Are you prepared for video content in the upcoming years?

You better be. Because it’s happening whether you like it or not. Marketing or any other field, video been gaining pace over the years with the rise of more creators, artists, and other individuals.

Capturing and sharing it with the world couldn’t be easier these days with high specs smartphones, DSLRs, portable cams like GoPro on the hands of the consumers in this day and age.

From cats, babies, daring stunts, pranks and a lot more going viral each and every day on the Internet whether it’s short or long format, audiences generally like to be entertained and hooked to video content.

And the possibility of text content shrinking to non-existence can be considered as a stage which could happen in the future with the rise of Voice Search and other formats.

If a picture could speak thousands of words, imagine the impact of a video on your consumers or audience. To promote your brand or identity, your services, your methods, culture, live-streams and much more. So don’t get left behind, stay ahead of the curve.

Let us put up some numbers first before we get into the actual stuff. So stay with me.

The State of Video Marketing in 2018.

• 157% Video Drives Traffic – Video increases organic traffic from search engines by 157%. New user growth is more effective when using video content as part of your discovery process.
• 99% Video Production – Those who already do use video, say they’ll continue to do so in this year and the coming years.
• 88% Video Retains Visitors – The Average website visitor spends 88% more time on a website that contains video content onsite.
• 69% Video Influence – of people have been convinced to buy a piece of software or application by watching a video.
• 85% Branding – of people say they’d like to see more video from brands in 2018.

These are just a few of the numbers or stats you could find easily on the Internet. But we just wanted to paint a picture for you.

We will put up more stats throughout the piece. So make sure you stick around to read the whole content we have gathered up here.

But, why Video

With ROI.

83% of businesses say that video provides a really good ROI. Even though video production is not yet the easiest nor cheapest task for companies on a smaller scale or any startups, it pays off big time. Besides, online video editing tools are constantly improving and becoming more affordable over the years.

Now that we are in 2018, there are many tools available online for free and well as paid. And even your smartphone can make pretty decent videos already.

Building Trust.

Building trust is the very foundation for companies and brands. And video content is a two-way ticket for both parties. The whole concept of content marketing is based on trust and creating long-term relationships with your customers or audience. As each day goes by, your customers are getting smarter and smarter on how they interact with the content you put out there.

Stop selling and let the people come to you by providing them interesting and useful information. By that, you are providing value to your customers.

Mark Schaefer, the Executive Director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions:

“The new era demands a focus on ignition, not just content, on trust, not just traffic, and on the elite people in your audience who are spreading and advocating your content.”

Video content is likely to engage us and ignite emotions. And when we talk about elite people in the audience, YouTubers and Instagram have become the most powerful social media platforms over the years with video content figure to promote your brand. So, if you are serious about content marketing, you must be serious about video, too.

Google Loves you More.

Videos allow you to increase the time spent by visitors on your site. Imagine a 3-4 minute long video, that effectively gives you 3-4 minutes spend on your website as well. The chances of reading 3-4 minute long blogs or text content stand no chance against video content of that length and will have more impact on your audience as well.

Mobile User Impact.

Video and smartphones go hand in hand. 90% of consumers watch video contents on their phone. From Q3 of 2013, mobile video views have grown more than 233%.

YouTube reports smartphone video consumption rises 100% every year. Since people like to watch videos OTG, and the number of smartphone users is growing by the day, your video audience keeps getting bigger and bigger. Add smart TV, tablets and other digital gadgets to the mix, bringing more and more impact.

Better Explanation.

Are you launching a new product or a service? Create a video to show how it works. 98% of users say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. That is why 45% of businesses who use video marketing said that they have an explainer video on their home page to them hooked the moment they drop by. Of those businesses, 83% said that their homepage explainer video was effective.

Animated videos are a perfect combination of entertainment, nostalgia, and simplicity. And they work.

Here’s a really good example by Ted Education. Make sure you subscribe to their YouTube channel. Their content is gold and very informative.

Get Hold of Your Lazy Customers.

A video is a great tool for learning and educating, but it’s also super easy to consume minifying major obstructions. Today’s life is too busy to have time to read long product brochures, blogs or any dig deep info in text format.

The modern customer wants to see the product live in action Video preference is one of the most important driving forces of using video in your content marketing.

Make sure you go for the ears as well, not just their eyes. We need all the force to pull them to our side and share our values with them.

Drives More Shares and Engagements.

Social networks encourage video content with their features. Facebook has launched 360° Video, Live Video and their Watch platform. Instagram put in place 60-Second Videos & Instagram Stories, Twitter has Periscope. And YouTube is the second most popular social network in the world. And there is a reason why it’s at the very peak growing over the years with the popularity of video content over the years.

However, in a social media platforms, video marketers must remember that people share emotions, not facts. They have a higher impact compared to illusions.

Emotions are not exactly ROI but social shares can increase traffic to your site, and the rest is up to you and your team to work the magic and create a long thread and to tie the other end to make a loop.

We believe over the time text would shrink to non-existence and video format will take over and be the new standard.