There is no shortage of digital content out there today, and certainly no indication that content sharing is slowing down anytime soon. Believed to yield the highest ROI among other content types, the demand for quality video is at an inflection point as a result of the changes made by social media networks to favor video in 2015. Last year, Facebook more than doubled its daily video views to eight billion, and users saw nearly four times more video in their News Feeds.
Despite these statistics, many companies have not adopted video as a component of their marketing strategy because regularly producing great video content can be prohibitively expensive and difficult to do at scale for most small and medium-sized businesses. Shorter content formats and emerging social streaming features like Meerkat and Periscope have helped companies get started with online video, but the real game-changer is the creation technology that lets SMBs stay competitive in the crowded, noisy online content space. And that is the power to create quality video consistently at the right price.
From product reviews, instructional demos, how-to videos, event recaps and highlight reels, the benefits and advantages of video marketing are significant, allowing businesses to build emotional bridges with audiences.
Here are four powerful ways SMBs can use online video:
Brand Storytelling
Businesses can educate, entertain and inspire audiences through video storytelling to increase brand awareness, build customer relationships and generate leads. Videos drive web traffic and promote engagement by sharing information that promotes trust and creates emotional connections. Use video to illustrate why your business is unique and how it is valuable to a customer.
Product Features and Reviews
Many people turn to the Internet to educate themselves on companies, products and services before making a purchase decision. Video helps businesses attract, inspire, and engage new and existing customers by guiding them through the education component of the customer journey. Use video to create a compelling overview of your product or service, launch a new product or create a series of tutorials.
Virtual Tours
With the pace of life moving faster every day, virtual tours provide a way to connect with remote audiences online. And for industries like travel and real estate, you have to be able to capture the best features of a location and guide customers on a tour through a screen on their phone or computer. Needless to say, these videos have to be made well and often to sustain a successful business.
“Video is becoming the most important marketing communication channel for client retention and new client acquisition,” explains Dirk Kinley, a top 1% Listing Agent in San Francisco and the Bay Area. “Challenges with video marketing in the past left us with two viable options: create a few (expensive) videos with limited messaging, or produce a more midgrade videos that don’t accurately showcase the company or the property as well. Though that is not the case anymore.”
Events
Videos are a powerful and crucial part of successful event marketing, providing a way to reach people before, during and afterwards. Use video to capture and share an event by attracting and maintaining audience attention beforehand, and sharing the highlights after it’s over.
The growing popularity of online video means that no business can survive long without it. With an easy-to-use video editing tool, businesses and professionals in a diverse set of industries – from real estate to hairdressers – can showcase their vision, expertise, products, services, company news and announcements for maximum outreach. Welcome to the video marketing age.