Why video? Why now? Because studies by Animoto, Google and Hubspot support the proposition that marketing is moving to video and visuals at an ever accelerating pace. Here are some baseline statistics:
4X as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. (Animoto, 2015)
Almost 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store. (Google, 2016)
53% of smartphone users feel more favorable towards companies whose mobile sites or apps provide instructional video content. (Google, 2015)
Some 45% of us watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week (HubSpot, 2016) and
An astounding 100 million hours of video are watched everyday on Facebook (techCrunch 2016).
82% of Twitter users watch video content on twitter and 90% of Twitter video views are on mobile (Twitter 2015) Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
So, the message is clear. We have moved into an age where people watch and listen rather than read and we tend to prefer to consume information in video sound bites. More video is posted each day than can be consumed in any one lifetime! Most people agree that a video of one minute or shorter duration is the generally preferred length of engagement.
How do you get to participate in this movement without investing a whole lot of money?
Today it is easier than ever to create your own video broadcast. Streaming platforms are everywhere and the simplest one is Facebook Live streaming. Click a button or two and you’re off to the races. Want a more professional look? Take the time to plan out a script. As so many of the early adopters will tell you – just “press start” and do it. You can bring in the professional teams later. Most consumers today look for authenticity over commercial polish.
But beware, 70% say they dislike mobile ads and 81% of consumers have closed a browser or exited a website because of a pop-up ad. So don’t buy into some fancy proposal that uses interruption techniques to push something in front of potential customers. As I have said many times before, there are new rules of sales and marketing at work today. Content is king but it needs to be content that is useful to the consumer and not click bait or disruptive if you want to make a positive impression.
Today, video accounts for more than 50% of all search online. Many customers would prefer to see a video of a product in action before they get into the buying mode or walk into a store. Is your business ready to inform and educate rather than sell and push?
Here’s how to get started with video if you are not already using it in business:
An easy first step is to reach out into the 1 billion daily users of Facebook and try Facebook Live. You can narrate a story, a product introduction or a client testimonial. Be aware that this happens in real time and goes live immediately. So start simple. Keep to a particular goal and stay on only long enough for a few friends to check in on what you’re up to. Then shut it off. It doesn’t matter if only a few people were there live. The power of streaming is that it will be there for others to come across or for Facebook algorithms to serve up to others.
There are many new tools to help integrate video into your business. Your basic smart phone today can record video that you can post as is or edit for later uploading to Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
Here are just a few ways to introduce video to your customers:
Introduce a new product or a new employee.
Tell a story about the business or the culture and interview someone who is comfortable in front of a camera.
You can even create visual press releases and updates from senior management.
As you become more comfortable with the basics, you will want to consider things like lighting and backdrops. Here’s a great video from Wistia with tips on how to setup your own video studio for less than $100. https://wistia.com/library/down-and-dirty-lighting-kit.
If you’re still shaking your head but game to try it, give me a shout. I can put on my professional photographer hat and get you going faster than you think possible. Pay attention to the statistics – it is worth your investment of time and grappling with the learning curve.