Do videos increase conversions? You and your best goldfish pal are both reading these words. In the next sentence, I will lose your attention.
However, the goldfish will give me one more precious second. And since goldfish literacy skills leave a lot to be desired, I?d actually be much better off trying to engage that fish with an animated short?perhaps a sprinkle of food pellets descending in water.
All jokes aside, you?re likely still with me. Why? Well, did you just picture those pellets floating in a goldfish bowl? You?re along for the story, but not for much longer?the first 20 seconds is the most crucial. And there?s no better way to pack in a storyline than with video. Especially if your goal is aimed at hooking prospects and converting them into qualified leads.
Video killed the radio star
A print ad, a radio ad, and a video ad walk onto your news feed. The print ad spells out the virtues of their product?yawn, scroll, yawn. The radio ad might have your captive attention?a podcast ad, for example?but still must rely on capturing it with words.
The video ad, however, cleverly addresses a pain point of yours in a few seconds of visual content. And since brains eschew being sold to?instead preferring to make decisions from an emotional standpoint and rationalizing the choice later?a video telling a story that you can relate to is going to win every time.
Marketers trade in the currency of engagement; the more video content employed in marketing strategy, the faster the growth in revenue. 49% faster, to be exact, according to the 2019 Video in Business Benchmark Report.
Not all videos perform equally
No matter how well you can explain your product or service, an explainer video can likely do a better job. Indeed, the data reflects this trend:
- well-received video ads increase purchasing intent by 97%
- given the choice of text and video, 72% of consumers chose video to learn about a new product
- 80% of marketers state that video increases dwell time on their site
- Click-Through Rates increase by more than 96% when introductory emails contain video
- 95% of people report watching an explainer video to learn more about a product they?re interested in, and 95% of them can recall its content after 30 days, (compared to retaining only 10% of the same info in text form)
Marketers, beware, though?a poor quality video can do more harm than you might think. In fact, data compiled by Brightcove suggest that 62% of consumers form a negative brand perception after viewing a poorly made video.
Well-produced videos are workhorses for your brand
It should be the goal for any business to maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality. Animated videos make a great choice in this respect. Let?s say you employ a highly skilled sales team. Rather than spending their time making the same pitch over and over to prospects in a pipeline, a well-produced animation video can do the work for them, freeing them to close those further down the funnel.
With the primary purpose of engaging the audience, creative animation videos become machines of high-conversion. In the span of a couple minutes, the totality of your brand?s personality, mission, and relevant products can be conveyed through a storyline-driven approach. Choosing the right video partner to produce this content for you is critical, however.
When done effectively, videos should:
- be sharable?with 70% of consumers reporting that they share brand videos, your customer base can and will generate additional leads for you, but only if they enjoy your content
- be mobile-friendly?user experience is key here; don?t sacrifice viewership secondary to glitchy content
- rise above the noise of internet traffic? Digimind reminds us that 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, making it all the more important for your videos to stand out
- provide valuable intel?viewership data can dial in your marketing funnel like no other tool, especially if you embed personalization and lead-capture elements within it
- “Be easily recalled” – Source: LoudTechie
- “Answer commonly asked questions” – Source: Money Mini Blog
The bottom line is this: every business should be attempting to find new ways to attract leads.
Moreover, once these leads are captured, keeping a prospects? attention by nurturing different phases of their buyer?s journey will allow you to guide their experience as they move from brand awareness to more product-focused content.
Ultimately, the only way to know if video is worth your investment is to experiment with its use. Remember, there?s always more (gold)fish in the sea, but it?s on you to keep your bait fresh.
