If a picture paints a thousand words, then how much can a video express? Around 87% of social media agency Hong Kong use video in their strategies. It is a straightforward means of campaigning and a powerful tool to connect with people. In 2021, video marketing will continue to rise, especially now when consumer habits have changed. It is no longer just a piece of a marketing plan. Rather, it is now the central focus of digital strategies. People go online more often as an effect of the pandemic lockdowns. They now commonly search for products and services in digital shops instead of physical stores. So, the question is: How does video marketing influences the buying experience?
What Is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is using moving images to promote a brand, product, or service. It can be used for everything – from building rapport, promoting products and services, to telling a brand story. It is pretty simple. The rawer a video is, the more authentic it appeals to the audience. It is also cost-effective. Today, you can shoot a 4K video or one with excellent quality just by using a smartphone.
A brand should first identify what type of video it would like to create. According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, there are several types of video content.
- Behind-the-Scene videos help brands establish a closer relationship with their customers. These give them a unique video experience seeing how a brand is conceptualized, how it works, and how they move forward. It’s watching what they don’t usually see on video ads.
- Event videos showcase the highlight of the event, interesting interviews, presentations from the gathering, or even a live broadcast while an event is happening.
- Explainer videos commonly answer frequently asked questions about a new offering. They may also highlight the functions and benefits of a certain product.
- How-To videos can be a demo on how to use a product, putting the product to a physical test, or unboxing a gadget plus how to assemble them.
- Interview videos are a great way for brands to build authority and trust within a community. They highlight the expertise of an influencer or thought leader endorsing a brand.
- Live Videos mean streaming real-time to announce something important or interact with the customers.
- Presentations and talks are informational videos related to the brand. They can be a conference of brand advocates, industry experts, and thought leaders in a certain field. The main goal of such video content is to highlight that a brand participates in communities and innovation.
- Product Demo is an in-depth explanation of the unique selling proposition (USP) of a featured product. It shows the product’s benefits for the potential customers to realize what they could get after buying it.
- Review videos are commonly user-generated content highlighting how a brand, product, or service helps someone or solves a problem. These types of video marketing alter the viewer’s perception and influence their buying decision.
- Testimonial videos are also user-generated videos of happy or renowned customers highlighting their good experience with the brand. These increase the confidence of potential customers to try out the brand as it produces positive results.
- Tutorial videos teach the customers instructions on how to better understand a brand or a product. Like how-to videos, they give clear instructions on how to assemble or use a product the right way.
- Vlogs are video versions of traditional blogs. They are fun and entertaining content showing how brands can help their clients. It also shows how customers enjoy the benefits of a product and make life easier for them.
- Webinars are live video talks with a host and several numbers of participants exchanging ideas over a live and multi-participant broadcast.
How Does Video Marketing Influence the Buying Experience?
A recent survey made by Animoto showed the following insights on how video marketing influences the buying experience. These insights clearly show that brands should consider a video marketing agency Hong Kong as a major part of their strategies.
- Among the best social media platforms for video marketing today are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. This year, YouTube expanded the reach of TrueView video ads. They can now be seen before an actual YouTube video, during a mid-roll streaming, and at the end of the clip. Facebook has seen a surge of real-time shopping videos. Instagram, on the other hand, positioned itself by enhancing short-form video content. These include IGTV, Reels, and Stories.
- Around 93% of consumers find videos helpful when purchasing a product. Video is a gold mine to an SEO strategy. By boosting likes and shares, they drive traffic to a brand’s site. Putting the right meta descriptions and tags on videos increase their chances of ranking in Google. Typically, consumers prefer the top 3 on the 1st page of Google search results. After finding the video helpful, searchers are turned into buyers.
- Consumers prefer videos over photos and reading when learning about new products and services. This is because they are more entertaining than still images and text descriptions. They also make it easier for consumers to explore the content. Studies showed that viewers retained 95% of video messages. This is way higher than the 10% information retention when reading a text. So, when they are ready to purchase, they will most likely remember the brand on a video they have recently watched.
- Videos are the top 1 favorite content among social media users. Social media users are 4x more likely to watch a product video than read text descriptions of a product. Videos increase the conversions on landing pages by 80%. Even on emails, merely mentioning the word “video” increases the open rate by 19%. These are clear statistics showing the strong influence of video marketing on buying decisions.
The Bottom Line
Today, brands should find a way to make their video marketing stand out. Short-form clips and vertical videos continue to grow in popularity. They are engaging, eye-catching, and relevant. Most social media platforms are equipped with A/B experiment tools. Use them to know what draw your audiences in. Act now, and start creating the most enticing video for your brand. Doing nothing is not marketing. Create pictures that paint a thousand words, and record videos that travel a million miles.