Friday, March 11, 2016

Video Marketing Killed the Radio Star

Video marketing is hailed as the ‘new darling’ of the marketing world, per a recent HuffPost Business blog.  By 2017, 74% of all web traffic will be video.  Some of the factors cited as contributing to its popularity include:
  • Facebook: highlighted is the new capability to allow video to be watched while browsing the news feed
  • SEO: search engines favor rich media & an obvious call-out – Google owns YouTube
  • Friendliness: videos are cited as being easier on the brain in an information overload generation
  • Viral: video is more likely to be shared and re-shared than other media
  • Multiple Birds: video can help with a number of marketing and engagement metrics and initiatives

Video isn’t just fun – it’s also effective.  96% of consumers said that video was helpful when making a purchase decision online, and 58% of them consider companies that produce videos more trustworthy.

A Forbes article builds on this insight, spotlighting an industry that is leveraging video to have a big impact.  Buying a mattress online would be very cumbersome without the aid of video.  This industry already saw success with tv spots ranging from bowling balls to full wine glasses propped on mattresses.  For Tempur-Pedic, their use of video to showcase their memory foam mattress led to an increase of 300 percent in phone inquiries.

In today’s world, Purple, a new mattress player, is using the raw egg test with online video to show how the mattress is adept at cradling pressure points while supporting the body.  Their YouTube video has 1.3M views, and the same spot on Facebook had 6.5M views in a matter of weeks.

Since we’re not all selling mattresses for a living, the article summarizes three key lessons in the use of video marketing:
  1. Simple is Best
  2. Take a Genuine approach
  3. Start with a Bang


The potential with video is endless, and watching different industries and companies test their way into this channel is, if nothing else, entertaining.

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