For a lot of you, this will be preaching to the converted, but if you need any help convincing your boss to increase next year's video budget, consider throwing some of these stats into your next presentation. For the few who still aren't sold on video - what's holding you back?
Video is taking over
We are in the midst of a monumental shift in media consumption. From social tools like Vine to Facebook's acquisition of LiveRail, video is staging a wholesale takeover of the marketing world. There's no denying it's the most dominant medium when it comes to reaching your audience, and it's only set to get bigger.
Back in 2012 video was already making big waves, with 57% of all consumer internet traffic attributed to videos. Unsurprisingly this is set to jump to nearly 70% in the next few years.
So what portion of your marketing spend is set aside for video? Five percent? Ten? Think again. Video ad spend is predicted to double in the US over the next few years, to $8 billion. If you want to keep up, you can't just pay lip service to video; you need to put your money where your mouth is. If video is still an afterthought when it comes to your budgeting, now's the time to reevaluate your investment.
The majority of internet users, regardless of age, gender or income, are watching video.
While we all know that teens are early video adopters, you certainly can't ignore the Gen Xs or even the baby boomers. They're watching too, and they're just waiting for you to reach out to them with your creative, emotional, thought-provoking videos.
Why video works
When we define our goals for our online marketing, many are around traffic and engagement on social sites. You rely on these numbers to determine whether your campaigns are working and statistics show that you'll be pleasantly surprised at video's positive impact on these metrics.
Video can increase organic traffic to your site likely to increase by 157% and drives higher engagement on social and in PR.
Video isn't just entertaining, it actually drives sales. Period. Forty-six percent of people say they are more likely to seek out product info after viewing an online video, and an amazing eighty-five percent are more likely to purchase after seeing a product video. These numbers prove that effective video strategies mean you're likely to hit business objectives sooner than with any other medium.
Make video work for your business
Plan, produce and promote are your three mantras. Come up with a well-rounded video content strategy, and establish your SMART goals, target marketing, and budget. Then execute it: it's not easy to produce outstanding content, but it's undeniably worth it.
With such a myriad of channels at your disposal, you can't afford to just hope your audience will stumble across your video - put as much energy into promoting your video as you did producing it, and you will be rewarded. Think of the obvious social channels such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter but also consider lesser known tactics such as targeting influencers in your industry and asking them to share your video with their followers.
One last thing - once you've got your video in front of your audience, take a page out of our friend Miklos' book, and make sure you analyze and learn from how your video performs.
Now, go and make some video.
Thanks to Delos Incorporated for the compelling infographic.