On October 31st, the world’s population hit 7 billion. But what might be more fascinating is that, for the first time in human history, it is possible to connect with the rest of the world instantly. Whether you are showcasing the evolution of dance, or simply pleading with people to “leave brittney alone,” the exponential rise of online video has allowed a single person to be seen by millions.
“What Gutenberg did for writing, online video can do for face-to-face communication,” —Chris Anderson, TED.”
So what does that mean for brand marketing? Put simply, video gives a brand the ability to connect with, market to, and expand its customer base in a way written campaigns simply can’t. Besides just bandwidth, video packs a huge amount of data. And our subconcious brains are uniquely wired to decode that information.
Take for example, the difference between being at a meeting versus just reading the notes someone took during that same meeting. When you are present at the meeting, there is a lot more being transfered to you than just words. And in that non-verbal portion, there is the potential for some serious marketing magic.
Think about this simple fact: one minute of video equals 1.8 million words. The amount of information contained in a single frame of video can take three pages to describe. The mood, the colors and the message is absorbed immediately. Somewhere hidden in the physical gestures, vocal cadence and facial expresions, there is a single idea that is trying to be communicated. As with face to face communication, there are hundreds of subconscious clues that affect how a potential customer will understand the idea that is trying to be communicated.
Check out the picture below. Which steak you would be more likely to order?
Obviously the picture above is able to “sell” the steak in a way that a written menu can’t. However, this concept extends far beyond restuarants and is likely relevant to your brand.
In film school, the old saying of “Show. Don’t Tell” was practically beaten into me. But now I’m seeing that adage is starting to hold true in the marketing world as well. If you want to sell something, you first have to sell the idea. And right now, video is the most powerful online tool you have at your disposal.
Still don’t think your brand needs video?
- Cisco estimates that video will be about 90% of all internet traffic in 2013.
- YouTube is the 2nd ranked search tool behind Google, taking up 31% of ALL web searches.
- 64% of retail site visitors who view video stay two minutes longer in average compared to a site that does not contain video. In the e-commerce world, the longer a visitor stays on the site, the greater the chances of him turning into a buyer.
- Between January 2010 and January 2011 viewing time of videos grew by an amazing 44.5%.
- Video in mail marketing has been shown to increase click through by 96%
- With the right optimization, video increases the chances of a front-page Google search result by 53 times.
- Internet retailers report that visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to buy the product than visitors who do not look at videos.