Content has always been an important part of a business. It helps companies establish a rapport with their audience and demonstrate their knowledge in their niche. It also humanizes a brand – a recent criterion for a successful business. As you may have already heard, content is king, but the type of content that has the desired impact is starting to change. People today prefer visual content more than written ones. And this is partly because the visual content is readily available to digital users. Most creators also have easier access to cameras, microphones and other filming equipment. As a result, videos have become easier to produce and easier to consume. Companies realised that by investing on video content they are far more likely to get conversions and sales than written content.
If the above wasn’t enough to convince you, here is a study published by Hubspot that shows the following results:
- 54 % people want more video content from marketers
- 83 % consumers around the world prefer YouTube for video content
- 73 % consumers around the world want to see videos on social media that are entertaining
So, needless to say, videos are important and they are a game changer for today’s industry. A successful company must have a budget for creating video content. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind as you shift towards video content:
Find Out About Your Audience
An informative published by Studying Style, showed that around 65 % of the audience prefer visual content. Though 65% is the majority, there is still another 35 % who prefers written content. So, your first task is to determine the nature of your consumers. Do you cater to scientists? Engineers? Beauticians? Or maybe School Students? You must plan your content according to your users and ideally, it should be a mix of both video content and written content. The ratio of written to video content should be according to your consumers.
Wholesome Content
Most companies publish video content on YouTube and embed it on their blog. This increases your chances of being discovered on another platform. Keep in mind that first-time viewers who come across your YouTube channel have no context of who are and what you do. This is why your videos should be wholesome and complete in itself. It complements your blog, when readers go through your article and watch your videos, but also gives enough material to viewers who have not read the article.
Secondly, there is a debate on the idea that human attention spans are shrinking. We must cater to an audience who is better at judging if something is worth their time. The ones that garner maximum attention are the ones that are around 3-5 minutes long. Make sure your content caters to your consumer’s nature and watch time.
Catering To A Shorter Attention Span
Research shows that consumers determine if a video is worth their time within 8 seconds of watching it. The longer your video gets, the more people you will lose along the way. In one of their infographics, Hubspot claims that 56 % viewers will watch a 90-second video whereas only 10% stick around till the end of a 30-minute video.
A study released by BBC News on 10, March 2017 claimed that the shorter time spent on videos have less to do with our attention spans. It claims that with time we have become better at screening content. We skip ahead content that seems to be beating around the bush and only watch what we find appropriate. Viewers appreciate content with a personal touch but if they are trying to extract the information they are likely to skim through a video to check if it answers their question. This again comes back to the nature of your business. What do you provide? Are you adding value through knowledge or are you connecting with your customers on an emotional level? This will determine the kind of video content you should publish on your channel.
The Diversity of Video Content
Another reason why videos are becoming so popular is that there is a lot more you can do with videos than you can with an article. Almost anything can become video content. Be it graphics, animations, demonstrations, infographics or even a talking head video is much more effective than written content. Companies and influencers often use a combination of talking head videos and graphics to keep their viewers interested.
For instance, the channel CrashCourse is a content driven channel. As the name suggests, they provide crash courses, their channel contains free information on various topics and they follow a format where an anchor, presents a topic, but there are many graphics and animations that follow the voice of the narrator. So, segments of the videos contain a talking head while there are other parts where the graphic takes the content forward. Since it is a content driven channel they do spend a lot of time on each of their videos. Their personal brand and status allow them to earn through sponsorship and CrashCourse merchandise.
What if you are a company trying to sell a product or a service and you don’t have as much budget for heavy animations? Well, that’s not a problem either. If you are an expert in a particular niche, your main selling point is the value and knowledge that you can provide to people. This will attract people towards you and establish you and your agency as the go-to place for assistance within your niche.
Video Content For The Present And The Future
It is fun to create content but as a company owner, you can’t create content only because you enjoy it. You need to see results. The best way to garner attention is by creating a sense of continuity in your video content. They don’t need to be a series (though people do prefer a good series), rather focus on binge-worthy content. Interlink your videos for better results and invite people into a discussion, this will ultimately affect your algorithms and bring more leads your way. So, don’t think of videos as a singular piece of information, try to fit them together like a jig-saw puzzle that is complete only after we see the entire landscape.
Video content is here to stay and it is becoming the new determining factor of a companies success. They help you connect with an audience find videos to be more interactive and time efficient. So, take out those cameras and start rolling.
