With the advent of the camera phone, video “production” began to rise. Videocameras were and are more affordable and accessible than ever; they’re even built into our phones. This trend only continued with the sale of the GoPro, and the rise of YouTube. Now, there’s vine, Vimeo, and loads of other video hosting that are on the rise. More and more devices are able to play and stream videos, thus more and more people are watching videos. Video content is undoubtedly the leading online marketing strategy.
This is incredible news for marketers. The popularity of video content is skyrocketing, giving businesses tremendous opportunity for SEO and sales through the use of video content marketing.
Video Opens The Doors to a Massive Market
By 2018, 79% of all internet traffic is expected to be video. After reviewing dozens and dozens of statistics, I have not found any indicators that do not suggest growth. And this trend in growth is expected to continue, or even increase. According to YouTube, the number of people that watch videos each day has increased by 40% within the last year . It’s simple: video content gives you access to all of this, and all of these people.
Why Is Video So Popular?
Not only does video open the doors to all of these viewers, but it also increases viewer engagement. According to this Forbes article, adults are 39% more likely to share video content and 56% more likely to ‘like’ video content than a traditional text blog.
Video content is so popular because audience engagement occurs so quickly. Assuming that you need to engage your audience within 10 seconds, video content is the best for achieving rapid engagement. Refer back to my previous article about marketing to millennials; you’ll notice that I mention that visual content is key. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.
Search Engines Favor Video:
Video content has a direct impact on search results. Search engine algorithms favour rich content, including video. Furthermore, search engines, like Google are constantly adjusting their algorithms to give their users a desired experience. Because videos are cherished by all, they are consistently featured as the top results on Google.
Improving Discovery:
However, you must keep in mind that there are probably thousands of cute pet and baby videos out there, so standing out among them is no easy task. The first step to optimize your video content is to make sure that it is actually good content. Frankly, people will not share bad content. Your video should be engaging, entertaining, informative and easily sharable.
To make sure people are able to find your video when searching, you need to use keywords and tags in your title, filename, transcripts and headline. That said, it is extremely important that you ensure the tags are actually relevant. Sites like YouTube typically no longer prioritize videos based on number of views; instead they are based off of relevance of the search, and “view time“. Think of this like the bounce rate; the longer someone spends watching your video, the better. So if your tag includes “cute puppy,” but your video is actually about technology, then people will likely click out of your video pretty quickly, and this negatively impacts your ranking.
Does Hosting Matter?
For many, the first choice for a hosting site is YouTube. While it does have a great deal of unique visitors (and therefore a lot of people that could see your video), hosting through YouTube gives you less control over the ownership of the content.
Paid sites give you more ownership and control, and you can promote your video through social media to increase exposure. Ultimately if you have a good quality video that is appealing to your audience, and you properly promote your videos, you will get the desired audience and traffic.
Tags: content marketing, Video Marketing
