Videos are becoming more and more prominent on the internet. The reality is, they’re awesome additions to your website if you’re looking to boost your brand’s SEO.
If you’ve seen video marketing statistics in the last few years, you might have noticed an increasing interest and significant growth in explainer videos and video content in general. These numbers aren’t rising randomly. There are several reasons why video content is making waves in content marketing.
First, there’s the change in content preference. Although text and images remain present, and we still see them on a daily basis on the web, there’s no doubt that video content is becoming a more apparent favorite for users.
Second, they’re easy to digest. The honest truth is that no one really has the time and attention span to go through a 10-page article.
Compared to a video, a text-heavy article certainly isn’t something someone who wants quick and digestible content would choose. A video requires less effort to consume and can contain as much information as an article would minus the reading.
Third, videos are proven to have results. According to the newly-published expert roundup, explainer videos can help marketers boost their conversion rates and close more deals in no time.
In this article, we’re going to learn more about why explainer videos should be used by businesses and brands to further better their marketing strategy.
- They Offer a Great Way to Explain Who You Are
Sometimes you have a thousand words to say about who your brand is, but not many people have the time and attention span to go through a thousand words. Images, on the other hand, are known to be worth a thousand words. Now, combine it with sound, then you have a video.
Videos are informative and can carry a lot of information in a compact format. Videos are much easier to digest and fun to watch than reading articles. They can effectively explain your brand and message, minus having to worry about word count.
Since videos are easy to digest, you have more freedom to talk about your brand or business. Also, videos can explain in ways that words or images can’t do alone.
For example, an SMB can tell a bit about their brand in a short clip uploaded on social media or on their website. This doesn’t have to be a lengthy video and can repurpose existing content.
- They Can Increase Conversion Rates
As we mentioned before, video content can effectively boost conversion rates. According to statistics by HubSpot, emails with videos have an increased click rate of 300%. Businesses have used videos on their sites for many years in several ways.
Some examples of videos on websites include a video on a homepage, landing page, or in some cases, product videos on the product pages.
Videos that explain or showcase products or services are great at increasing sales. When people see products or services on video, it increases the chances of them making a purchase.
Before making a purchase, we tend to look for reviews and how that product will be useful for us. Reading reviews online is usually one thing we do, but there are better ways to research a product, and we believe that videos are great at showcasing a product or service’s benefits and features.
For small to medium-sized businesses, it might be tedious and time-consuming to upload a video for every existing product if you don’t have the right resources. Instead of focusing on creating a video for every product, you can use testimonials from your customers if they upload it on social media.
- It Gives Your Customers a Sneak Preview of Your Brand
Videos are excellent at showing a sneak preview of your brand. There are a lot of examples on social media where short clips are used by brands to show bits and pieces of their story and values.
Using short videos to reach out to your audience is a great way to showcase your brand without excessive and hard-selling.
The short duration will ensure that it won’t take much of their time, and these days, ephemeral content on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook is growing significantly. So, posting short videos are encouraged by these platforms.
- They’re a Great Educational Tool for Customers
Sometimes your customers have a lot of questions about your business, and most of the time, their questions have been answered dozens of times. Most people don’t bother to visit a FAQ on sites.
Customer support can be overwhelmed with so many simple questions. This can be stressful, especially when they could be tackling harder questions.
Having a video that could answer your customer’s questions would be a great tool for them and your customer support. It would help your customers figure out what they’re looking for and ease your customer support’s workload.
These videos don’t have to be high production. In fact, something as simple as a whiteboard explainer video might be able to do the job. So, for SMBs looking to invest in an explainer video without breaking their budget, this might be a good option.
- Videos are Attention-Grabbing and Can Increase Engagement
When you see a video on a homepage, there’s a huge probability you’ll watch it. Videos are great at grabbing attention, and they’re great at retaining it. Due to this, websites with videos have low bounce rates.
Compared to reading a block of text, videos are highly engaging because they keep the viewers intrigued. When choosing between a book or a video, we tend to choose the latter because it’s more interesting and interactive to watch.
Videos are also a good way to build a connection and trust with your audience. This works because videos are great storytelling tools and stories are easy to relate to.
- They are Cost-Effective
Investing in a video may seem costly, but when you are able to repurpose your video in many ways, it actually makes it more cost-effective.
Once you have a video, you can repurpose them on different platforms. Doing this will help you reach out to different audiences. Instead of starting from scratch, you can use bits and pieces of the video and publish them on social media.
Another thing you can do is use user-generated content or videos from your customers. This saves you time and money. You don’t have to create a video from scratch and your customers would love the idea of being able to contribute to their favorite business.
- A Great Tool for Staff Training
Similar to educating your audience, explainer videos can also help train your staff easier. For example, product videos can help educate your staff on your product line and business in detail.
When training new staff, it can be tedious to explain the brand and its products, especially if you are hiring multiple times. Having an explainer video on hand can make this training process much easier.
A couple of examples of this would be Skillshare and Masterclass. They use the element of video and graphic design to get messages across. Other than staff training, explainer videos can also be used to upskill staff.
SMBs don’t have to go all out and hire a studio to create staff training videos. Although video quality is important, starting small and simple with recorded footage will do just fine.
Wrapping It Up
Explainer videos are handy for a lot of reasons. Although we managed to cover a measly seven reasons in this article, it will hopefully give you an idea of what a worthwhile investment it can be.
Videos aren’t simply for showing and telling. They can be a medium to connect with your audience and interact with them. They’ve also shown results in improving a brand’s credibility and overall online presence.
Due to this, many brands and businesses have started to embrace and encourage the use of video content on their sites and social media platforms. Although text and images still dominate content marketing and are still in demand, videos are beginning to become more and more saturated on the web.
Videos are also good for SEO. A site is more likely to be featured on the first page of Google’s search results if they have a video included.
Even though it can grow your traffic, increase engagement, and lower bounce rates, making a video takes some skill and effort. However, it’s not an impossible task. You don’t have to have a big budget to start creating videos. In fact, there are a lot of simple explainer videos you can learn from.
SMBs with a limited budget can craft their own explainer videos. There are various online tools such as Canva that provide users with free stock images and videos to use. If you have existing footage, you can also use free video editors to create short clips to upload onto social media platforms. Also, as we mentioned in the article, using user-generated videos and webinars is another way to get videos without breaking your budget.
