In a world of virtual assistants, smart TVs and drone delivery systems, it’s safe to say that we have short attention spans and limited time as consumers in 2019.
As incessantly busy people, we like to consume information in the best way we know how – visually. So, it’s no wonder that video marketing has seen a huge surge in numbers, and continues to be our favourite way to view online content this year and beyond.
Video marketing is the perfect opportunity to connect with your audience and, as such, it remains one of the biggest ways to gain traction and peak interest in online audiences.
We recently published the results of our State of Video Marketing survey (now in its 5th year!) and as ever, it was eye-opening. Think you know everything there is to know about the world of video marketing? The landscape is forever changing, and as such, we’ve hand-picked a few of our favourite stats from the survey, that you simply can’t afford to ignore in 2019…
87% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. (Up from 63% in 2017, and 81% in 2018.)
Video is popular, sure – but what do our stats show? That it’s increasingly popular, year on year, and shows no signs of slowing down for 2020! All the more reason for businesses to take time to invest in carefully curated, high quality video content. It’s the perfect supplement to your overall marketing strategy!
Essentially, video marketing provides great ROI. Still not convinced? Think about it this way – once you’ve nailed your perfect marketing video, you can use it time and time again, use it as a call-to-action, and use it across multiple social platforms and websites to showcase everything your brand truly has to offer – the possibilities are endless! The good news is that this kind of content can be repurposed and used in multiple different ways. This can effectively have such an impact that you get a huge ROI from one single video, and you’re only paying for it once and once only!
84% of video marketers have used Facebook video as a channel. (Up from 68% in 2018.)
Knowing your ideal audience’s preferred (and most used) online platform is vital to gaining traction for your business – where your potential customers are spending time online is obviously crucial in order for you to gain exposure. It’s safe to say that Facebook experienced a turbulent year in 2018, but with that said, over one billion people worldwide still use the platform on a daily basis, and as the stats indicate, video is still the most popular form of viewed content on there. Interestingly, global marketing brand Social Chain recently reported that Facebook has beaten YouTube as the most popular channel to share videos this year!
87% of people would like to see more video from brands in 2019
The people have spoken – give them what they want! This stat is hugely eye-opening for businesses and brands, as it proves that people are prepared to actively engage with your content, providing you’re putting out the right kind that is. Customers want to be addressed, entertained and inspired. Take time and care to gain feedback and profile your audiences where possible to make sure you’re only ever offering viewers awesome, relevant content – always.
79% of people have been convinced to buy a piece of software or app after watching a brand’s video
This further demonstrates what a powerful, persuasive tool video is.
There’s a lot to be said for the impact of a strong story for your brand.
Compelling and inspiring videos don’t come easy, but when the message is right you can create something memorable that leaves a real impact on your viewers and has them thinking/talking about your brand long after they have stopped watching.
Take Blendtec’s ‘Will it blend?’ video series, where they took a seemingly dull product and through the power of clever video content, turned it into a viral sensation which brought the brand more than 870,000 YouTube subscribers. Combined with their social media efforts, this resulted in sales being up by 700%!
Another example is NY Presbyterian Hospital’s ‘Unmasking a Killer’ video where they cleverly harnessed animation and storytelling to demystify a serious sensitive issue, make it accessible and relatable, and importantly, raise global awareness on a huge scale in the process. As leaders in the healthcare field, the video did wonders for their brand with the video racking up more than 400,000 views during the campaign.
80% of marketers say video has increased dwell time on their website
Why is dwell time so important? Well, it’s an important ranking factor for search engines – including Google. Google’s primary goal is to serve up the most relevant and engaging content for a user’s search term, so if it starts to notice visitors staying on your website for long periods of time after a particular search, it assumes that you’ve answered that user’s query really well.
Similarly, video content can lower your bounce rate, which is also a big ranking consideration. If your bounce rate is particularly high, Google is less likely to reward you with higher rankings, as it assumes your visitors aren’t being served what they were looking for. We’re visual creatures, so given the choice, we’d generally much rather watch a video to learn about a service or product than simply read about it. So utilising great video content gives users more of what they want – information in a more attractive and digestible way – encouraging them to stay on your site rather than hit the back button.
BONUS STAT: When viewing videos, 75% of people prefer to watch horizontally vs. 25% vertically
Video has come a long way, but the way we view video is increasingly changing. These days, video is mostly watched on mobile. The onset of Google’s mobile-first indexing was perhaps the world’s biggest indicator of how significant this change was, and subsequently turned things on its head when it came to how marketers optimised their sites and platforms for video viewing.
Our stats revealed that 75% of people prefer to watch videos horizontally. With the number of smartphone users continuing to grow rapidly, this stat is hugely significant as there’s mounting evidence that vertical videos have previously performed better and even increase engagement.
It’s worth having this at the forefront of your mind when producing new video content, as keeping up with preferences and trends is crucial to great user experience. UX is everything when it comes to retaining viewers!
Ultimately, with regards to marketing, videos are one of the most powerful tools you can use to share your brand story, or message, with the world.
The bottom line is that video is now ubiquitous with business marketing plans. Video content is being used across every platform and channel, daily, so as a business if you’re not putting out consistent, quality video content then you’re falling behind.
Interested to find out more on why video is changing the game when it comes to modern marketing? Check out our State of Video Marketing 2019 survey to see the comprehensive stats in full, and gain insight into what the video marketing landscape is set to look like in 2019.
