The power of video
When many businesses plan their content, they rely on the staples: text posts, articles, imagery and links to their website. What many fail to include in their plan, however – and quite often the missing piece of their content puzzle – is video content.
The decision for businesses who choose not to utilise video content is often one that’s made for them, simply because no one in their team has the skills to create it. While anyone can attempt to throw together an article or post a few links on their social media, video production requires a particular set of skills that can’t be fluked.
With the only remaining options being hiring a new employee who can create videos or outsourcing the job to an agency, this is where many businesses draw the line and decide it’s easier to just scrap the idea of videos altogether.
But what they fail to realise in making the decision to omit video from their plans is that they’re missing out on a valuable form of content that has the potential to grow their business and boost their brand in both the short and long-term.
From the very first television commercials in the 1940s, the rise of YouTube in 2005 (which is still rising, mind you), to the explosion of TikTok in recent years, video content has cemented itself as a fundamental tool for connecting brands with audiences.
The true power of video content is evident in the results of HubSpot’s State of Video Marketing report, which reports that the number of online videos people are watching today has doubled since 2018, and that 93% of marketers consider video content an important part of their strategy – unsurprising given video’s ability to reach, connect with and influence viewers.
If you’re in the position where you’ve avoided video content because you don’t have any means of creating it, continue reading to learn about the undeniable benefits, and hopefully you’ll be convinced to take the leap.
Video content boosts conversion rates
Videos are an extremely powerful tool for boosting your conversion rates and generating sales. According to a study by Eye View Digital, promotional videos about a business’ products or services have been shown to boost conversions by up to 80% when displayed on a landing page.
These kinds of videos are used to visually exhibit a product’s benefits and communicate your marketing message to an already interested audience. Given that the majority of information that enters our brains is visual, it stands to reason that video content is one of your best tools for driving conversions.
Videos can help strengthen relationships with customers
Out of all the benefits of video content, you might ask how on earth they also help strengthen relationships with your customers. In truth, all forms of content you produce play a part in building and strengthening your relationships, but videos lead the pack.
The combination of moving visuals, sound and speech are things which other static mediums can’t match, and is a powerful way to evoke emotions in your customers. Think of all your favourite TV shows and movies – why do you like them so much? Because they make you feel things.
Videos have the unique ability to illicit emotions from your customers which can lead to a genuine connection with your brand. And once you’ve established a connection, this will result in higher levels of brand loyalty and increased word-of-mouth marketing.
Below is the video we made for 123 Financial Group when they requested a promotional brand video to tell their story and convey their mission: to help you live life your way. Their brief noted that they wanted the video to be inspirational, motivational and speak to people of all ages that they too can achieve financial freedom.
Videos have a greater potential for a good ROI
While videos can cost more to produce compared to other forms of content such as copywriting and graphic design, high-quality videos have the potential to generate more conversions, thus a greater ROI.
Depending on your business objectives, it’s possible to produce engaging video content for social media with a small budget, but more professional videography requires a larger investment of both time and resources. It’s good to use a variety of video content, however you need to make sure it’s optimised for where you’ll be using it.
For example, while video footage taken on your phone is appropriate for Instagram, it will cheapen your brand image if you used the same footage on your website or on a landing page. An animated video or a professional piece-to-camera video would be the best options in these instances.
Videos will generate more engagement on social media
Social media is at the core of nearly every business’ digital marketing strategy, offering the ability to reach new customers and engage existing ones. But due to the sheer amount of content on social media these days, it’s becoming harder to capture people’s attention.
This is where video content can help. On Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, videos have been proven to generate the most engagement out of all types of content, and these platforms’ algorithms actually make sure video content are seen by more people than usual.
By investing in videos, brands can post these on social media to better connect with their audience and motivate them to actively engage with their content.
Videos can help you rank better on Google
Videos are an important part of any business’ SEO strategy, helping you achieve higher rankings on Google and boosting the traffic to your website. This is because – obviously depending on the length – videos encourage visitors to spend more time on your website, which in turn reduces your site’s bounce rate and increase the average session duration.
Further, when Google shows a video thumbnail next to a search result (which it does for approximately 25% of results), users are more likely to click that result. Also, while Google hasn’t explicitly confirmed this, many marketers agree that their results confirm that the search engine prioritises links with videos above results without video.
let Orion put you in the spotlight
Investing in video content can seem daunting for any business – but it doesn’t have to be.
At Orion Creative, we have an expert team of videographers who are well-versed in creating a wide variety of videos for a wide variety of industries, so why not us let do the heavy lifting for you and put your brand in the spotlight? To see snippets of a handful of the videos we’ve made for our happy clients, feel free to watch our 2021 highlight reel below.
Our team has years of experience creating impactful videos for brands that get results, including animated videos, explainer videos, promotional product videos and more. Check out our Video page to learn more about our services, then get in touch to let us know how we can help.
