For some businesses, the internet is still a mysterious entity, let alone video content. Many small business owners and start-ups concentrate on setting up a website, without really thinking about their users’ experience (UX).
With every aspect of your marketing, you must put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Think about how you use the internet as a browser or consumer. Do you watch YouTube videos to find out information? If you land on a website with video content on it, do you ignore it to read the print?
When scrolling through the various social media platforms, what do you remember most? The text of a post? A meme? Or are you more likely to stop and watch a video clip?
A test: do you remember the text on the last website you visited more strongly than hearing the pitch of the following words, in the exact way they were said…“Charlie bit my finger!”
It’s alright, we know what the answer is. It’s why, when something amazing happens in real life, everyone gets their phones out; they don’t stop to take photos as much as film the occasion to upload onto their profiles.
Images are useful, without a doubt. Text is often necessary, to explain finer points. But video…this is what stops customers in their tracks. It’s video that will capture their attention. Video, that will put your company above the parapet you share with your video-less competitors.
The amount of tools and technology that can hone and enhance your video content is vast. You can give interested parties virtual tours of your venue, restaurant, retail space or other attraction; 360-degree footage that serves as the next best thing to them actually being there. Whet their appetite, show them what they’re missing…bring the offline online with video. The scope of video for all other industries is just as mind-blowing.
Before you think of the huge production costs that used to come with making a televised advert for your business – think: Tesco’s ‘Every Little Helps’ ongoing campaign, that must run into the millions - that’s not the kind of video content we’re talking about. If you have the budget for that kind of thing, great, but very few small businesses do. We’re talking about the filming, editing and creation of continuous, brand-new video content that features your business for as little as £30 a week. For this small sum, you could put out a new video across your social media platforms every seven days. Rather than regurgitating other people’s content, or talking into a vacuum of similar unnoticed, uninspiring posts, use a video a week to build your story, to make people smile/act/buy.
By 2019 it's predicted that 80% of all consumer traffic to websites will be through videos. And, after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online.
That’s a heck of thing to ignore… By all means, create a wonderful website that showcases what you offer, but remember, this will largely be static and not fluid. To really show your personality, the values and ethos of your company, the day-to-day nitty gritty we can easily get hooked on, and the intricacies surrounding your products/services, it’s only video that speaks to our 24/7, hyperactive minds today. Blogs like this have their place, but not everyone has the time or the impetus to read to this line…