Why Video NEEDS to Be Part of Your 2017 Marketing Strategy

If you were paying attention at all to social media marketing predictions for last year, you would know that 2016 was often touted as the ‘Year of Video.’ And if you used social media at all, you would know that such a prediction was pretty accurate. Use of video to show off products, tout testimonials, and demonstrate corporate culture among other things was clearly the hottest media trend.

Now we’re into 2017 so what’s changed? The answer may surprise you and that’s: not much. Video is set to grow even more this year, particularly the use of live video most recently introduced by Facebook and Instagram. As I’m sure you know by now, when a new feature is rolled out on a platform, the tendency is that users making use of the new feature (also known as ‘early adopters’) get preferential treatment in the platform’s algorithm. Put into layman’s terms, if you are an early adopter of a new social media feature, your content will get moved to the front of the line, pushed in front of more people as your reward.

But what is becoming an early adopter of video going to do for your business? Below, I’ve outlined the 5 best reasons you should begin including video as part of your social media strategy.

Builds trust

There are a couple of different ways to approach building trust with video. The first is simply a matter of human nature. If you watch a video where you can see and hear someone clearly explaining a process or how their product works or their mission statement, it is natural that you build a rapport with them in a way you probably wouldn’t if you simply read the same words on a page. There is something to be said for looking into another person’s eyes (even when you know they can’t look back).

The second way to think about trust-building with video has more to do with a physical product. Let’s say you were contemplating two similar products to buy, each from a retailer you had never purchased from before. On one website you can see photos of the product but on the other, you can see a video of the product being used. Which would you be more likely to purchase? My guess is the product from the site featuring video. I would even venture a guess that you would still choose the page with the video, even if they listed the product for a slightly more expensive price. One company that does this well is clothing retailer, ASOS. On their website, their audience can view almost every item of clothing worn by a model on a well-lit runway. Potential customers can see how the fabric moves, if it is sheer, what the true color of the article is, etc. This level of pre-purchase detail creates an increased level of purchase confidence within the consumer.

Better engagement

If you were looking to solve a problem, which would you rather do? Read an extensive and detailed manual explaining the solution or watch a video of someone creating the solution. Enough said.

Improved results in search

It’s all about who you know. And when it comes to social media, it’s all about who you own. For instance, Google owns YouTube so it’s no surprise that when you search for answers or advice on the world’s largest search engine, Google, it pulls results from the largest video serach engine, YouTube. Therefore, a great content idea for you website is to create videos around the most frequently asked questions in your business or industry.

Appeals to mobile

If there is one trend battling video for top spot in social media marketing in 2017, it would be mobile. In last week’s post, “Why You Should Start Now on Facebook,” I briefly discussed the 2015 algorithm change Google unveiled overtly favoring sites optimized for mobile in mobile Google searches. But that is not the only factor in the race to the handheld device. Google also understands that mobile users watch more videos, longer and are more attentive to mobile ads. Therefore, brands using video, particularly on YouTube, will be further rewarded by the Google Gods.

Favored by Facebook

As I mentioned in the introduction to this post, Facebook has officially staked its claim in the video wars against YouTube. This began in 2015 when a Facebook algorithm change started rewarding content creators who were natively uploading video directly to Facebook over those sharing videos from YouTube. Next, it entered the race for live streaming supremacy, knocking sideways, the then live-streaming leaders – the now defunt Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope. It further increased it’s live stream push by enabling the feature on its photo/video app, Instagram. Now, brands using video and particularly live video on Facebook and Instagram, are reporting a much higher than average viewership and engagement on their videos, citing support from the social media giant.

I hope that now you’re convinced that if you hadn’t before considered using video as a staple medium in your 2017 marketing plan, it’s time to rethink things. Video does not need to be expensive – particularly when going live it is perfectly acceptable to film on the go from a cell phone – so you can begin today. Make no exucuses, don’t worry about getting any special technology, just get in front of that lens!

Lights! Camera! Action!