Video Is the Future of Content Marketing: Here’s How You Can Get in On It

Content marketing has become one of the most popular ways of selling brands and products online. Creating branded content to attract web users has proven to be equally as effective as traditional advertising, and in many cases, it creates stronger engagement and better brand-consumer relationships than ads. While web users view ads as annoying and often avoid entirely by using ad blocking software, they seek out content that they find interesting and relevant to their lives, and in doing so they willingly consume marketing messages. The content that’s attracting the most attention lately: video. Web users are far more likely to click on videos than to read text articles, and videos are much more widely shared on social media than any other form of content. Read on to learn more about this rapidly expanding sector of the marketing world, and how your business can benefit from incorporating video into your strategy.

The Power of The Moving Image

Every social media platform, from Instagram to Twitter to Facebook, has made it easy to host and view video, and people are taking advantage. On Facebook alone, 500 million people view video content daily - that’s half a billion people, all sharing visual and auditory experiences. And experts are estimating that in four years, over 80% of all consumer Internet traffic will be video-related. If you have any interest in building your brand via content creation, you cannot ignore video.

Consumers Expect an Explanation

One way to use video to build your client base and sell undecided consumers on your service or product is by creating videos explaining how your product or service works and/or demonstrating it in action. This content isn’t advertising, per se; it’s informational and educational, but it can also be eye-catching and brand-enhancing in the way that an ad can. What’s more, if you don’t have a video explanation, one in four consumers will immediately lose interest in your company. A video describing your company can be made cheaply and will hold viewer’s attention much more effectively than even the most verbose text description.

Going Live (and Saving Money)

The biggest obstacle for many small businesses is budget-videos cost more to produce than text posts. But one of the biggest trends in online video is live streaming, which caught on via the app Periscope and was rapidly adopted by Facebook and Instagram. Web users respond to the spontaneity and unscripted nature of live video, and they feel more connected to it than they do to slickly produced video spots. Your business can connect with consumers by live streaming events like product launches, and it won’t cost you a dime.

Video Influencers

Another trend in marketing that’s colliding with video content: influencers. These high-profile Internet users have strong personal brands and fan bases that follow their every move, and many of share video constantly, whether through live streams on platforms like Twitch or posts on Instagram or Facebook. By partnering with influencers, brands can gain access to their coveted audiences. YouTube, the largest video sharing website and the second most trafficked site on the web overall, has launched Famebit , an influencer marketing platform that uses data to connect creators with like-minded brands. Other agencies that are accelerating the rapid growth of video influencer marketing include Izea , Unity Influence , and Socialyte. Consider partnering with one of these agencies to hop on this rapidly expanding trend.

The Shape of Things to Come

One trend in videos that you may have noticed: it’s hip to be square. The box-shaped video format that Vine pioneered and Instagram replicated get more engagement on social media, in part because they take up 78% more space in the Facebook News Feed than horizontal videos. Posting your videos in square format is one simple way to get your content noticed.

Brevity Is the Soul of Sales

Keep your videos short to make the most impact on viewers. 2/3 of consumers prefer videos that are under a minute long, so think about the most direct and concise way to pitch your product. A great way to create a variety of short, quick videos that strengthen your brand: customer testimonials. And you may not even have to pay to produce them. Invite customers to share videos of themselves talking about your product on social media, choose the best testimonials, and post them to your platforms.