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18 July, 2018

The value of video marketing

Posted by Natalie Randall

Video marketing listing

Video may not be new but as technology becomes more sophisticated, bandwidths broaden and platforms prioritise video content, it’s becoming an increasingly important aspect of online marketing.

The statistics are pretty impressive.

I could leave it there. But if we want to use video marketing effectively we need to understand why it works, when it works, and how we can leverage it for the best results.

Now that I have your attention…

One reason why video is so effective is its powerful ability to capture and keep our attention. Some psychologists argue that this is a hard-wired response: as animals, we evolved to watch for the movements of prey or potential predators, so we see motion and we focus in on it.

As with all marketing mediums, once you’ve got your customer’s attention you need to keep it long enough to get your message across. Give them a reason to keep watching.

Easy encoding

Unlike text, video’s very easy to consume and digest. The brain processes video 60,000 times faster than it processes written content. It’s cognitively much easier to watch a video because we don’t have to convert scrawls into words into abstract ideas – everything’s there, flickering in front of us; our brains can just sit back and enjoy the show.

Brain processes video

Of course, text has other advantages that video doesn’t. But for busy customers – especially those circling the top of the funnel – video provides a quick and effortless way to engage with your brand.

High information, high retention

Quick and effortless, yet packed with information. One second of HD video contains 25 frames; following Forrester’s joke calculation, if a picture is worth 1,000 words then a one-minute video at 25 frames per second is worth 1,500,000.

A picture is worth 1000 words 1
Video is worth 1000 words 2

Obviously, this isn’t a real statistic. But if you were to type out every detail from a minute-long video, the equivalent information converted to text would be staggering. Yet despite so much information being squeezed into a small slot of time, and the passive nature of watching video, people retain more of a message from watching video than they do from reading text.

Live action or animation?

If you decide to invest in video, what should you choose: animation or live action? Both have their pros and cons. Live action is more human, while animation adds character; live action creates realism, while animation allows for greater freedom. If you want to show off your holiday cottages and their locations, real-life footage is the obvious choice. But if you need to convey complex or abstract information in a simple, fun way, animation is really the only option. As you can see, picking between the two hinges on what you want your video to achieve, and to know that you need a…

Strategy

As with all marketing mediums, you shouldn’t use video just for the sake of it: you need an objective. After all, one downside to video content is that it’s much more expensive and time-consuming to produce than text or photography. Approaching video production with a strategy in place means you’ll really wring the most out of your new content.

You’ll need to think about the aim of your video – are you trying to build brand awareness, promote a product or cinch a sale? – and where it fits into your wider marketing strategy. Perhaps your brand is bogged down with an outdated corporate image: you might want to make a viral animation to add a little lightness to your personality. Or maybe your bounce rate’s higher than you’d like: a landing-page video may keep people on the page longer and increase conversions.

Whatever your goals, it’s likely that video can help you achieve them. And with continuing upward trends of video use, engagement and consumption, now’s the time to make it part of your marketing strategy.

Convinced? If you’ve got a video project in mind, drop us a line. We can help with everything from scriptwriting and editing footage in-house to art directing animators and developing the marketing strategy. Call us on 01736 758600 or email hello@nixondesign.com.

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