If you own a business – small, mid-sized or even large – there are three goals you are undoubtedly want to achieve:

1. Driving more traffic

2. Educating your customers about your products or services

3. Converting the users into customers and earn their loyalty

And, how are you making it happen? Online and offline marketing? Hiring professionals in the sales department? Email marketing? Or even cold calls? And, we believe that you must be having a strong social media presence as well and doing everything that is in your power to make the most out of your online presence? Great!

Now, what?

You have to keep one thing in your mind that the online market is a very competitive space and if you were not catching up with the new marketing trends and offering the best avenues to your customers to consume fresh content, your brand would soon be an old story.

What if we told you that there is one more marketing tactic that can help you to achieve your goals mentioned above, drive more traffic and generate more qualified leads?

No, it’s not a “magic trick.”

It’s also not a “black hat” method.

It’s none other than Video Marketing, and it works amazingly well.

Well, when it comes to an article about Video Marketing, almost every individual in business probably has the following response: “Yes, we get it! Video IS important!” We know that you very well understand the power of video marketing. However, the chances are, you are not using it effectively.

Why is your company ignoring this incredible tactic?

Do you have doubts about this trend and questions like; ‘is it even worth to create videos for promoting your business?’

The answer is simple: Yes, it is; every single penny and time spent on it.

Here are three powerful reasons that will establish the power of video. It is one of the most effective digital marketing tools today that can drive more traffic and convert hesitant users into loyal customers.

Video Boosts Conversions, Sales, and More Organic Traffic

When Hubspot surveyed the amount of video content users watch in a typical day, the average response they received was 1.5 hours. However, 15% told them that they watch more than 3 hours per day. It clearly explains that if you are NOT tapping the Video Marketing domain, then you must be losing out on the traffic that could be grown organically without being too sales-y.

For instance, create a video of your offerings (product or services) and educate your users and make them aware of your strength. Let them know what to expect before they commit to your services. In short, videos not only helped in increasing user engagement but also convince the users to buy a product or service helped them in making a better buying decision.

Here’s a fascinating example from Taranaki Arts Trail to showcase the event to visitors :

We embeded this on the customer website, facebook page, event post and ran a Facebook Ad campaign to drive excitement and attract customer awareness to come to this free event.

 

Videos Show Great ROI

Someone rightly said, “The play button is the most compelling Call to Action on the web.”

Adding a product video on your landing page can increase conversions by manifolds and provide a good return on investment. According to the study, “adding video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%.” Even though producing a professional video is not yet the most straightforward or cheapest task, but once you invest your time, it will surely start paying off big time. Besides, it’s not necessary to always create a perfect video. You can use your mobile and put out a spontaneous video to entertain your users, and that’s the beauty of this medium. Moreover, if you Google, you will find many online video editing tools that are affordable and can add a billion stars to your video.

Some of the online editing tools that will get your videos looking and sounding incredible are: Movie Maker Online, ClipChamp, WeVideo and Online Video Cutter.

Videos Build Trust

Why do we need content marketing? Well, it all boils down to creating trust between the brand and users and videos play a critical part in it. Trust is the foundation of conversions and sales, and the whole purpose of content marketing is building long-term relationships with the users on an emotional level. A video does it all; it engages the audience in a better way and ignites emotions. When they start trusting the brand, get useful and interesting information about your company and then you don’t have to coax them into buying your product or service.

An excellent way to use videos to build trust with your customers is to capture your best customers singing your praises. Just record the interview with your customers and show their side of the story.

 

Another great example of creating trust and increasing user base is what all the YouTubers do; they literally bare their soul in front of their audience and try to win their hearts and trust. People look up to them before trying new cream or a car or even check out their reviews on a particular restaurant. Big companies hire them to review their products and work to drive traffic back to their website.

Video Usage is on the RISE.

• 99% of those who already do use video, say they’ll continue to do so in 2018.
• 65% of those who don’t currently use video, say they plan to start in 2018.

We all watch a lot of videos.

We all love to share videos.

Marketers are advocating video marketing, and they know how to do their jobs.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram – video is ruling everywhere.

From virtual reality to live streaming to 360-degree videos, marketers are going immersive. Consumers can step into both the real-world views and fantastical experiences that brands are creating as they have never been able to before. All the awe-inspiring and boundary-dissolving video marketing trends are changing the way businesses produce and consumers consuming content, and this is just a start.

