Today, we see time and again the endless stats and advice from industry specialists about the growing popularity and need to not only produce video, but to produce good video content. Why? Screens are getting smaller. People are getting harder to engage. Not to mention, always on the move. And lets not forget the platforms people are using or think are “cool” at one moment, changes almost as fast as the speed of light. What does this mean for marketers trying to reach these unsatisfied and out of reach consumers? It means making content fit for mobile, versatile across platforms, engaging and sharable. Translation? Producing high quality video content (emphasis on the content).
We live in an age of information overload. Consumers are surrounded by constant hits of information and ads. It is thus vital to offer content that is easy to digest and content that is highly engaging. If not, consumers will simply move on. The video platform achieves this very well. You know that famous, old saying – a picture paints 1000 words? Well, I’m no mathematician, but that makes a one-minute video worth at least 1.5 billion words or so. Visual content is naturally engaging. If done right, you only need a few seconds to pull the viewer in and hold them long enough to leave an impression or better, make them want to share it (which, by the way is only a click away).
Lets talk reach. When it comes to potential reach with this form of content, video is matchless. Looking at YouTube, YouTube receives more than one billion unique visitors every month and more than one billion regular weekly users worldwide. This is more than any other channel (besides Facebook). Apart from YouTube, the number of visual content platforms is growing today faster than ever. Platforms like Instagram, Vine and Snapchat significantly add to videos being viewed more than four billion times a day and shared more than 50,000,000 a day. Name another form of content that can do that.
With such big numbers, comes the big question – is video production really possible, effective or even worth the investment for all businesses? Absolutely. Many years ago, there was no way of getting around high video production cost commitments. Today, there are more flexible options when it comes to video production. There are many more applications and platforms available today that are not only free to use, but are also very laid back and easy to work with. In fact, raw video content is becoming extremely popular. Platforms like vine and six second twitter clips or even snap chat videos are proving positive to be successful video marketing strategies. Raw, short clips are perfect for engaging millennials with their short attention spans and constant information heavy lifestyles. This style of video also makes great sharable content. Who doesn’t have six seconds anyway?
Ok, at this point I know what you’re thinking. Great reach, totally sharable, very effective…what’s the catch? The catch is coming up with great content. Even my 82-year-old grandmother can figure out how to make a vine (and that’s not a hit towards my grandmother), but in order to have success with video you need to get creative. A saying I recently read from the Guardian puts it perfectly – “creativity wins over the cost of production every time.”
My point is that everyone has a story to tell. It’s about finding that story, making it unique and relevant to your audience. Get that part right…or hire someone or a video production firm who can do it for you, and the video will be your content marketing. In that case, the cost of video production, big or small, will be well worth it.
