What is Content Marketing?
Content Marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – ultimately driving profitable customer action.
Content Marketing can come in many shapes and forms and is often considered “soft selling” which focuses on providing valuable content and educating your customers. It taps into the early stages of consumers’ buying process: raising awareness, educating, recognizing a need, and comparing and evaluating alternatives.
Content Marketing helps you to stand out from your competition; by allowing you to exhibit your unique selling point freely, establish relationships and create aspirations for your brand.
In the realm of content marketing, one channel is rising above others in terms of engagement, efficiency, and cut-through: Video.
Here are 7 reasons why you should learn and begin video production for social media:
1. Video is preferred
People love videos because they’re visually appealing, easier to digest, and quick to consume. Knowing this, it might not come as a big surprise that video traffic already accounts for over 80% of all traffic on the Internet.
Would you rather watch a 3-minute video or spend 30 minutes reading a 3000-word blog? The easiest option is most often the preferred option.
If you’re skeptical about the powers of video, you need to understand how your audience consumes media. There’s no hiding from the explosion of video content on social platforms. The most downloaded social media app of 2022 so far is, once again, TikTok, an application solely dedicated to video content. TikTok’s popularity has pushed the video platform onto the radar of big tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Google, and they are growing their own follower bases on the social media platform.
If this piques your interest in video production, take a look at our Video Production for Social Media course.
2. Video has great return-on-investment (ROI)
If you’re still not sure about adopting video, then it’s worth exploring how other marketers are finding video as a tool. According to a recent survey, 87% of marketers have reported a good ROI from using video.
Most of this investment will come from careful consideration of content being created v budgets available. Most marketers have in-house capabilities, which helps keep costs down compared to going externally.
3. Social media platforms are set up for video
TikTok is not alone that focused on video. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all host video, with a recent rise in video content on all of those platforms. They’ve all developed new ways of sharing bite-sized videos, known as ‘stories’ or ‘shorts’.
Instagram’s reels are a direct competitor to TikTok: short video content that can be shared with a wide audience.
To learn more, take a look at our Social Media Marketing course & Lead Generation with Social Media course
4. Video can be shared globally
With the popularity of social video rising, videos from anywhere can be shared all over the world, helping brands reach a much bigger audience. It only takes a like or retweet from the right person and your video can become viral, instantly reaching millions of followers.
It used to take Hollywood movies weeks or months to get that kind of engagement. Now, it is possible for anyone to be able to do it within seconds or minutes which is really powerful.
5. Video production is more accessible than ever
Companies and marketers can be put off by the price of video production. It can be expensive but keep in mind that great ROI.
Not all content needs full-scale production. In fact, most videos uploaded online are low-quality. Nowadays, with technological advancements, low-price cameras can also produce great quality, and big brands are also using phones to produce adverts, it’s possible to create great content with the tools you already have at your disposal.
Find out how with our Video Production for Social Media course.
6. Video can improve your SEO
It’s not just important to use video for your social channels but on your website too.
Here’s a startling stat from one source: “you’re 53 times more likely to show up first on Google if you have a video embedded on your website”.
Depending on your (or your client’s) company, there are many ways to do this: a brand video on your homepage; an explainer video on your ‘about us page; or a careers video on your team/contact pages.
To learn more about SEO, take a look at our SEO Course.
7. Video builds trust
In a fast-moving and ever-changing world, trust is key. Audiences want brands that are authentic and provide trustworthy products and services.
Video helps you do this. It’s a chance for the audience to see the real you; your values and your goals.
Explainer videos are not only the most popular format of video but they are also the best way to teach an audience about your product/service. Howeverm, would you rather watch a 3-minute video or spend 30 minutes reading a 3000-word blog? The easiest option is most often the preferred option. If you’re creating videos, using a video editor online can make the process even smoother, allowing you to produce high-quality content quickly.
To improve on professional image and branding, do check out our Professional Image and Business Etiquette in Personal Branding course
In today’s digital marketing world, video is becoming the go-to tool. It can help improve sales, acquire new customers, and build a relationship between your company and its audience.
If the above reasons pique your interest in video production, take a look at our Video Production for Social Media course.
