Is Video Continuing to Dominate the Web?
You like looking at pictures. You enjoy reading blog posts and articles. These are just a couple of the activities that today’s Web users regularly do online. However, it’s no secret that one other type of content can deliver a message faster, or in a more appealing manner, than words and images can—and that’s video. From short clips that entertain to longer videos that offer tutorials, there’s no doubt that a video can communicate more effectively and be more engaging.
And that’s good news for businesses everywhere.
Videos and marketing strategies
Understanding video’s potential in drawing consumer interest, providing crucial information, sharing interesting subjects, and providing positive online experiences, brands have tapped the power of the medium to advance their marketing initiatives.
Here are just a few important facts about how 5,000 industry-leading businesses build their video marketing strategies, according to eMarketer:
- Sixteen percent of websites post videos on their website’s home page.
- Seventy-nine percent of sites with video tap third-party hosting platforms. Because it’s free, YouTube is the hosting solution preferred by 70 percent of websites. For those who choose to pay, however, the leading paid vendor video hosts are Vimeo, Wistia and Brightcove.
- Software, marketing, healthcare and medical, nonprofit, and education are the top 5 industries that make heavy use of video.
- Of all hosted videos prominently displayed on home pages, 49.8 percent are set on autoplay.
What to expect for the future of video in marketing
With video enjoying a healthy online presence, it’s not difficult to anticipate much bigger roles for the medium in the years to come—for small and more established businesses alike, video is simply the logical content type to turn to for satisfying their customers’ needs for information and entertainment.
According to Nielsen, 64 percent of marketers expect video to demonstrate dominance in their strategies in the near future. Cisco estimates that video will account for 69 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2017. SalesForce also predicts that 74% of all Internet traffic by 2017 will be video, with video formats like Instagram, Snapchat and Vine most likely to emerge as essential elements of any company’s big-content strategy.
Will video prove to be a game changer for your own marketing methods?
Whether you’re a startup or a corporate giant, marketing video content is sure to help you fetch positive results and exponential growth in the future. Just keep these helpful tips in mind:
- You don’t need a ton of resources to create compelling videos. Even without technical prowess, you can work how to use platforms like Vine and make videos without exorbitant costs.
- Always keep your consumers in mind. Video works best in providing information and entertainment in easily digestible portions, so videos that provide precisely what your audience is looking for is a must in effectively communicating with them.
- Social media should be part of your online marketing strategy. There’s no other place where video can get endlessly viewed, liked and shared than in the social networking universe, so distribute your video through these channels. Also, people will often access these networks on mobile devices, so make sure your videos work well in mobile, too.
- Be creative and have fun. People will love videos that make them laugh, sit up in realization, or think in a new way. So always create videos with your brand’s goal of offering refreshing and useful content in mind.
