Why Inbound Video Marketing Will Skyrocket Your Conversions

Why Inbound Video Marketing Will Skyrocket Your Conversions 

Did you know that video marketing has now overtaken images, ebooks and infographics as the primary content format for many forward-thinking marketers? 

The 2020 Not Another State of Marketing Report from HubSpot found that 60% of marketers class content marketing as being ‘very important’ to their organisation, with many brands creating content for three different marketing personas to deliver “optimised, personalised” content. 

And how are they doing that? By increasingly prioritising video marketing.

Video is the number one form of media being used to meet content marketing goals, easily surpassing more traditional content formats.

Video can feel a little overwhelming, especially if you have been burned before and struggle to connect siloed teams. 

As with any form of marketing, it needs to be measured and strategic.

So if you have an inexperienced team, utilising the most effective distribution challenges, getting the technical side right and then being able to measure against KPIs such as conversions, engagement, email subscriptions and each improved organic search performance, is far from a given. 

So, we know video is essential, and lots of brands are doing it, but now let’s explore how you can use it to scale your service business quickly.

It Attracts 

The inbound marketing methodology focuses around drawing consumers to you by offering them valuable content and personalised experiences, forming connections and solving problems rather than disrupting. 

Video is an ideal medium for this, given its popularity with audiences of all ages, and with the correct strategy, can aid your service business at each stage of the marketing flywheel, beginning with attraction and turning strangers into potential leads. 

How? Consumers are now actively seeking out video content at a greater rate than ever before. This is especially true for younger generations with millennials said to spend an average of 2.4 hours per day watching online videos. 

While for Gen Z, the online video experience takes up 3.4 hours per day on average.  

A YouTube poll found that 50% of both demographics said they “don’t know how they’d get through life without video”.

As per HubSpot, video is quickly becoming the go-to for those looking for solutions to problems or challenges and brand discovery:

Social videos are incredibly powerful here and soaring in popularity. Instagram says that in Q1 2019, video accounted for just 0.8% of all content posted to the platform. In Q1 2020, that figure had soared to 17.1%.

Video Is Perfect For Storytelling

Could there be a medium better suited to storytelling than video? 

Using video gives you limitless scope to tell your brand story, introduce your team, take viewers behind the scenes of service delivery and showcase your visions and values. 

From taking your audience along to a significant round table event or special occasion to sharing a customer’s experience with your product, video provides the ideal format to tell a story and share messages which resonate with your audience. 

Google research shows that six in 10 adults prefer online video platforms over watching TV, while the time spent watching YouTube on a TV screen is doubling year on year. 

Why? Because videos are easily digested, it taps into our hunger for entertainment and is more dynamic than textual information.

The Digital Marketing Institute describes this as a win-win:

“By using storytelling and unique types of media, you can easily catch people’s attention and hold it while they’re being entertained.”

It Engages

Christina Perricone, content manager for marketing automation software HubSpot says, 

That’s true of all content formats; significant benefits are available when the content deployed is video. 

Why? Because it’s what your audience wants to see. The latest research suggests that over half of consumers now expect brands to produce a video. The desire for this format means it is naturally well-received. The medium itself is also more compelling than a black and white blog post or a static infographic. 

Medium says the video is engaging because it taps into the human brand’s auditory and visual senses much more effectively than other types of content, creating an instant trigger in the brain and turning on recall ability. 

“In essence, the video brings together two things that catch our attention like nothing else: movement and noise. Both these features play a significant role in conveying an efficient message. As opposed, the text relies on a specific choice of words, punctuation and visual cues (i.e. emojis) to set the desired tone.

“Our brain loves video because it is programmed to retain visual content better than a page loaded with words. According to studies, the average viewer remembers 95% of a message when watched, whereas only 10% when read.”

It Converts & Closes

We’ve seen that consumers are increasingly seeking out video, with some audiences having grown up with that technology. 

It’s also a medium that lends itself well to discovery, to entertaining and informing – all of which adds up to increased conversions. 

A video which educates and excites can draw consumers further along the path to purchase and give them the extra push needed to convert by bringing the solution to their problem to life. 

Data from Pinterest tells us that its users are more than twice as likely to buy after viewing a branded video on the platform, while 75% of Instagram users take action after viewing a brand’s video, with 72% of video ad viewers clicking to buy after viewing. 

There are some powerful stats when it comes to using video to scale too, with Social Media Today reporting that those brands who use video grow revenue 49% faster than those who do not. In contrast, 93% of businesses gain a new customer as a result of a video shared to social media.

Download Your Copy Of Bound To Grow: The High Growth Companies To Scaling Revenues Using Inbound Marketing

Video Delights Customers

The role of video doesn’t stop after a customer converts; it can also be used during the ongoing relationship to delight with additional useful content, such as getting started guides, advanced user tips and further training.