More brands and businesses are using online video to reach prospective customers than ever. Video is proving to be an effective and highly accessible marketing tool for brand awareness, lead generation and online engagement. Plus, it’s easily accessible, searchable, and shareable.
The biggest shift in online marketing
Long gone are the days in which businesses coaxed consumers through an elaborate system in which product information was shared closer to the end of the buying cycle. Consumers now do their own research long before engaging a brand or business. As a result, savvy businesses now create and disseminate content that is relevant, timely and useful; then distribute it through various channels to engage consumers at the most relevant points of their buying cycle. Today, online video is proving to be the consumer’s choice for gathering information prior to making a purchase or other important decisions.
Online video use increases dramatically
Online video is now more accessible to more people and comprises the majority of consumer internet traffic. An increase in broadband access has contributed to the increase in video use. Nothing beats video when it comes to informing buyers and building an emotional connection. Businesses with a story to tell and information to share are better positioned for growth. Video provides an intimate, accessible way to reach your audience and get results. Iconic brands such as Filson turn to video to tell their story. According to Filson’s Creative Director Alex Carelton “It’s about creatively showing and telling the stories that exist here.” Video provides a natural platform for storytelling, and is among the most powerful and popular storytelling tools.
More brands expand video use
It’s easy to understand why video production will account for more than one-third of all spending on online advertising within the next five years. Ninety-six percent of B2B companies plan to use video in their content marketing this year. Successful brands have begun to expand their use of online video to help build better relationships, improve customer satisfaction, and educate and convert buyers. In “The New Rules of Sales and Service,” author David Meerman Scott says “Effective organizations take website visitors’ buying cycle into account when delivering content and organizing it on the site.” Video can engage an audience, showcase a product, describe a concept, and generate a call to action quite effectively.
[ Read: 5 Simple Steps to a Practical Video Marketing Strategy ]
Small screens; big opportunities
Currently, internet video use accounts for more than 50 percent of all mobile traffic. Larger mobile screens are helping to boost mobile video consumption. According to Cisco, mobile video traffic will grow 7-fold from now till 2022.
Rising trends of online video use expected to continue
Online video use is rapidly growing in use. As more people have access to their own viewing devices, they’re using them to consume all content—including video—at an increasing rate. Video engages your customer and sets your business apart from the static ads seen across the internet. Online video can play an important role in your brand’s ever evolving digital media strategy.
