Video content has quickly emerged as a leading practice in content marketing. Every minute, more than 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. Every month, 1 billion unique visitors go to the site to watch 6 billion hours of video. It’s this rate of consumption that prompted brands to invest in video content, but it’s the results that compel them to create full-fledged marketing campaigns around digital content.
LinkedIn’s B2B Technology Marketing Community Group Owner Holger Schulze surveyed professionals and found that video is seen as the fifth most-effective content marketing type. Approximately 75 percent of B2B buyers see this format as effective, coming in behind customer testimonials, case studies, in-person events and online articles.
Brafton previously reported on a similar finding in the 2013 Content Survey Report from IMN, which found 18 percent of marketers see video as an effective format. B2Bs might generate more ROI from video marketing because their customers appreciate easily digestible clips that explain products and demonstrate services, but that’s not to discount B2Cs’ efforts to make money off their new visual campaigns.
75 percent of B2B buyers see video as effective, coming in just behind customer testimonials, case studies, in-person events and online articles.
Google released data about the back-to-school shopping season, showing consumers now turn to YouTube for reviews about products and inspiration for upcoming purchases. In a single week, more than 205,000 ‘haul videos’ were uploaded to the ‘net (these are user-created clips showcasing items purchased on recent shopping trips). Finding that four in 10 viewers will visit stores after watching videos online, brands have created channels to host videos that feature popular merchandise and promote sales. Verizon Wireless, Office Depot and Kmart are among those that have already jumped on the opportunity to engage with customers through video.
If video continues to drive viewers to ecommerce sites and brick-and-mortar storefronts, it’s likely marketers will hedge their bets on this emerging content vertical and put greater stock in its success.
