Video, video, video. This is probably what the everyday content you come across looks like when you open Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and even increasingly LinkedIn and Email and other platforms depending on what you open.
On the other hand, if you have any doubts, for example about buying a product, what do you usually do? Well, the answer to that may not be the same for everyone, but in most cases – I look for a video with recommendations, experiences of those who are already using that product, descriptions of how the product is used, what it is most used for, and even comparisons of, say, the same product, but of different brands or comparisons of older and newer models.
When we make an equation from the first two statements in this text, it is equal to the following = marketers are increasingly using video as a marketing tool, and clients are increasingly looking for it.
Why is it so?
Let’s explain it through a few points, and it’s all about our perception of the content.
1. Video is the most attention-grabbing
Here are some surprising data. Believe it or not, the average attention span of a human today is shorter than that of a goldfish.
The average human has an attention span of just 8.25 seconds according to recent studies – 4.25 seconds less than in 2000. The humble goldfish has a 9-second attention span.
So what can you do during that time? To capture that attention and keep it after those 8.25 seconds. That’s why video is the ideal form that, with a good and effective start, can keep attention and focus. A good opening or a good beginning of the video can interest people more than the text, and why is that so, that’s where we come to the next point.
2. Video can combine the most different content
This is precisely what follows from the first item. Through a video that lasts 1-2 minutes, you can say much more than the two pages of text that would take you to explain everything. A combination of different contents is always a great solution, and all of this can be found in a video: frames, statements, photos, text, statistics, music, animations, and gifs… All these individual contents can be included in a video in, say, 2 minutes. Here is a piece of information related to that: According to McQuivey’s Forrester study, „How Video Will Take Over the World“: “Video is worth 1.8 million words.”
3. Video is the easiest way to absorb the most information
Easier absorption of information can be attributed to visualization. When you think about it, everything is much clearer to you when someone shows you than when you read about it, for example. Also, it takes much less time to look up how something is used or what someone’s experiences are with the product you are interested in, compared to the time you need to read the text. Think about this too, how many times have you, for example, looked at the user manual through the text of the photo, and it was not clear to you? That’s why you should use video as much as possible.
How can video be a powerful marketing “weapon” compared to other content? Here are some tips.
– Be short and effective
Short video formats, of course, do best. Therefore, it is very important to recognize who your target group is, that is, to whom you are addressing, as well as what your message is. Some ideas may require two or three videos and that’s okay. It is always a better option to make several short videos, rather than one that will last for example 10 minutes. And remember the beginning is key, that’s where you need to grab the attention and interest of the clients.
– Be funny, play
Of course, do this carefully and only if it is appropriate. Of course, not every video will be able to be witty and funny, but that also opens up wide possibilities. The point is to play and let your imagination run wild as much as possible. Go outside the box and feel free to further develop ideas that you may have already seen somewhere. Why is it important? Because this type of video always stays in the memory longer and leaves a stronger impression. An unusual approach opens up the possibility for you to be authentic and for people to remember you before your competition.
– Use tools to create thousands of videos
Video does not mean that you have a whole team to professionally shoot and edit. These types of videos can be recorded by phone or even created from some animations and more importantly, you can create thousands of different videos. That is, you give a task to the platform and it does it for you. It creates unique, personalized, and fast videos, such as Plainly. Take advantage of the benefits offered by such tools where you can easily change text, images, and almost any segment of the video and have it all done automatically so that while you do other things, the applications create the video for you.
Of course, all this does not mean that video should be the only content you should focus on. The more different content, the better, and for certain segments text or photos, for example, will be a better solution than video. In the last case, you are also reading about the video in this text 😊
