Why your business needs video content

Video is everywhere. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, or somehow become lost in outer space, then you’ve likely encountered some form of video marketing recently. 

No matter where we look these days, video content competes for our attention. Whether that’s in the form of a classic T.V. commercial (old-fashioned jingle and all), a YouTube video (and those beloved, “Can I please get back to the video I was watching?” mid-roll ads), or content shared across another social media platform, we can’t escape from visual content.

And we don’t want to either, as consumer trends indicate video is only set to grow in popularity.

Why is video marketing important, and why do you need video content for your business? Let the cameras roll, and let’s talk about that. Action!

Why is video content important?

We already know video is a major force in content marketing today. According to a HubSpot report in 2023, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.

Why are so many businesses using video marketing?

Videos improve your site’s SEO

SEO isn’t just about keywords and word count on a webpage. Many factors influence your site’s ranking on search engines like Google or Bing.

Since video is so popular, it can drive more traffic to your website than other forms of content. An increase in web traffic will improve your site’s SEO since that’s one of the many factors that play into a site’s ranking.

Google also favors video content on web pages. As long as you transcribe your video and include the correct tags, headings, and other best practices, bots that crawl your site will be able to understand what your video is about.

Videos also increase the amount of time a user spends on your site. This will reduce your bounce rate and improve your overall site health.

Videos are compelling

Videos are interesting. There’s a reason T.V. replaced radio, and internet videos are on their way to replacing T.V. Video allows us to connect with the content being shown on a different level than reading or looking at photos, and the internet has allowed more creators and businesses to get their work noticed.

Not everyone wants to read an article (I’m thankful for you making it this far) or look through

product photos. A video, though, captures everyone’s attention.

Videos get more shares

Videos get more shares than other types of content on social media. While it does happen, there aren’t many photos or text-based posts or promotions that go viral. Videos on the other hand frequently go viral.

Creating a video, especially one that’s entertaining, is the best way to make your brand go viral.

According to a HubSpot article, 73% of those surveyed preferred seeing videos on social media that are entertaining. Releasing a fun, energetic ad can make your brand a viral sensation. (I suppose you could also try to drop leaflets from a plane. Actually, my lawyers say that’s a bad idea. Don’t drop leaflets from a plane.)

Videos offer more places to be seen

Videos are another avenue of content marketing that gets your business seen by a wider audience. Videos are the only way to get traffic from YouTube, and many other social media platforms favor video content over other types of posts.

According to YouTube’s press page, the platform has “billions of monthly logged-in users.”

Additionally, more than 500 hours of videos are uploaded every minute.

Facebook videos are another powerful marketing tool, as are Instagram Stories and Reels.

These platforms, along with TikTok, LinkedIn, and others, allow video advertising, which can give your brand more exposure than creating text or graphics alone.

If you’re trying to target a younger audience, short form videos on TikTok may be the way to go.

Videos aren’t limited to just ads

While video ads are an extremely important tool for businesses, ads aren’t the only way to use video content. Video is just a medium, and as a business, you can do whatever you want to market your brand.

One of the best ways to promote your business is to provide value to your customers. You can use video as a teaching tool to improve the customer experience and set your brand apart from the rest.

Consider filming videos for your FAQs section of the website, releasing product demos, and showing how your business works behind the scenes. You can also make an explainer video about your products or your industry.

If you’re releasing a new product, you can make a short video on that product drop for social media.

Need something to post for the day? Make an Instagram story of your storefront or a few products you sell. You can even start a vlog, or video blog, for your business.

Types of videos you can publish:

• Educational content
• Animated explainer video
• Explainer videos where you talk about a subject related to your industry
• Advertisements or promotional videos
• Vlogs, or video blogs, to show behind-the-scenes content
• Product cinematics
• Company interviews
• Podcast
• Live video
• Webinar or event with gated sign-up to generate leads
• Short form content for TikTok and Instagram
• Testimonial videos

There are numerous ways to incorporate video into your marketing strategy. Don’t miss out on this powerful way to transform your website and social media content into something useful for customers and compelling to your target audience.

Conclusion

Videos are a powerful force in marketing. With video content, you’ll have the opportunity to discover new potential customers, improve your website’s SEO and traffic, keep customers engaged, and for your content to be shared across the web.

From starting a vlog to creating entertaining advertisements, there are many options to market your business through video. You don't need full-scale video production to take advantage of these trends. You can capture a ton of attention and leads just by using your iPhone.

Check out my other articles to learn more about digital marketing, writing, photography, and running a small business.

Featured image by Ross Sneddon, Unsplash.