Unless you have been living inside a bubble, you must be aware of how companies are introducing video marketing in their content strategy. With a shift in the digital realm, people appreciate an engaging and creative video content in lieu of plain and generic textual information. Just think about it, almost 78% of the individuals are watching online video every week. Whether you are learning a new concept or taking a break from work, you seek to watch an exciting video. But why? Well, it visually encapsulates every bit of information in a concise yet entertaining manner.
The changing landscape has propelled marketers to adopt this cutting-edge format to offer value, significance, and flexibility for the fast-paced consumers. It’s reported that 90% of the customers acclaim product videos as a tool to help them make better decisions. You have the opportunity to embed videos in your e-mail which increases the click-through rate by almost 200-300% or place it on your landing page to improve the conversion rates by 80%. In order to engage with your audience and forge a connection, utilise the various social media platforms.
Yes, video marketing seems to fit in the present scenario but let’s delve into why it has also been hailed as the future of content marketing.
AI Driven Videos Serve Accurate Insights
Artificial Intelligence or AI has become an indispensable element of video marketing efforts as it allows you to tailor contents relevant to your audience in every aspect. It has the potential of reviewing copious complex information about your customer’s demographic, geographical location, past experiences, purchasing behaviour, etc. and transform it into insights which caters to enhance your video marketing experience. Then, you can utilise the tangible acumen to design creative contents accommodating the interests of particular customers.
A subset of AI, machine learning will inspect the available data to find a pattern in your target audience's actions. It follows the trail of engagement activities comprising likes, shares, or comments to analyse your contents' appeal. This leads to a profound increase in your video's customisation as the algorithm knows what might motivate people to watch it. What’s even more interesting is that ML will suggest the audience of what to watch next based on their recent response.
Let’s take a look at some more advantages brought on to the field of video marketing by the application of artificial intelligence.
Improves Personalisation
Doesn’t it pique your interest when you are watching a video on how to bake a cake on Facebook, and a few moments later, your feed displays similar contents? Or while you are watching a video on YouTube, you see results on what to watch next popping on your screen? Yes, these were just two instances of how AI catered to personalise your contents based on your interests and search relevancy. Your target audience responds efficiently when they witness contents and advertisements resonating with their needs and desires.
Increases Conversions
No one likes to get disturbed by irrelevant ads every now and then while playing a video. Admit the fact that there’s a possibility of your prospects getting irritated and you lose the golden opportunity to gain a new customer. As it has been found that 64% of the viewers will eventually purchase after watching a video. This is when AI comes to your rescue by optimising advertisements according to your audience’s preferences. It increases the conversion rate since the video had the user hooked, which led him/her to become a buyer.
Analyzes Social Contents
You already know how much power social media platforms hold when it comes to video marketing. Individuals are streaming more than 100 million hours of videos on Facebook each day. As the impact surges with every passing second, it’s advisable to leverage social outlets to endorse your videos. Talking about AI being beneficial in this arena, you can monitor your social media contents and utilise the gathered information to serve future productions. Since it will allow an in-depth knowledge of your contents' performance regarding its click-through rates, effectiveness of CTA messages, which platform ensured a more prominent success value, to name a few.
Interactive Videos Gain Momentum
Interactive video or IV has garnered much traction because it offers a unique viewing experience. The audience may traverse through a different course to click, drag, scroll or hover to relate with the content, besides the usual play, pause and skip options. Most marketers, almost 70% of them, consider it to perform well. Interactive videos are reported to be 32% more memorable than the usual content. This is mainly because, while watching a linear video, the viewer might get distracted. However, by allowing them to actively participate in your content, you will yield an exponential growth rate of 59%.
Although there is a pool of alternatives available for the ideal interactive video content, we have compiled a list of the usual types known to effectively enhance your video marketing goal.
360⁰ Video
360⁰ video employs the use of a full panoramic view of the landscape. Simultaneously allowing the users to drag the screen to witness the video content outside its original frame. It permits an immersive experience similar to VR or AR contents but with certain advantages in regard to its production and accessibility. The viewers enjoy various sensory organs' involvement to process your brand’s message, which eventually leads to a greater connection with your company.
Hotspots
Hotspots are the clickable zones within a video that grasp the viewer’s attention and grant them to see your product in motion. For instance, if the video promotes your clothing brand, you may display a lady wearing the dress. This dress becomes the hotspot which, when clicked, takes the user to the separate shopping page or unveils information directly in the video.
Branches
Branching offers the option to choose among similar videos in a sequence to steer the story's narrative. This stimulates an environment wherein the audience has to participate while selecting the contents to weave a cohesive whole. It renders a more invested approach from the viewer’s side, making them more engrossed with your brand and products.
Quizzes
As the name suggests, it engages the viewer with live questionnaires, usually consisting of multiple-choice answers. The user absorbs the questions and takes time to think. This produces a sense of attachment because they are fastened to your content. Interactive video quiz sessions come in handy as they cater to provide knowledge and value to the customers.
User-Generated Videos Seem Relatable
As a company, it must be your dream to have the support of “happy customers”. A customer-centric approach implores the target audience to develop a sense of credibility and reliability towards your brand. You may profoundly invest in your marketing campaign, but until and unless the customers take you as a valuable asset, your brand’s voice will remain stagnant. An exciting way to strike a chord with the potential prospects is to leverage the strength of user-generated contents. In fact, almost 84%of the millennials claim that user-generated contents significantly impact their purchasing results.
Posting a video about the satisfying experiences or positive feedback shared by your consumers will accommodate the values of social evidence for your future clients. The authenticity imbibed in your video contents will pose as a compelling argument for your products or services. Individuals are rather sceptic when it comes to buying any goods, but seeing someone “like them” endorsing your products in a positive light will help solve their doubts. Initially, anyone would contemplate a brand’s motive is to sell their product. On the other hand, users curate contents to inform and entertain, which puts them on a higher pedestal.
Binge-Worthy Videos Offer Memorable Experience
Would you agree with us if we say that binge-watching is the new normal for people in today’s landscape? Well, quite frankly, it has become the universal approach to consume at least two or more episodes of show in a row. This momentum will be useful for your brand because by creating a binge-worthy video content, you will engage the viewers to later talk about it. Creating a scenario where word-of-mouth technique will appeal to other people and influence them to connect with your brand.
Suppose we gaze at the current social media video marketing environment. In that case, you will understand that tons of 15 secs contents are great for engaging customers and interacting with them. However, you might not be able to constructively narrate your company's ethos and bind the viewers in the realm of storytelling. Create long-form videos to identify the objectives of your company in a way which encompasses an emotional touch. Instead of focusing on traditional sales pitch, indulge in generating a documentary or video stories that lets you stand out from the crowd. For instance, if your brand’s agenda is to make sustainable and eco-friendly products available for people, you may invest in a documentary explaining the plight of the environment and the importance of sustainable development.
Now What?
Video marketing is here to stay, and your brand must equip itself with this cutting-edge technique. Otherwise, it has a risk of falling behind the curve in this constantly changing marketing arena. People love videos, and you have the task to detect your niche and curate video contents as per their whims and desires. The competition asks for more strategic creativity from your side, which could be executed to provide value and engage more customers. And guess what? Video is the perfect tool for most of your marketing goals, be it increasing website traffic, or improving conversion rates, pin your faith on it.
And if you ever feel like you require a trusted assistance for a swift journey in your video marketing campaign, just reach out to Haarway. It’s a premium service listing provider whose experienced team will provide any bit of help at an affordable range.