In the last year, there has been a 10.1% growth in overall social media users. Nearly half a billion (!) users joined social media in 2021, bringing up the total worldwide amount of users to a staggering 4.26 billion. Social media continues to flourish and spread its wings, which gives brands greater opportunities to be seen and gain larger follower bases online.
Did you know people split their time between an average of 7.5 different social platforms? That’s quite a lot! Right now, the second most used platform among users is actually YouTube. Therefore, it’s time to invest in your video marketing strategy!
In 2022, video marketing will only continue to grow. Naturally, it is no easy feat to start video marketing out of the blue. It’s actually a lot of work! However, it’s not as complicated or expensive as you might think it is.
According to Demand Metric, 83 percent of (online) marketers say that video nowadays is more important than ever. All the more reason for you to start with your own video marketing strategy.
What is video marketing?
Let’s start with the basics, what actually is video marketing? You probably know the saying “an image is worth a thousand words”. Well, multiply that by another thousand for a video! That is the simple basis of video marketing, it’s a powerful tool that engages your audience as a part of your marketing campaigns.
Video marketing uses video for promoting and informing people about your product or service. It increases engagement on your social channels, educates your target audience, and allows you to reach them via a new medium!
Why is video marketing important?
We have already given a tip of the iceberg about why video marketing is important. Right now, the two most popular social media channels are Facebook and YouTube, two platforms you can both watch videos on. This means that a large part of your (potential) target audience is already on platforms where they watch videos, and they should be reached by your amazing video marketing strategy!
According to WYZOwI, in 2021, 86% of businesses already used video marketing, while in 2016 the number only was 61%. This means you should not stay behind and hop on the hype train. According to the same study, most companies make use of live-action videos, and another large part uses animated videos in their strategy. The most commonly created videos are explanation videos. And perhaps one of the most important numbers; 87% of marketers say that video helped them increase traffic and therefore had a positive influence on their ROI. Seems worth investing in, doesn’t it? The numbers don’t lie!
How to use video marketing for your business
There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to making use of video content. The trick is making it fitting to your overall marketing strategy and goals. It has already become the content strategy leader in the marketing world, and it is what your audience expects from you in 2022.
So how do you get started nice and easy? Well, you can use your smartphone. As long as it’s relatively new and has a good camera, you are good to go. YouTube influencers and superstars do it, so why can’t you?
A couple of sweet examples of videos you can make with your smartphone are:
- Showcase your products or services with demonstration videos
- Behind the scenes videos
- How-to videos
- Educational videos
- Customer testimonial videos
The shared examples above ensure that your products, services, or company gets the attention they deserve. Why not make a great product video and demonstrate its use via video? Behind the scenes videos give authenticity to your company and give your audience an insight into the humane side of the business. How-to videos are compelling for your target audience to learn how to actually use your products or services, while customer testimonials strengthen your brand and provide social proof that your product or service are the solutions people actually need!
The benefits of video marketing
One of the benefits of video marketing is that it’s great for SEO. Did you know that YouTube is owned by Google? Therefore, uploading videos to your YouTube channel can be a great way to get your business on the first page of Google. Google includes YouTube videos at the top of the page for many search terms as well. Besides the potential exposure on Google, videos also appear when people search for certain queries on YouTube.
Other than that, it’s pretty obvious that people just love videos. Just as technology made it very easy for a company to record a video, it also made it easy for people to watch them from anywhere at any time. Back in 2017, YouTube stated that people watch over a billion hours of YouTube content every single day. Crazy if you think about it, right? The same goes for other social channels, as Facebook stated its users viewed a staggering 8 billion videos a day.
Our tips to get started with video marketing
Let’s wrap up with a couple of tips for successful video marketing:
- Allocate proper resources to video marketing: make sure there is a budget and time to actually get started.
- Tell stories your audience wants to hear and make the videos engaging. Keeping it short and simple is always a great idea, nobody has time to watch a 20-minute product video.
- Remember to always analyze the results and track the success of your videos! Which ones were viewed often and reached a lot of engagement? Which ones have room for improvement?
Well, it’s time to get to work now and start creating meaningful content on video. Good luck!
Need help with your digital marketing? Contact us or have a look at what Globally Cool has to offer in terms of Content Marketing.
