According to Cisco, by 2017, video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic. And by 2018 this is have risen to 79%. That’s a pretty staggering prediction.

There’s no getting around the fact that video needs to be core to your marketing content strategy. In fact, 96% of B2B companies are planning to use video in their content marketing over the next year.

At Moreish, we’re certainly seeing an increase in demand for videos. And a large chunk of this increasing appetite is formed of clients that want to use video to explain a complex solution, concept or product quickly and engagingly, to a business audience. Like this animated video we produced for Healix.

And when you consider that 75% of business executives watch work-related videos at least weekly (Forbes), it makes total sense.

 

If you need more convincing, here are 6 great reasons why video should be at the front of your mind when planning your 2016 marketing budget:

 

Shareability

 

According to this recent study by Hubspot, video remains the most shareable form of marketing content.

And it’s true in a B2B context too – 54% of senior executives share work-related videos with colleagues at least weekly (Forbes).

Content shared between colleagues is a really effective powerful exchange in a B2B context – it gets your message in front of the right people from a source they know and trust.

 

It’s really digestible

 

59% of senior executives say that if both text and video are available on the same page, they prefer to watch the video (Forbes). It will be interesting to see if this balance tips further in favour of video in the next few years, as the next generation of senior executives comes to the fore.

For now, video can’t completely replace text at the risk of alienating 41% of senior executives. The written word still very much has a place. We need a combination of visual and written communication.

Interestingly, we find that because you’ve got to pack a lot into a short amount of time, choosing a video format can really force clarity and concision in your content. Research suggests that you’ve got between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to land your points before engagement drops off.

 

Flexibility (and success) across different channels

 

Videos can be used effectively across almost every marketing channel you can think of.

Email campaigns, landing pages, social channels, at events… the list goes on. It’s one of the reasons they’re a great investment.

Interestingly, Sydacast found that websites which include video content have an extra two minutes on their of average site visit time. And email subject lines that contain the word ‘Video’ increase CTRs by 65%.

 

Conversion 

 

74% of businesses reported that video content outperformed other content types in driving conversions. The return on investment is clearly there.

And video’s really adaptable to different stages of the customer journey – it’s uniquely just as well suited to high-level, top of funnel overviews as it is to explaining granular details. Providing the right information at the right time is a surefire way to increase conversion.

 

Contribution to the bottom line 

 

Organizations that use video are seeing revenues grow almost 50% faster each year than their video-averse counterparts do (Marketing Profs). You can’t really argue with this figure as a good reason to add it to your content mix.

And the data insight that’s available is phenomenal. You can now see exactly who watched your video, how long they watched it for, which bits they rewound and watched again with tools like Wistia for example. This added level of insight (which by the way can be integrated into CRM systems) makes the ROI easier to track and investment easier to justify.

 

Video’s a long way away from getting tired

 

Ascend2 reports that 91% of companies say they’re still seeing the effectiveness of marketing videos increase. With ever-changing styles and ever-changing technologies available, video marketing is in a strong position to adapt and flex to the latest digital marketing trends and audience preferences.

 

What’s the future got in store for video marketing?

Increase in video personalisation

We’ve already seen initial forays into personalised video marketing.

Coca-cola’s Share a Coke campaign used the names of viewers watching catch-up programs on 4oD to serve ads with bespoke lines of copy that inserted their name on the bottle’s label.

And they achieved some impressive results – with ad recall at 71% and purchase intent at 24%.

The technology is there, now marketers need to find a way of applying this to best effect in a B2B context.

 

More interactivity

 

We’ve already seen ads on YouTube and on-demand streaming platforms that force you to choose which variation of an ad you want to see.

Alongside polls and surveys mid-play, we’re likely to see an increase in interactivity with video content. The result? More relevant, hand-picked content for the viewer, and greater customer insight for the marketer.

And then there are campaigns that blend interactivity and personalisation. Like Three’s ‘Sing it kitty!’ interactive video campaign.

 

Sequential video remarketing

 

This approach is all about using video to segment and engage your audience with the appropriate information at different point of the sales cycle. By serving them different content based on previous video interaction.

Periscopix have written a good article about it here.

 

If you want to have a chat about how to incorporate video into your 2016 marketing content, then get in touch.