Why 1 minute of video is worth 1.8 million words!
According to Forrester Research's Dr. James McQuivey, "a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words." That would be the approximate equivalent of 3600 web pages. If it was possible for you to write a landing page per hour, it would still take you 150 days to complete that task. That certainly seems to give video a lot of marketing bang for the buck!
Powerful stuff, but why is that? Well, lets look to Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. — also known as The “Brain Lady.” As a leading speaker, author and consultant to brands like Amazon, Disney, Walmart and South By Southwest, her area of expertise is in the understanding of the psychology of customers and why they do what they do. She reveals four core, psychological reasons we are drawn to video (Watch Susan Weinschenk's entire presentation here.):
#1: The Fusiform Facial area makes us pay attention to faces. We use the face to gather information and believability – this brain function also processes information at an emotional, and therefore, deeper level.
#2: The human voice conveys rich information. The tone, delivery, cadence all deliver information beyond the words being spoken - also adds context and meaning that could not be conveyed without lengthy and complicated text.
#3: Emotions are contagious. We know that emotion sells and if we know that emotions are also contagious, we must recognize that video is the best way to convey those emotions, outside of a face-to-face dialogue. This is impossible to accomplish with text or still images.
#4: Movement grabs attention. In our DNA lies the power of peripheral motion and for tens of thousands of years, we’ve survived by noticing things in motion. In fact we are so sensitive to movement, that when we see a pan of a still image moving across the screen (eg: the interior of a house),
we can immediately identify it as either a live video or a still image, even if there is no apparent movement. The still image presents no 'danger' and we can safely ignore it - or in modern advertising terms, we can simply disengage.
However, when we see the live video, as in the example below, our conscience is engaged at a deeper and emotional level making it much more difficult to disengage.
(Video sources PalbergWERX Creative Direction)
5 Reasons why video marketing sells more
1) People trust video
It's as simple as that. Sure, audiences are sophisticated and realize that all sorts of digital trickery can be performed on a video, however statistics still show that they trust video more than any other form of marketing or sales communication.
Retail site visitors who view video stay two minutes longer on average than other site visitors according to Comscore.
In fact, Invodo says that "57% of consumers say that product videos make them more confident in a purchase and less likely to return an item". Further, over 40% of shoppers who have viewed a video will then visit a store online or in-person to find out more information according to Google and the Online Publishers Association.
Finally, statistics from RealSEO have determined that having a video on your site - even if it is not viewed - will still increase customer conversion!
2) Hi, my name is
It's simply not feasible to meet every potential customer in the world, but wouldn't you just love to have a one-to-one connection with each of them? Video is the method that the largest companies scale their personality and brand - they can look all of their customers in the eye and say, "This is who we are, and this is what we believe".
It doesn't matter if you are Virgin's founder Richard Brandson or a small local business, you currently use a number of channels to get your brand message out to potential customers. However, video - more than any other vehicle - creates your customer's emotional bond to you, your business and your story and this is what customers want to identify with.
3) Experience is greater than exposure
When a business provides a deep experience of their product or service and generates the experience of ownership, then they win at the point of purchase (Ogilvy, TNS and Google survey). Today's consumers are spoiled with choice and when faced with unlimited options, they choose products and services that are personally relevant to them and their passions. We now understand how video engages on an emotional lever far deeper than every other scalable strategy currently in existence.
4) Google loves video and so should you
YouTube is the second largest search engine in world, behind Google, and Google ranks websites with video higher in it's search algorithms. According to eyeviewdigital, landing pages with a video leads to 80% more conversions. MistMedia says that 88% of site visitors will stay longer on sites with a prominent video displayed, AND, of those that stay longer, 64% are more likely to purchase after viewing a single product video says comScore. My goodness.
5) Your customers are clamoring for video
Everyday, your customers are watching 100's of Millions of video on YouTube and other video platforms.
According to the Total Audience Report from Nielsen, the amount of time viewers spend watching video on the internet has grown 38.5% from the end of 2013 to the end of 2014. YouTube alone reaches more 18- to 34- and 18- to 49-year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.
According to joint Google/Ipsos MediaCT research, 50% of videos are consumed on mobile and mobile video users are 1.4x as likely to watch advertising than TV or desktop viewers.
More than 50% of the smartphone video viewers Google surveyed said they used video to help them make product decisions in stores or on company websites. In fact, mobile phones might even be the new in-store shopping assistant: one in three shoppers actually prefers to use a smartphone to find additional information rather than ask a store employee for help, according to Google's mobile in-store research study. So, don't under estimate the power of including how-to videos or unboxing videos as part of your strategy, as they help customers emotionally imagine ownership of your products.
Conclusion
There you have it, it doesn't matter if you are a small mom-and-pop business or a giant corporation, this short - yet compelling - list of reasons should give you some insights as to why you need to begin including videos in your marketing strategy.
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If you would like a video for your product or service,
call PalbergWERX Creative Direction
at 604-356-1144 or email me at PBWX@outlook.com
I can help you craft a video that will represent your company's brand and values
as well as resonate and engage your customers - and that is the recipe for increased sales.