers daily,YouTube alone has ‘upped the ante’ on video marketing. The mobile viewing on YouTube, per session, is now more than 40 minutes – that is a phenomenal potential for any company seeking to increase its reach and brand awareness. According to data collected for the earning of the last quarter of 2015, social networks showed about 100 million hours of video watch time – daily! Are you still wondering what your customers are doing right now – well, you guessed it – watching a video! There is no doubt then, that the future of content marketing is videos – possibly the most powerful and potent opportunity for a company to interact with and engage its existing and potential customers. Are you ‘play’ mode or ‘pause’ mode?
Another reason for the rise of videos as a marketing strategy is that the human mind is conditioned to respond better to ‘visuals’ – videos fulfil this yearning for visual content and with so many options to choose from, customers are a happy lot. When done well, online videos have the ability to capture the audience attention, and keep them ‘enticed’ to your company. When consumers spend time and money on certain brands, in return they expect that the brand would give them a medium through which they can interact with it, hence several companies have created their own portals to send out live-streams content, ensuring that customers get their ‘daily dose’ of entertainment, excitement, education, and useful information.
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As a customer, you too can corroborate the power of video content – you would have found yourself being amazed, amused, or enlightened by a video that you may have purposefully chosen or accidentally landed on – either way; it would have left an impact.Some videos are so well done and powerful, relying only on music and subtitles – no other sounds seem necessary, and yet drive home the message effectively.
Even if a business / company may be off for a holiday or weekend, it would be important to remember that viewers are online all the time – they are connected and expect to have something to new to watch by way of online videos.A research by Yume showed that a larger number of people watch videos on mobile devices and do so more over the weekend – obviously, because of the increased amount of free time people have on holidays. While there may be more high-income users, viewing these videos, there is not much difference in the viewership numbers for other income groups – everyone is watching videos all the time. Do your company videos feature in these?
As mentioned, consumers yearn and prefer videos from brands and it is the onus of a company to reach these ‘hungry’ viewers all the time and through their preferred channels. The content in these videos must ‘speak’ clearly and alluringly to the audience – that means the content should not only be interesting, it should also be informative, educational, and add value to their lives and or business. The downside of having so much video content now is that it can become overwhelming for viewers, given the difficulty of choosing which ones to see and which to ignore. It becomes imperative for companies then to offer videos that would immediately catch their attention, and have content that would be easy to view, comprehend, and use. If not, your company’s video efforts might join the ranks of the ‘ignored’. According to a research by Forrester, one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words and another research from Axonn revealed that seven out of ten people not only became more aware of brands, but also formed a positive perception of them after viewing the videos released by them.
The good news is that, with the rise in technology, the cost of producing videos has fallen significantly. In addition, with so many self-help portals and systematic instructions, one does not need to be a technology wizard to figure out how to put together a smashing video. However, in order to get the maximum ROI, it is important for a company / brand to know its audience. Only through an in-depth understanding of the target customer, your company would like to reach, it would be possible to make videos with relevant content and information. Secondly, it would be imperative to know which channels are the most preferred for this target segment such that the videos are published / released via these preferred channels. Finally, remember to be creative and innovative when putting the videos together – people do not want boring and ‘preachy’ content – the message of the brand must go through in an interesting and catchy manner. Get all these factors right and videos will cease to remain only the future of content marketing, but would become the future and success feature for your company / business too. Ready?
We offer you a look at some companies that have their content marketing strategy via videos right on target. These are helpful since this may still be unfamiliar ground for some businesses and these three companies standout for a variety of reasons.
