Why You Need To Be Using Video To Grow & Expand Your Business. - Epipheo

• Updated on: 2019-08-01
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Why You Need To Be Using Video To Grow & Expand Your Business.
Greg Jarboe 0 Opinions Advertising , B2B , B2C , Content Marketing , Digital Tactics , Lead Generation , Linkedin , Marketing , Marketing Tools , NFP , Research & Development , Social Media Marketing B2B , B2C , Business , Digital Marketing , Digital Tactics , Growth Hacking , Guest Post , Marketing , NFP , video , video strategy
Why You Need To Be Using Video To Grow and Expand Your Business.
After reading the headline of this article, you probably expect a long list of reasons why you should be using video to grow and expand your business. But, since you may not be using video yet, so a bunch of bullet points isn’t going to get you started.
What will? Well, let’s start with that ever-important group: the audience.
Who is watching videos?
During the 2018 Digital Content NewFronts in early May, Ogilvy and The Young Turks (TYT) released the findings of a study of nearly 2,400 TYT viewers ages 18 and over. The study examined their interactions with video content and advertising across all online video sources—not just videos from TYT.
Their research challenges many accepted norms. For example, viewers do not just watch video in a one-and-done fashion. In fact, 68% of respondents reported their average online video sessions last more than 30 minutes, with 40% reporting average sessions of over an hour. But, one of the biggest surprises was their discovery of who is watching videos.
The Ogilvy/TYT research found that 74% of Millennials report average session times of over 30 minutes, but that isn’t the entire story. The study also found 70% of Gen Xers, 63% of Baby Boomers, and 53% of Seniors also report average viewing sessions lasting over 30 minutes.
Now, conventional wisdom tells us online video is a young person’s pursuit, but the data refutes that. So, marketers who shy away from targeting the breadth of online video audiences risk missing a connection with older consumers.
What types of video are they watching?
According to Tubular Labs , people are watching many types of content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other social video platforms. In fact, 295 million videos have been published in the last 90 days which have already amassed more than 2.2 trillion (yes, that’s trillion with a T) views. And these 295 million videos fall into 21 different content genres:
General Interest (86.7M)
Family & Parenting‎ (62.6K)
Business (14.4K)
So, if you’re not using video to grow and expand your business, your competitors probably are.
Where are they watching video?
As the data above indicates, people are watching videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other social video platforms. People are also watching videos embedded on websites and blogs, in emails, and even in press releases.
Although people can watch videos in a wide variety of places, the most likely place that they’ll go to watch videos is YouTube. And at the 2018 Brandcast event in early May, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said, “With more than 1.8 billion monthly logged-in users (and those are only the logged in ones) and localized versions of YouTube stretching across 90 countries and 80 languages, we’re opening up the world to anyone with a cell phone and an internet connection.”
Wherever consumers or business buyers watch videos, you have absolutely no chance of getting them to purchase your products or services if you aren’t using video.
When are they watching video?
The Ogilvy/TYT research mentioned above also asked: when are these viewing sessions taking place? Half of all respondents (50%) had their sessions in the evening during prime time, while 29% leaned toward late-night viewing. Less than a third indicated that morning or afternoon viewing sessions are typical for them.
The Ogilvy/TNT data suggests these long viewing sessions are frequently occurring events, with 73% reporting having 30+ minute session views more than three days a week and 29% saying they view for 60 minutes or more per session on a daily basis. The respondents’ viewing patterns suggest that time spent with OLV competes directly with television’s most valuable time slots.
This gives you plenty of time to use video to increase awareness, consideration, and conversion as well as to grow and expand your business.
So, if you aren’t using video yet, or you’re just using video at the first stage of the buyer’s journey, then you’re missing a valuable opportunity.
Why aren’t you using video yet?
This seems like the right place and time to ask why you’re not using video. You may be waiting for the right opportunity. While you do, more and more of your competitors are seizing the opportunities that already exist. According to latest research by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 76% of B2C marketers and 72% of B2B marketers use videos for content marketing purposes.
Now, not all of them are using video effectively. But, the growing threat that you face is that more and more of them figure out what works before you even get started.
How do you measure your results?
Finally, like anyone interested in growing and expanding their business, you will want to know how to measure results. Now, in the early days of YouTube marketing, there was only one metric that everyone focused on: views. Hey, it was virtually the only metric we had.
Then Facebook got into the digital video marketing business. But, the social network defined views very differently. YouTube says you pay for a view when a viewer watches 30 seconds of your video (or the duration if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or engages with your video, whichever comes first. Facebook says you pay for a view when a video is displayed in a user’s news feed for 3 seconds or more, even if the person doesn’t actually click on the video to watch with the sound turned on.
So, the importance of your video’s view count is debatable. There are other metrics that will have a higher correlation with business objectives. This includes watch time, engagement (likes, shares, and comments), click-throughs (website traffic), conversions (including micro-conversions like subscribing to an email newsletter as well as macro-conversions like making a purchase), and economic value.
Actually, this could be the topic for a whole series of articles. So, let’s summarize by saying that video can now be measured in ways that align with a broad range of marketing goals. Including yours. Which is one more reason you need to be using video. And if you tell us what your goals are, we can help you find the video product that’s best for you.
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