Marketing is a very broad and open topic that can cover pretty much anything. However, it’s the job of every good analyst to know exactly what pays off. In this post we are going to explore the three main reasons why videos are becoming so popular and worthwhile in marketing and branding.

First there was Twitter and Facebook where sharing your short thoughts was a great way to provoke customers in engaging with companies, then we had Instagram which brought on the era of imagery and visualizations, and at last we’ve moved onto videos with YouTube, Vine, MixBit and now even Instagram Videos. According to a Youon Infographic a page with just text will be looked at for an average of 48sec whereas a page with a video can drive up to 5 min and 50 sec on a website!

1. Picture worth a thousand words

We love pictures, because they are worth a thousand words. It’s easier to look at something and interpret it emotionally rather than just read a really long text about it. Videos are the “1000 words per 3 seconds” kind of picture. YouTube videos go viral because people enjoy seeing and having information handed to them rather than having to look for it. That’s why it’s an amazing marketing tool, that even Kmart has found a use for, to boost up sales and SEO.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I03UmJbK0lA]

Sharing videos promotes and moves up your page. Why? Well, because videos are always on top of the search engines result page (SERP) so if someone sees a video that answers their needs they will certainly look into it! Once a video is seen and liked it might just take a potential customer one click further – to your website. This way a potential searching human being becomes my customer who just happened to see my video, and that awesome new customer can share that video to bring in more customers. Thus we have the video marketing domino effect.

2. Stop. Now loop!

Vine is a great place for those who just don’t have the time or resources for advanced and over the top YouTube virals. A great site that requires having a smartphone and downloading a Vine app. Shortstop videos that are looped can give way to an amazing (yet still very creative) promotional, contest or sale info, and even shout out video from a company. By company we mean ANY company. Whether you are selling shoes online, or helping people with their bank accounts – Vine is a great app to keep customers interested and engaged in your daily life, which in turn earns their trust.

The following video appeared on the MailChimp Vine account, it’s a great example of engaging viewers (potential customers) to see their daily life:

3. Commercials for free

Ever think to yourself “I’m an online store and I don’t want to spend money on TV ads”? Well think no more! Using Instagrams 15 sec. videos you can make your very own commercial (using either your smartphone, or by downloading onto your phone something you’ve created with other equipment) and without even paying put it online. Instagram has a community of over 40 million followers! Now THAT is a lot of potential customers. Of course you can’t reach all of them, but for free even a small fraction of that potential is great for video marketing.

Take a look at Starbucks – they took their merchandise just a step further by reaching out to Instagramers:

Video marketing – the future

And that future is now! Take advantage of the free resources that bring on great SEO results, bring in new customers, and create buzz around your company. For more inspiration and a detailed guide check out Distilled. From tutorials on how to do something, commercials that inspire, finally all the way to quirky infographics in videos, anything is possible with a little creativity and a couple goals. Even PayLane used this free and valuable tool to show something new and helpful! Check out our short video on Start Ups:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HolejFOXcpk]

Now take out your camera and start rolling, success is just around the corner.

Let us know what you think and comment! If you have any questions you can find us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Sara

Journalist and painter turned content marketing specialist at PayLane. This hat wearing and art loving creature nerds around any and all social media sites. Constantly researching and looking for new ways to improve your business stats and campaigns using social media marketing. This Sherlock Holmes of news, focuses on photojournalism studies in her free time. You name it, Sara will find it.