Face it: we live in a culture dominated by video…
Imagine:
- More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
- Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube—that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth, and 50% more than last year
- 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
- 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US
- YouTube is localized in 56 countries and across 61 languages
- According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network
- Millions of subscriptions happen each day, and the number of people subscribing has more than doubled since last year
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html)
From the number of television sets in your average bar, to the totally household term “viral video,” we’ve got our eyes glued to YouTube, Netflix, sports and news… Hollywood blockbusters and comical Vine videos…
Video is everywhere, and that includes the world of marketing. And there are plenty of good reasons for it.
First, people simply like to watch them – if they can absorb the same amount of information from a 2-minute video as they can from a page of text, most people are going to opt for the video.
This video popularity definitely carries over into the business world.
A recent study by The Relevancy Group showed that 55% of the marketers including video links in their emails saw an increase in click-through rate, and 24% saw increased conversion rates.
Videos draw traffic and increase the amount of time a user spends on a given page…
But that’s only a fraction of the true purpose of video marketing.
Sure, people like to watch videos, and that can mean more impressions for your company, but the real value lies in using video to foster relationships.
When you make a video that features your product or service, or even just your brand itself, you put a face (and a voice) to a name. You’re offering up part of your personality for your prospects, and this helps them get to know you, like you, and trust you (the core of long-term relationships with customers).
Videos are a great way to demo products, give tours of your facility, teach “how-to” lessons, or even to offer descriptions of your service or brand…
Whatever the topic of your video, it’s important that you be honest and friendly. You want to show a realistic depiction of your company because that will inspire the trust of the people watching it.
Your marketing messages should be informative, of course, but building that relationship is just as important.
It’s ok to be funny, it’s ok to be quirky, it’s ok to be casual, as long as it fits with your brand’s image…
I should mention that being in front of the camera takes practice, and you might not be thrilled with the first few videos you shoot… that’s okay. They don’t have to be perfect – they just have to be good enough to make people feel happy they invested the minute or two to watch you.
Just like every other part of being a successful marketer, you’ll get better with practice…
Shoot your video and be yourself!
Let your personality will shine through… It is your most powerful tool for creating a personal connection with your prospects.
Good luck!
In your corner,
Charlie
