Current Marketing Trends: Video Marketing

As consumers, most of us only buy products if we trust the company sourcing them, right? Video marketing is a key component to building trust between businesses and consumers and has become one of the hottest marketing trends of the modern day, and doesn't seem to be fading any time soon. Many consumers are swayed by videos they see online, emphasising why effective video marketing could be the key to boosting your sales!

What is video marketing?

Let's clear things up to begin with - what is video marketing?

Video marketing may sound pretty self-explanatory; however, most people don't realise how many forms it can take which is key for you to understand in order for you to appeal to your target audience.

Due to the popularity of social media channels, video marketing has become one of the most effective forms of marketing due to its instantaneous reach. As a result, companies are utilising this to sell their services online in the form of videos. These could be educational, surround company culture, their product, or maybe testimonial videos in an attempt to build relationships with their customers.

Studies have shown that around 50%of consumers feel more comfortable buying a product or service after watching a video about either the product itself or the company it has come from, outlining how important video marketing is to build that level of trust which is going to seal the all-important ‘purchase' click from your consumers.

How do companies implement video marketing?

Businesses operating in the 21stcentury are blessed with the power of social media to make their marketing easier than companies selling pre-social media. Having to hand-write just one letter used to take up way more time than it takes to compose and send an email to hundreds of people these days. The power of the internet is something which all companies need to take advantage of.

Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn are perfect for companies to post short videos educating and enticing their target market into buying their products. These videos can come in multiple forms, all with the purpose of building trust:

1.    Live videos.

Social media platforms now enable users to record live videos for their followers to join live in the moment. This can be effective for companies as followers/ customers may be intrigued to see what goes on behind the scenes at the workplace where they buy their products from. Businesses may decide to broadcast live events taking place too as opposed to recording long videos and putting them on social media. This way, followers who join the live are more likely to be enticed into staying as they may subconsciously lose track of time, instead of seeing a 45-minute video for example and being deterred –who's got 45 minutes these days to watch a promotional video?!

2.    1:1 videos.

Once a company has refined a target market, personalization becomes an important and effective strategy to implement with regards to luring a customer in. Businesses may decide to record a 1:1 video to add a touch of personalisation to allow the customer to feel important and privileged that a company is aiming to sell to them specifically.

3.    360-degree tours

A common trend on websites these days are 360-degree tours of a workplace or company event. This works in the way that any user can drag the screen or use arrows to navigate themselves around a location as if they were standing in the room. Companies do this so their customers can get a feel for the workplaces where the products/services are developed, giving them valuable insight behind the scenes.

Ultimately, all these forms build the one fundamental factor which is essential between businesses and their customers, trust.

Statistics: How effective is video marketing?

Thanks to Wyzowl, a video marketing statistic company, we can share the key statistics that demonstrate the power and influence of video marketing.

Sharing content has never been so easy, with most platforms allowing a user to share by the click of a single button. 70% of consumers say they've shared a company's video before, outlining the vast market which a video has the potential to reach.

To put things in to perspective, if a company's video is shared by 10 different people who all have roughly 500followers/friends on social media, there is potential for an extra 5,000 people to engage with the video (excluding mutual followers/friends). Simple processes like sharing content have outlined why 72% of businesses claim that video marketing has improved their conversion rate, bringing back the sense of trust that videos give consumers.

Many app developers also use videos and screen recordings of their apps to tease people into downloading their app, usually by including a short trial inside an advert which hooks consumers in to wanting to explore the app. This is proven to be relatively successful, as 84% of consumers say they've downloaded an app after watching a video. The power of video is staggering!

After seeing such statistics, it is clear that video marketing sees positive results and can also become a very cost-effective form of marketing for a company as most filming/editing can be done with phones/tablets/laptops which are all devices most people have in the world of marketing!

The multiple forms and platforms that companies can implement this style of marketing is endless and provides businesses with a great opportunity to reach out to more of their target market which previously may have been difficult to reach. Whether you decide video marketing is something you implement as a core part of your marketing strategy or something you adopt from time to time, the results are bound to be positive. It may just be the key to achieve your business goals!