Hey Friend,
In 2022 no one can deny that video is huge. And if you’re not using video content in your marketing, you’re going to fall behind.
So if you’re wondering how important video marketing is to your business, let me share a couple of stats with you. According to Act.com:
“The official YouTube blog said people watch over a billion hours of YouTube content every single day.”
“Earlier this year, Twitter revealed there are 2 billion video views on its platform every day. Additionally, tweets with video get ten times more engagement than those without.”
“Digiday says Facebook has over 8 billion video views a day. Interestingly, 85 percent of these are viewed without sound.”
So we all know that video is important, and you’re probably wondering where to start with video content in your marketing. But before we can go there, let’s go over some basics first.
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What is short-form video content?
Short-form video content is content that is under a minute long. So things like Tiktoks, Reels, and Youtube Shorts fall into this category. I personally think that anything under 3-5 minutes counts as short form as well but under a minute is the “technical” definition.
This type of content feels like someone just grabbed their phone and started talking as opposed to feeling more polished and scripted like a lot of longer videos do–usually because it’s hard to talk off the cuff for 10+ minutes on video.
Another way to think about it is Instagram vs. Tiktok. Instagram has been serving polished, airbrushed perfection, which people have slowly started moving away from. Most people are drawn toward the real-life authenticity that tends to dominate the landscape of Tiktok.
What is long-form video content?
This is longer video content in that it’s longer than short-form content. Duh! I look at LFC as video content that is longer than five minutes. Long-form video content reigns supreme on platforms like Youtube and sometimes Facebook.
So when do I use long-form over short-form content?
This depends on two things: the purpose and the platform you’re creating for. But the beautiful thing is that your long-form content can actually BECOME your short-form content. Essentially you can splice your LFC into smaller pieces and post it as SFC on your other platforms.
(I can go into this more in another blog post, because this is its own beast. So let me know in the comments if you want to hear more about that.)
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Now, to the main focus of this post…
How does video content help your bottom line?
I’ve put together a list of the top ways that video content (both short and long-form) can help you create more revenue in your business.
Video Content Increases Your Bottom Line By:
- Boosting sales → video content can help you explain what your product or service does much more effectively. If people “get it” they’re much more likely to buy it.
- Helping people to know, like, and trust you → the parasocial relationship (as explained to me by my mentor Rachel Pedersen) is the idea that people feel like they know you when they watch you through a screen–even though it’s essentially a one-sided relationship. This helps people trust that you’re a real person and helps them fall in love with you. And people want to buy from people they like!
- People pay more attention to video content → if you’re scrolling through your feed, chances are you’re more apt to scroll right by a wordy, text post. But if you post the same information in a video, people are more likely to stop their scroll and pay attention.
- Increases brand awareness → with so many social media platforms pushing video content, you have a much higher chance of being discovered by new audiences if you use video marketing. These social media platforms are TELLING us to use their video features. They’re pushing this type of content because it’s what their audience wants. It’s up to us to jump on the bandwagon.
- Generating leads → Because of the parasocial relationship described above, video marketing is a great way to generate leads for your business. If you’re able to deliver value AND connect with your audience, you’re going to get leads. I’ve seen it happen time and again for both myself and my clients.
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So if you’re ready to create a video marketing strategy for your business, let’s chat!
Whether you’re a seven-figure business or a creative solopreneur, I’d love to help you connect with (and convert!) your dream clients via video. If you’d like to learn more about how I can help, click here.
And if you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment and let me know.
xo,
Mollie
