Brands thrive on awareness

Whether it’s their products or services, their social impact, or how their customers perceive them – a brand’s values and promise and how it delivers against both can make or break a business. With so many marketing channels for a brand to spread the message – social media, web, content marketing, SEM, paid media and print advertising … it can be overwhelming for a marketing team.

Quickly, concisely

We all know there are a million distractions and average attention spans have dropped significantly in the last 20 years. If your message doesn’t reach the intended audience in seconds, chances are, it’ll be skipped over or outright ignored. Your marketing content needs to be presented quickly, and be easily digestible – delivered to the consumer on the channels they are on. How quickly you can turn around and deliver your content matters – but it also has to hold that consumer’s attention, it has to be entertaining and relevant.

There’s no better format than video content to achieve this – no other format can blend visual content with storytelling and information to generate awareness.

Show the world

We just discussed why brand awareness is critical for any marketing efforts and in 2023 – video content is one of the best ways to achieve this. As Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research wrote years ago “One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words”. A brand can say and show more about itself with ten seconds of video than in any other media.

You might think that videos may impede the success of other channels – they can actually help with SEO and better page rankings. Google is the premier search engine in the world – YouTube is ranked second in popularity, in addition to being a social platform.

So why do videos attract so much attention? It’s psychology 101. It’s a fact that our eyes are drawn to motion.¹ Whether it’s a holdover from our hunter-gatherer days, or something more, the fact remains – anything that moves catches our attention.

Additionally, video can:

1. Be an engagement booster

   Consumer consensus is that video content is more interesting compared to static content. When surveyed, 80% of consumers prefer to see more content from businesses.² Over the last year alone, 82% of the total web traffic was driven by video content.³ This engagement drives brand awareness. Video is not limited to one channel either – they can be hosted on a brand’s website, on sites like YouTube (and the Google Advertising Network), or on apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat literally driving engagement from multiple platforms simultaneously. Additionally, consumers or more likely to share videos with their friends than any other content ² – making a persuasive argument as a mechanism for customer loyalty and advocacy.

2. Help you stay top-of-mind

   Video content is an excellent way to reach out to new customers, or remind existing ones that you’re still here. Consistent video content is a great way to keep your brand in front of your customers, updating them on what you are doing, Top-of-Mind-Awareness (TOMA).⁴ This is especially useful with targeted or retargeted advertising across multiple platforms – helping brands focus their content across channels – reaching a wider audience.

3. Help build community

   Few things help drive awareness or brand recall like building a community, and it’s not just limited to social media. Brands can develop a loyal fan base on and offline. Video content lets brands build an identity that resonates with their customers, creating relevant, relatable content. Helping spread the word and get consumers to regularly interact with your content, building engagement and trust in your brand.

4. Give sales a boost

   The direct benefit of video marketing is increased sales. 88% of consumers say that watching a brand’s video convinced them to purchase or opt-in to a product or service, with 78% of respondents claiming to have downloaded an app or software thanks to videos.⁵

5. Drive organic traffic

   Video marketing is a mainstay of any marketing strategy because it’s widely helpful for driving organic traffic to sites and landing pages. Benefiting brands in so many ways – viewers don’t feel excessively targeted by advertising, and regular site visits help page rankings rise naturally (allowing for better search results). It’s proven that websites with video, experience a 157% increase in traffic, and are 53% more likely to reach Google’s front page.⁶ Resulting in 89% of marketers saying that videos have helped them achieve a better ROI.

It’s a fact that video has taken brands in a new direction – increasing the number of people consuming content on the go in an engaging manner. The benefits to B2B / B2C brands (and consumers) are undeniable – and unlikely to change soon – at least until a new format comes along.

For now, though, video content is here to stay.