Online Videos Are Changing The Content Marketing Game

Remember how cool it was to own a cassette tape? Then along came the compact disc replacing it with better sound quality and stability, transforming the way we listened to music. Online videos are the new “compact disc” to digital marketing nowadays, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere but up from here.

It’s a well-known fact that videos possess the power to convey a message that can be ten times more powerful than text content. There have been many successful video campaigns over the recent years, but one that stands out particularly to me is the Kony 2012 campaign. This campaign was proof that exceptional video content has the absolute potential of becoming a viral overnight success. With strategic videos that stated clear and simple calls to action, Kony was able to succeed in getting the exposure they wanted.

Nowadays, with great apps like Instagram, Vine, Snapchat and YouTube, videos are being created, viewed and shared on mobile devices more than ever. Companies are opting for short interesting videos, instead of lengthy descriptive text content, that give demonstrations on how to use the product they offer. They are able to show what their product looks like, as well as physically putting it to test in different situations and scenarios.

With said apps being tossed around, tried, and effectively producing results for content marketers, there will be an exponential increase for investment using online videos for their ad campaigns. According to a 2012 Infographic posted on Brainshark, content marketers have taken notice to online videos being used to produce superior results in sales by promotion of brands and services, through education and entertainment, delivery of content, and consumer participation. Video has now become the sixth most popular tactic for content marketing, and as a result, has provided us with these two statistics:

• 70% of content marketers are creating online video;
• 58% produce to webinars and webcasts

Many consumers are now saying that if they see a product or service mentioned in an online video, they are more likely to seek out more information. There seems to be large retention of viewers for online video, and being capable of conveying a message in one minute through a simple and clever video, instead of millions of written words for text content, isn’t such a bad idea.

One of my personal favorite apps right now is Twitter’s new video app, Vine. A lot can happen in just six seconds, and Vine makes it possible to capture that, in an imaginative way. Sure, you can advertise your new line of jewelry with photos and descriptive content, but wouldn’t you much rather see the necklace, or earrings being worn on a live-model who’s trying to make a good impression on a lovely first date? Real life scenarios, luring the audience in by showcasing the product as it’s being put to use – brand promotion at its finest!

A fascinating study by Pew Research was recently done regarding online video marketing and its statistics in 2013, and this is what was recorded:

• 78% of adult internet users watch or download online videos, up from 69% in 2009;
• The percent of online adults using video-sharing sites has grown from 33% to the current figure of 72%;
• The percentage of adult internet users who post videos online is growing swiftly.