Video is on the up and if you’re not using it, you should be.
Photo by Mr.Autthaporn Pradidpong on Unsplash
I’m pretty biased when it comes to all things video, I mean I’m a Millennial with a degree in TV & Media Production. So, if that didn’t make things obvious for you, then let me be perfectly clear and say that I absolutely love video. Asking me to choose anything else over video is like asking Shakespeare to not write tragedies… It’s just not going to happen.
So! Let me tell you some positives about video content, and hopefully, you’ll start seeing things my way:
This is quite a new observation, as we’ve always had online articles ever since the internet was created, but it’s only in the last decade or so that sites such as YouTube, Daily Motion, and most News websites have had an influx of video articles. As they’ve given their audience this new option, it’s created a debate of would they rather read an article or watch a 30-second video? And so far, every result crowns Video Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner.
I know what you’re thinking “That’s a ridiculous claim! How could you ever know that?” and you’re right, we can’t know that for 100% but let’s look at some video facts: 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter every day, more than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube each day, and more video content is uploaded in 30 days than the major U.S. television networks have created in 30 years.
Basically, everyone is watching video on a multitude of different platforms, they have more control over everything they watch, and there’s enough content out there to keep them entertained for years!
I’ve mentioned YouTube a few times already and let me tell you that personally, I rack up about 20 hours a week JUST watching YouTube videos. Missed an episode of The Voice? Don’t worry YouTube has the best bits. Want to watch and listen to the newest music videos? No problem, YouTube can help. Want to learn a new skill, or watch a product video to know more about said product? YouTube has you covered!
It really is one of the best platforms out there, and it's on the up from a search engine point of view! Going back to my first point “Viewers prefer videos over text”, so if you want to know about literally anything, chances are it’s on YouTube and will be explained in less than 30 seconds.
If you want to market on social media, for either yourself or your business, then adding video content to your social will definitely increase engagement. Let’s take a look at some social facts: For Facebook, around 500 million people watch videos every day and video posts have the most organic reach of any type of Facebook post. For Twitter 82% of users watch video content and adding a video to your tweet will give you a 28% boost in engagement. Even Instagram, a social media that is predominantly known for user’s picture taking ability is now using video! Not only will you get likes and comments, (as is the norm on Instagram) but you'll also get views, a new metric, which will help understand what content an audience actually wants to see.
A lot of people stay away from video as they think it requires a full team of filmmakers with huge production costs. But let me tell you, if you have a simple idea and want to create content, then you could start with just the tech inside your smartphone. It wouldn’t be incredible content but hey at least you’ve joined the club and became a creator!
When you feel like you’re getting the hang of video and your ideas have gotten bigger and more ambitious, I’d then recommend you get in contact with professionals to help with your vision. And that’s where I’d come in! I’d help guide and talk you through the whole process, work in conjunction with your ideas to make them work exactly the way you want them to. And we’d have fun during the whole process (It’s not like we’re doing something like writing a Shakespearean tragedy or anything!)
I hope this list has shown you why I think Video content is on the up, and why you should be using video in all of your online marketing.
References
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/02/03/video-marketing-the-future-of-content-marketing/2/#5ac76b754874
https://fortunelords.com/youtube-statistics/
https://www.mushroomnetworks.com/infographics/youtube---the-2nd-largest-search-engine-infographic/
https://www.inc.com/bill-carmody/how-to-leverage-social-media-in-2018-a-video-marketing-guide-for-brands.html
https://coschedule.com/blog/twitter-engagement-tactics/
https://www.inc.com/melanie-deziel/13-expert-instagram-hacks-to-increase-engagement.html