Ready to find out how 2018 is going BIG on Video Marketing?

Top Three Video Marketing Trends in 2018

• Live Video or Live Streaming

No less than 13% of web traffic from video comes directly from live videos.

Are you familiar with the latest terminology – FOMO (fear of missing out) or in other words – Curiosity? Live video is gaining popularity day by day, and the only reason behind this is users’ growing inquisitiveness. They want to know what’s new and what’s happening in people’s lives, they are fascinated about ‘behind the scenes’ video clippings, and that’s how companies, celebrities and almost all are gaining popularity through feeding on the Humans’ natural characteristic.

Live video is the most prominent trend of 2018, and it is continuously picking speed. With live videos, you give exactly what your followers want: instant connection, feedback, and indulgence. You can boost excitement and promote engagement through live Q&A sessions, hosting live how-to sessions, offer helpful tips, showcasing product launches, sneak peek of important events or even making customers a part of your daily activities like gym sessions or food.

The thrill of interacting in real-time with a celebrity, brand, or friend is what pushes the increased engagement rates, and that’s why marketers suggest to NOT missing out the opportunity to make users a part of your life by going live.

With tools like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, LinkedIn Live and a range of streaming apps like BeLive and Zoom for beginners and OBS Studio and Wirecast for more seasoned videographers, live streaming is 100 percent accessible for everyone.

The companies can enjoy numerous advantages of a live video:

1. Live videos are more economical. No need to edit the video.
2. Live streaming is fun.
3. It brings out the human side of a brand and users could connect emotionally.
4. Live video increases the quality of views.

In 2018, the trend is expected to get even more intense and more interactive.

 

• 360-degree Videos

The 360-degree video was first introduced in 2014, and however, it had a slow yet exciting start, today you will witness more and more brands using this tactic to create a sense of thrill for their customers. Whether it’s a product launch or an adventurous sport, 360° videos are making a big comeback in 2018. The use of omnidirectional cameras is used to grasp a spherical video capture of a space. You get new paths to interactive customer experience through an immersive technology. AR engages users far beyond many of mobile technologies we’ve seen in the past. There are numerous ways of implementation: interactive print, augmented commerce or, for instance, live activations.

360 was already a trend in, but it is set to explode in 2018. Considering 360° videos, Google has found that despite lower view-through rate they had 46 percent higher click-through rate compared to standard video versions, which makes them cost-effective with its lower cost-per-view. However, not everyone is ready to adopt such technologies just yet, but the trend is catching up, and companies are acknowledging the engagement rate it brings in.

For example:

Fly side-by- side with astronauts in this the first ever 3D Virtual Reality film shot in space.

 

• Explainer Videos Won’t Stop Being a Hype

Studies show that 74% of users who watched an explainer-video about a product subsequently bought it.

Explainer videos continue to be a great way to get a brief yet memorable summary about your product or services. In just a few minutes, viewers get a fair idea of your expertise and how the brand could be their choice, or not. The effectiveness of explainer videos is enormous: they are short, showing a definite problem and a viable solution and leaving space to bring out your creativity and impress the audience with an overall video watching experience.

The cost of producing explainer videos may have prevented marketers from using them in the past. But advances in technology make it possible to create a high-quality explainer video using the camera and software on the phone in your pocket.

According to Wyzowl’s survey, “74% of the people interviewed who watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service ended up buying it.”

An explainer video is an excellent way for a brand to tell its story.

For example: Yum Yum’s explainer video for their client explainer video for their client Stack that Money is short and very interesting.

 

Final words? Better start crafting your exciting brand videos NOW!

There is no denying that we all love to watch videos more than reading content. A Video makes content consumption easier and fun. Today, there are numerous and attention-grabbing ways to disseminate information about the brand, products, and services. From Live streaming to 360-degree videos, there is no limit to attract the target audience.

If you think about it, the effectiveness of video is not even that surprising. Visual content plays an integral part in transmitting information to our brain. Users remember a video more than an article that could sometimes be boring or too lengthy to finish. So, if pictures can boost massive engagement then imagine what videos (moving images) could do to your business.

Let’s just say ‘video is like a PIZZA, even if it’s not perfect, nobody says NO to it.’

If you are serious about digital marketing, you must consider video into this mix too.

Watch out for our Video Marketing Capability Development Training. We are working on it and launching it as a live workshop on 31st May 2018.

Register your interest here.