Video has become an increasingly powerful marketing tool and recent figures show that 55% of consumers use videos for purchase decisions, according to Google. As well as being influenced by video when they are browsing for shopping online, consumers are using video whilst in-store to help them to make their decision about a product.
The key ways that video marketing is influencing shoppers are:
1. To provide their shopping list
Purchases that are for recipes, or materials that are needed for a DIY project, can be quickly viewed in a video, rather than writing all of the necessary items down. So when a consumer goes to the supermarket or hardware store, if they cannot remember which items they need, they use the video to remind them. This ensures that they do not forget any of the essential items.
2. Building confidence
People have been able to teach themselves new skills, such as minor home or auto repairs that they would never have imagined trying before YouTube tutorial videos came along. Having a visual tutorial has helped many consumers to have the confidence to resolve technical issues and have more faith that if they buy a product they will be able to find video guidance for anything they struggle with.
3. Video reviews sway consumers
When someone is deliberating over making a purchase and there are lots of different ones to choose from, consumers trust reviews to point them in the direction of the right one. The buyer knows that consumer reviews are independent and therefore they trust them more than the promotional marketing content on a company’s website.
4. YouTube as a search engine
What this means for business marketing?
81% of businesses use video in their marketing strategy and 82% of all consumer internet traffic will come from online videos by 2022. Further to this, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it through video.
These are powerful statistics that outline what the future holds for business marketing and why this is an area they should invest heavily in. A decade ago, creating a good-quality video required the hire of a video production team. But now, we have high-quality video capabilities natively in our smartphones, as well as quick and easy-to-use editing tools. Anyone with even the most basic technology skills can record and upload a video onto Instagram or Facebook.
Different types of industries use different types of videos to promote their products or services. For example, industries such as hospitality use a video of a hotel, showcasing the facilities and selling the ‘dream holiday’. Whereas for a financial industry like a bank, customer video testimonials and explainer videos help to build trust, so that a customer feels their money is in safe hands.
E-commerce companies take video marketing to the next level, providing video representation of a product, as well as using remarketing ads that display reminder ads about a product that the person previously browsed.