Are videos effective marketing?

Are videos effective marketing? – Perhaps the best start point from which to answer the question “are videos effective marketing?” is the past.  If this sounds more than a little strange, I shall explain … 

The way messages have been promoted and received has changed massively over even the last 25 years.  As an example, think (or ask your parents!) about the direct mail pieces that used to drop on your doormat in the 80s.

You’d get a personalised, multi-coloured and over-designed envelope with an unmissable promise emblazoned across the front.  This promise was enough to make you tear open the envelope to be greeted with a full page of copy disguised as a letter …

… and yes, of course I want to sign up to Tom Champagne’s Readers Digest draw!

Fast forward 10 years and consider whether the same content would have the same effect if it had been sent via email or text.

Now fast forward another 10 years and consider whether that same content would work on social.

Of course it wouldn’t.  This is not just because Readers Digest is a product that is no longer wanted/needed/relevant.  It’s because the way we consume information has totally changed. 

We don’t read … we don’t have time to read. 

We want instant.

We want the maximum information in the shortest time for the least amount of effort.

Step forward video! 

Video makes effective marketing because it can introduce a product and showcase all its key benefits in less than a minute without us having to do anything.

And the stats support the theory.  According to a Wyzowl study, almost 70% of people surveyed said they prefer to learn by watching short videos while only 18% said they liked to read the same information by reading traditional text. 

Wyzowl’s study also shows our daily video consumption has increased from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours a day between 2018 and 2021.

And looking more broadly YouTube’s current usage figures show users consume one billion hours of video each day while industry experts predict over 80% of web traffic will come from videos by the end of 2022. 

The reasons video marketing is so effective is that people want to watch video! 

2 more proven reasons video marketing is effective

The reason video marketing is so effective is not simply limited to usage.  Here are two more proven reasons why video is such a powerful marketing tool. 

1. People engage with videos on social media

According to studies 50% of people prefer to engage with videos on social media. 

On Facebook alone, over 1.25 billion people use the ‘Watch Video’ feature every month.  Twitter users also love video.  Tweets with video enjoy 10 times more engagement that Tweets without.

Surely with that level of engagement in play, you have to be prepared to at least try video marketing.

2. Video helps people make purchasing decisions

Google has reported over 55% of people watch videos while they’re shopping.  This is backed up by the Wyzowl study we mentioned. 

According to their figures 84% of people have purchased on the back of watching a video and a staggering 96% have sought out ‘explainer videos’ to learn more about the products/services they’re interested in. 

With this level of engagement our feeling is video marketing will only continue to grow in importance so if you’d like to chat about how video could make your marketing more effective, why not get in touch and we’ll explain how we can help.