Video Kills It: Content Marketing in the Visual Age
How much time did you spend watching versus reading today? The answer to that question drives one of the strongest trends in content marketing: Videos. The numbers behind video consumption, according to YouTube statistics, are hard to fathom:
- YouTube users watch more than 6 billion hours of video each month.
- Every minute, users upload more than 100 hours of video.
Experts expect the preoccupation with video will only grow in the years to come. In fact, a recent Cisco report predicts video consumption will make up about 69 percent of all consumer Internet traffic by 2017.
Clearly, there’s an audience and it’s growing.
Brands need to join this conversation. Most have moved into the 21st century with websites that emphasize visual experiences. The next challenge for many brands, though: telling their stories through the medium of video. And before you stop reading because your brand doesn’t lend itself to storytelling and short movies, check out your competitors. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
No matter what business you’re in, B2B or B2C, there are plenty of excellent examples of video content driving sales and achieving marketing objectives. Think with Google tracks outstanding campaigns, and their leaderboard showcases the top videos each month. Check out Interneterventions, created for Old Spice and winning 812 million viewers for its hilarious fake websites, and The Dali Museum Staring Contest ably demonstrates how to think outside the box with an irresistible staring contest via an app. The result helped this St. Petersburg, FL museum connect with fans from 50 different countries. The Creative Sandbox is a wonderland of clever campaigns that spark the imagination as it presents mini case studies. Among the more interesting inclusions is Nature Valley Trail View 2.0, a virtual hike through four national parks created by General Mills. The campaign got press in the New York Times and on NBC News. Page views and time on site are meeting their goals, and Nature Valley has garnered good will for inspiring viewers and helping to digitally preserve four iconic locations.
Forward-thinking companies are already leveraging these powerful resources from Google. Whether your target audience is ‘tweens or 30-somethings or billionaires, restricting your message to print (traditional or on a webpage) means you’re limiting your reach. Savvy brands realize that viewers who watch videos:
- Are more likely to make a purchase
- Spend more time on the site
- Share the content more easily and frequently
- Offers increased opportunities for interaction
Take a page from Lego and Honey Maid and think outside the box. Your audience is already there.
Kathleen Gossman – Project Manager
