Video numbers game all adds up

More and more brands are turning to videos to complement their marketing programmes – but why?

It’s really a numbers game. YouTube is the second most popular search engine after its big brother, Google. More than one billion unique users visit YouTube each month, and more than six billion hours of video are watched each month – almost an hour for every person on earth. Considering YouTube views can be monetised, this is big business.

But on its own, this isn’t enough. Why should as much importance be placed on video as other parts of the marketing mix such as social media, media relations, online marketing and events?

Videos can perform a similar function to any of these. Videos can be shared on social channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They work wonders for search engine optimisation, and drive traffic to other websites. Pages with embedded video will be treated favourably by Google’s search algorithms.

They are more likely to be shared by social media users and prompt conversations and debate.

They sometimes go viral, they help increase brand awareness, offer viewers advice or give them information. But they do it in a powerful and dynamic way.

There is nothing like the power of a moving image to capture attention. Try it yourself while surfing the internet. Click through to a website featuring a video, and you’re more likely to spend time on a web page while you watch it. This presents a great opportunity, especially as open source software has made it much easier for businesses to use video on their websites.

What content should be included in a video? There are so many options. Some Freshfield clients have opted for straightforward informational videos like legal Q&As.

Some have wanted to showcase an event or seminar they are hosting, in order to attract attendees in the future.

Others have opted for a video with a very specific purpose, like showcasing a business as a place to work in order to attract quality job applications, or introducing the business to professional partners.

Other options could include informative, ‘how-to’ videos, corporate profiles, testimonials from clients or customers, perhaps case studies or profiles of recent projects.

According to email marketing provider Implix, including videos in email communications increased open rates by 5.6 per cent and click through rates by 96.38 per cent when compared to emails that contained no videos.

Yes, it really is all about the numbers.