You’ve likely heard the story of Lumière’s 1896 short film L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat, where unwitting audience members frantically fled the theater as an oncoming locomotive raced toward the screen. While it turns out the story is more urban legend than fact, a kernel of truth remains: there is an inherent emotional power in the moving image.
Today’s audiences are a far cry from those of Lumière’s time. Video is the norm, not the exception, and many people prefer it to reading text.
Video is humanizing
Video puts the ability to put a face to a name. It allows your audience to see not only what you do, but who you are. Potential customers can experience the genuine nature of your business in a way text can’t provide on its own. Video connects quickly. It can be enticing and compelling. It can show, not just tell.
Whether your videos are product demos, testimonials, live streams, tutorials, presentations, or interviews, they’re all opportunities to personify your brand because you’re presenting yourself, your employees, your customers, and your community. In other words, where Lumière’s film drove people toward the exit, you can draw people in.
Consumers watch a lot of video, and they want more
A 2019 study found that online video consumption grew an average of 32 percent a year over the past five years. And people like what they’re seeing. When asked what type of media they prefer from trusted brands, 56 percent of 25 to 34-year-old consumers said they want more video, with 65 percent (!) of 18 to 24-year-olds saying the same. According to Forbes, the average visitor will spend 88 percent more time on a website that includes video. Increased engagement means higher click-throughs rates, shares, leads, and sales, not to mention more favorable SEO.
Speaking of SEO
Remember, Google owns YouTube. And because Google wants to drive traffic to YouTube (read: advertising dollars) the search engine’s algorithm favors video content. Putting your videos to work garnering better search results is a simple matter of optimization. That means videos should have engaging titles, proper tags, and accurate descriptions. To add even more searchability and accessibility to your content, videos should include a transcript, subtitles, or both.
Videos are multi-use
Videos made specifically for your site are easy to repurpose for use on other channels, specifically social media. Posting your video to platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter engages an even greater number of customers. With the right messaging, you create a virtuous cycle of engagement: More clicks, more watches, more shares. In fact, videos do better on social media as well. On Instagram, for example, videos enjoy significantly higher engagement than still images.
The trend continues
As mentioned earlier, demographic changes will continue to favor video in a big way. Video-loving tweens and teens might not be your current bread-and-butter demographic, but they certainly will be in the near future. The tweens, teens, and millennials of today are the managers, buyers, change-makers, and thought-leaders of tomorrow.
What is your business’s video strategy? If you don’t have one, would you like to explore getting started? Building video content can be easier and less expensive than you might imagine. Quack at us to start a conversation.
