Brands that aren't confident about their ability to track online customer behavior should use a comprehensive video strategy.

One of the main benefits of video marketing is the ability to attract and maintain contact with the most qualified leads. It also encourages engagement that leads to stronger relationships and higher-value sales when compared to other kinds of prospects. Yet how can brands be sure about this?

The answer is that video marketers are simply better at tracking individuals and groups of contacts. According to new research by The Aberdeen Group, companies that use video have a 129 percent higher capacity to track audiences. They also discovered 43 percent of brands with video marketing plans in place claim they can follow customer behavior from one channel to another. Only 16 percent of brands without video could say the same.

One video to rule them all

Why is video so helpful for collecting data and tracking customers? There are a few reasons:

1. Videos can be customized with specific HTML codes so wherever they’re shared or embedded, they report data back to their creators.
2. When videos are hosted by YouTube, the network provides a wealth of information about views themselves and the engagement content gets.
3. Unlike written content, which is beholden to metrics about the pages they’re on, video provides unique engagement data, such as average watch time and total number of plays.

Want to learn more about creating a comprehensive video strategy?
 
Check out our Video Marketing Playbook for tips on how to get started.

Get video viewers and watch them convert

All of this data from videos helps brands create more resources that lead to conversions. A client in the business process management field discovered this when we designed a comprehensive video strategy for them.

Our first step involved collecting as much data as possible about the users who viewed their content and creating even better videos to match. This meant moving from one-off videos to interconnected content series that dived deeper into the subjects leads would want to watch.

As a result, the average time on the company’s site increased by 93 percent, and unique pageviews for video content jumped 309 percent. Most importantly, within one business quarter the business had over 100 video viewer conversions. By not only attracting likely customers, but measuring their online behavior and creating video marketing content to match, it was possible to pierce the veil of internet browsing habits and reel in the prospects that actually matter to the bottom line.  

Alex Butzbach is a Marketing Writer at Brafton. He studied Communications at Boston College, and after a brief stint teaching English in Japan, he entered the world of content marketing. When he isn't writing and researching, he can be found on a bike somewhere in Metro Boston.