Look Back To Move Ahead
Video Marketing
Over the past year and a half, the way we do business has changed. Every aspect of it. No matter the industry, it’s all changed. Whether it’s travel, hospitality, manufacturing or retail, nothing is as it was before the pandemic.
Not even having lunch with friends, much less going out for an afternoon shopping is the same. Much to the dismay of many, none of this will probably ever get back to how it was. But what about video marketing?
Of course, the unprecedented events of 2020 affected the demand for video. It’s no surprise during the pandemic the amount of video content watched increased by an alarming rate. Take Netflix for example. At the end of 2019, Netflix had just over 167 million subscribers worldwide. At the close of 2020, their subscription base jumped to over 203 million and those numbers are likely to further increase for 2021. Their demographic breakdown is even more surprising.
According to Nielsen, COVID-19 raised the average weekly streaming minutes from 81.7 minutes in 2019 to an astounding 142.5 minutes in 2020. But here are the more interesting numbers — it’s who’s watching. The heaviest streamers are the 35–54 age group, who make up 27% of the average weekly streaming minutes. Following very closely is the 55+ age group (26%) and then the 25–34 demographic (18%). Baby boomers are watching video.
Demand For Content On The Upswing
The surge in watching more video didn’t just happen in the entertainment sector. It happened across all industries. Numerous research, statistical gathering and survey companies conducted interviews, polls and studies — here are the results.
According to Wyzowl, 68% of consumers said the pandemic impacted the amount of video they watched and an overwhelming majority of 96% said it has increased.
Depositphoto recently came out with a compilation of stats that paint an interesting picture of the direction of video marketing. The percentage of businesses using a video marketing strategy experienced remarkable growth in the last five years going from 63% in 2017 to 86% in 2021. (In addition, 93% of those surveyed say it’s a critical part of their strategy.)
Continued research showed 84% of consumers have been convinced to purchase a product after watching a video and they’re twice as likely to share a video than any other type of online content. According to Cisco, by 2022, 82% of all online traffic will be video.
When broken down by platform, it becomes even more compelling. YouTube has over 2 billion active users, with more than 1 billion hours of video being watched daily. Seventy percent of those users purchased from a brand after watching a YouTube ad. Facebook has over 2.8 billion active users, and 62% of their subscribers said they’ve become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it on Facebook, spending an average of 34 minutes a day using the platform. Instagram has over 1 billion users, and 90% of them follow a particular business. Eighty percent of their respondents said the “how-to” videos are their favorite, spending 1–2 hours a day scrolling their Instagram feeds.
“84% of consumers have been convinced to purchase a product after watching a video and they’re twice as likely to share a video than any other type of online content.”
Let Me Entertain You
So, how do we use this all this statistical information to move forward? We know the demand for video content is increasing and it’s not just limited to Netflix and the entertainment industry. Video extends to brands and companies, and video marketing is one of the most effective ways to keep your customer engaged. Studies are showing 54% of consumers want and expect to see more video content from the businesses and brands they support.
Well, we can take our cue from the entertainment industry and how they use movie trailers. We see movie trailers all the time, as standalone commercials on social media and on television. We see them as pre-roll before a movie starts and even on those small screens at the local gas station while filling up. A trailer shows the most exciting and interesting part of the movie. Now, in some cases, the rest of the movie is a real snooze, but the trailer can be award-winning — which is how to think when it comes to your video marketing.
No matter the size of your business — whether you’re a manufacturer, have a brick-and-mortar storefront or are strictly e-commerce — people need a reason to click on your website, go to your landing page and find the product. But they also want to be entertained.
“No matter the size of your business — whether you’re a manufacturer, have a brick-and-mortar storefront or ARE strictly e-commerce — people need a reason to click on your website, go to your landing page and find the product. But they also want to be entertained.”
Where’s Video Marketing Headed?
This doesn’t mean giving up on serious content, like providing valuable information regarding a product or a tutorial on how to use it, but it needs to be engaging and enjoyable. Digital marketing is changing drastically and to keep moving with it challenges even the best marketers.
FinancesOnline recently released a study showing 68% of consumers want to learn about a new product through a short video, 15% through print-based articles and only 4% through presentations, pitches, sales calls or ebook. (Think how effective your marketing campaigns would be using a cohesive campaign of video and print articles.)
The same survey also revealed 39% of consumers wanted to see explainer videos from their favorite brands and 20% want entertaining viral-style videos. Only 12% wanted product demo videos and 10% were interested in video blogs. These statistics are a good indication of where the direction of video marketing is headed and how to best use it in a medium becoming more crowded every day.
Even though you may think your store or brand doesn’t need to use video marketing, these statistics confirm how important video marketing is to the consumer and therefore to your business. There’s always somebody out there making a better widget and to stay ahead of the competition, video marketing is where you need to be.
