Video is Content King

Nevertheless, the distribution of content is not uniform. The last few years have seen an increase in video content, on the most diverse digital platforms. What is the reason for this trend? And what can we expect in the future?

Source: Freepik

Growth of video content

Although video marketing has been around for a few years, it was the pandemic that accelerated its growth. Successive confinements have forced the world’s population to live between four walls and seek alternative sources of entertainment and information.

According to a Cisco study, in the near future 82% of all online traffic will be in video format. This trend is also confirmed by Wyzowl, in which 86% of the companies surveyed use video. In addition, 92% of professionals say they use this type of content to consolidate their marketing strategy.

What is causing this growth?

• Decline of traditional advertising media

The ease of access to the Internet, as well as its increasing use, has had dramatic consequences for traditional marketing. Since consumers spend most of their time online, traditional advertising strategies lose effectiveness.

So marketers are forced to find alternatives to print ads, billboards or radio spots. For most, the solution lies in the creation of video content.

• Altered attention span

A study sponsored by Microsoft reveals that over the past 20 years our attention span has changed to such an extent that we are now able to focus for only eight seconds on a given task.

However, this claim has generated controversy among academics. Experts argue that our attention span depends on the task at hand.

Despite this debate, consumers of technology acknowledge their attention span decreases over a long period of time. In this survey by the Policy Institute and the Center for Attention Studies at King’s College London, there is a widespread belief that it is young people who are most affected by this trend.

The pandemic has also contributed to this feeling. Emotional and psychological exhaustion, the result of constant anxiety and uncertainty and the great flow of new information, has led the population to feel difficulty in tasks that require high levels of attention.

For this reason, there is a growing trend toward demand for easily digestible digital content. And among them, video is a favorite.

• Rise of TikTok

When everyone knew TikTok as a platform for user-created music and dance videos, this social network has reinvented itself.

The focus remains on short video content. However, more and more users are looking for educational and informative videos. This trend has popularized the platform and boosted an increasing volume of video content.

• Increasing volume of user-generated content

For many brands, capturing the attention of consumers requires combining traditional ads with user-generated content.

The impact of this type of content is justified by something very simple: they are people like us, with the same difficulties and challenges of everyday life, who advise us on products and services that will uncomplicate our lives.

Basically, these are contents that anyone can easily relate to. Add this to the desire for simplified information, and we have the perfect recipe: video content.

Why should companies double down on video content?

If you already use video marketing to promote your products and services, then you are on the right track. The next step is to double down on everything you already do. We explain why!

Source: Freepik

The Image Superiority Effect

Surely you know the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words.” It is likely that you have even used it. However, do you really know its meaning?

Pictures can tell stories, sometimes impossible to describe.

The Image Superiority Effect relates to this. The human brain memorizes and recognizes new information more easily when it is presented in pictures, rather than text. This is because images generate a verbal and visual code that helps us form new memories. As a result, the brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than written information.

For business owners and marketers, this may be the opportunity to develop memorable content. And how best to do this? Through emotions.

According to neuroscience, the decision-making process is highly related to what we feel. Thus, through visual stimulation, it is possible to activate areas of the brain that do not process language, but that trigger emotions and lead to a decision.

So why use video content?

There are several reasons. So let us present to you the most reported by marketers, worldwide.

• Customer engagement with the brand

If images are powerful, video is unbeatable!

Through video, brands are able to capture customers’ attention. The combination of text, images, and sound allows the compression of essential information in a short period of time. Thus, the information is processed faster, and is more likely to be remembered.

According to Brightcove, video content generates 1,200% more shares on social networks than any other type of content. This ability to generate strong emotions leads consumers to want to comment and share with others what they have just seen.

• Brand recognition

More and more companies are betting on video content as a strategy to promote brand awareness. If the goal is to capture and retain consumers’ attention, then video can be the key.

In the midst of so much information available on the Internet, everyone wants to find what they’re looking for quickly. Video allows marketers to present relevant content in a short amount of time. Thus, in addition to attracting the consumer, they will be conveying information that really interests them and that is easy to remember.

