1 – Business Video puts a human face on your product or service

The best business videos contain real people: someone speaking on camera, pictures of people, someone’s voice narrating the video, etc.  If you can’t personally meet every one of your potential clients, presenting yourself, your employees or your clients in a video is the next best thing.

2 – Video reaches people on an emotional level

Video sets off emotional triggers far more effectively than text.  Presenting someone in a video with whom the viewer can identify creates an immediate connection.  This is also the reason for the emphasis on using real people instead of actors, “off the cuff” dialogue instead of scripts, and testimonials instead of “advertising”.

3 – Video Engages Clients

Far too many websites are static online brochures with no interactive elements.  The difference between static and interactive is essential.  A brochure “presents” information while an interactive website “engages”

And video engages better than anything.

At the very least, each video on the website will be something new and interesting that will tweak viewers’ curiosity.  When given a choice, viewers overwhelmingly choose video.

4 – Video Expands Your Audience

What is the best way to get the word out quickly and effectively?  Websites must engage viewers who have different attention spans and learning styles (Visual-Spacial, Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic, etc.).  Since images and text are readily available on most sites, video represents an added dimension that captures the attention of visitors who are drawn to moving images.  (In other words, most of us.)

5 – Video Explains a system or process clearer and faster than anything else

Nothing parallels the ability of video to break it down for all to see.

In a professional video, there are no “ums”, “you knows”, meaningless asides or needless repetitions. Is there something about your product or service that is hard to explain clearly to different kinds of people with different learning abilities? Video lets viewers learn at their own speed.

How does video do it? Just a few of its many weapons include: spoken word, printed words, music, sound effects, graphics, charts, diagrams and animation.

6 – Video is multi-sensory and makes people curious

Video gets information to the viewer quicker than print because the eyes, ears and imagination are engaged all at once.  It’s also just plain more fun than anything else on a website.

If a video button is available on the home page, the vast majority of viewers will try it.  This increases the number of visitors who will give you a chance.

7 – Video gives you credibility and a touch of celebrity

Your video proves that you took the time to reach out to prospective customers by creating an informative and entertaining presentation.  It also builds your brand and credibility by demonstrating your expertise.  This makes viewers curious to meet the man or woman in the video.  (Not unlike meeting someone you have seen on TV).

If you write an expert column that features your photograph for a newspaper or newsletter, you have achieved a certain kind of “fame” or recognition with customers who recognize you.  The exact same phenomenon applies to presenting your expertise in a video.

8 – Video views are trackable

Free software allows detailed data about how viewers found your video, how long they watched it, at what point in the video they stopped watching, etc.  This is valuable information for tweaking and improving future videos and distribution strategies.

9 – Viral videos get distributed for free

Short, quirky, unusual or funny videos are the most likely to be passed from one user to the next, thus the phenomenon of “viral video”.  It’s not easy to make a viral video, but it’s like hitting the jackpot when you do.

Talk about getting the customers to work for you…

Trends

• People increasingly expect their information to be delivered in   the form of video.  Video used to be an “extra”.  Now it is a “must”.
• Consumers increasingly demand information in the form of entertainment, and watching video is simply more entertaining than reading.
• Video is the number one advanced site feature that U.S. online retailers add to their websites (Knowledge Marketing).
• Web users are more likely to share a video than anything else (audio, articles, pictures, etc.).

Statistics

• YouTube and Facebook both get over 4 BILLION unique video views per day (YouTube and Facebook)
• Currently, over 70% of all web traffic is video (Cisco VNI Forecast and Methodology).

• 97% of U.S. internet users use the internet to shop  (NPD Group)
• 1 billion average YouTube mobile video views per day (DNR Stats)
• Video in an email leads to an almost 300% increase in click-through rates (HubSpot)
• Combining video with full-page ads boosts engagement by 22% (Hubspot)
• After watching a video, 64% of viewers are more likely to buy a product online (Hubspot)

A note about the author:

David Mayer’s 25-year career as a videographer includes experience as an educator, journalist and composer of advertising jingles. His company Videoburst creates web videos that employ internet marketing strategies, video marketing and search engine optimization. All to help drive web traffic and increase new business. Typical Videoburst videos are short, creative and fun to watch. Videoburst works with clients in Auburn Hills, Troy, Southfield and all over metro Detroit.