• Inciting consumers to action

Through storytelling, it is possible to create emotional videos that incite consumers to action. Not only those intent on sharing what they have seen, but also those who actually intend to buy a product or service.

According to Wistia, calls-to-action (CTA) included in video have a conversion rate that is around 16%. On the other hand, CTAs presented at the beginning and end of content perform more poorly.

This behavior is due to the relationship between consumer curiosity and interest. Generally, the use of CTAs in the middle of the video reveal a genuine interest in the products and services and not just the mere curiosity of the customer.

Source: Wistia.com

• Increase Organic Traffic

Opening a business and not advertising it is the perfect strategy for failure. This is exactly what happens in the digital environment. In a place where competition is global, it is important for brands to encourage consumers to visit their “home”.

Therefore, video content is a crucial tool for search engine optimization. They can increase the volume of unpaid visitors to websites by about 10%.

In addition, when consumers share a video, they create a link from that page. For Google, the more links a website has, the more reliable it is. As a result, its position in search results goes up, increasing its visibility to new consumers.

The importance of content strategy

The content strategy works like the blueprint of an architectural project in the construction of a building. In this document, the marketing professional details all the information needed for content creation.

Therefore, it is necessary to reflect and research in order to know who our target audience is, why we should create content, and how it will be disseminated. The goal is to captivate and engage the audience to promote the business and generate revenue.

Among several benefits, content strategy allows you to achieve your goals more easily, as well as track your progress. It also makes it easier to identify new opportunities and produce content that converts.

What should we consider when developing video content?

Source: Freepik

• Capturing the consumer’s attention

According to YouTube, the first 15 seconds of a video are vital to pinning the customer to the screen. The goal is to quickly show them what the video is about and what to expect. Strategies such as speaking directly to the camera or questioning the consumer can help spur their attention.

• Choosing the right platform for spreading content

The spread of social media offers various means on which to publish and disseminate video. However, that doesn’t mean you have to use them all.

YouTube leads the preferences of consumers and content creators. Therefore, there is little point in publishing on other social networks if you do not mark your presence on this platform.

Moreover, unlike Facebook, TikTok or Instagram, the most popular videos on YouTube continue to gain views several years after their publication.

• Optimizing videos for YouTube

Nowadays, creating viral content alone is not enough to achieve millions of views. Therefore, optimizing videos to appear in YouTube’s suggested videos list is a strategy widely used by entrepreneurs, marketers and influencers.

The platform’s algorithm analyzes video viewing time, as well as visitor engagement, to rank content. Similar to Google, the higher the ranking of a video, the greater its visibility.

To achieve this goal, it is important to use relevant keywords, optimize the video description, as well as use hashtags and create playlists to reach a wide audience.

Write a script
Speaking to the camera can be intimidating. In fact, even the most reputable actors have their cheat sheet! For this reason, it is important that your content strategy includes writing a script.

This practice allows us to plan and put down on paper all the ideas we want to convey. Like other content creation strategies, the script should have a beginning, middle and end, not forgetting the CTA.

However, there is an important factor to consider: the way we speak is very different from the way we write. Therefore, to create empathy with the consumer, it is important to write a script that approximates orality.

The video content of the future

The emergence of YouTube in 2005 revolutionized the way we watch and create video. As society evolves, the tools we use every day adapt to our needs.

The growing popularity of video content is a reflection of this. As younger generations enter the digital world, new trends are emerging. In this sense, what can we anticipate for the near future?

User-generated content, educational videos, and social commerce are the most popular trends that are likely to continue to grow. In addition, partnerships between brands and influencers can be expected to increase.

The growth of digital communities will lead to the diversification of platforms used by consumers. Thus, video marketers predict an increase in the volume of digital events.

Associated with all this is the technological evolution, which shows no signs of slowing down. Thus, augmented reality (AR) content is emerging. This is especially important among the younger audience. By creating an immersive digital experience, brands can easily reach an audience that was born into the digital world.

For content creators, the coming years will be challenging. Therefore, the big question arises: how to develop engaging videos for an increasingly less available audience?

Every brand will have its own vision of the way forward. However, there is one thing they can never neglect: their ability to create empathy with the customer by appealing to his emotions.