[Marketing Must-Read] 4 Reasons to Drive Your Marketing with Video

At the time of writing (2023), video is one of the most versatile and potentially profitable digital marketing tools available. According to Wyzowl, 63% of businesses have started using video for content marketing, and 82% of them consider it an important part of their strategy that delivers a good return on investment.

Businesses aren't jumping in just because everyone else is — video genuinely pulls its weight across marketing. Here are four reasons it deserves a place in your marketing toolbox.

Reason 1: Video Explains Better, Lifting Conversions and Sales

Sight is our dominant sense, and most of the information reaching our brains is visual. If still images already boost engagement, imagine what moving images can do for your business. When you need to explain a difficult concept, an animated video brings it to life — a blend of entertainment, information and simplicity that helps your audience understand your brand.

In fact, whatever your industry, a product video on your landing page can make a real difference: a widely cited industry figure puts the conversion lift at up to 80%. If you're not sure how to design the landing page itself, start with "What Is a Landing Page? (And Why Not a Google Form?)."

Reason 2: Video Builds Trust and Gets Shared

Marketing 4.0 calls for less hard selling and more trust-building, emotionally resonant communication. What matters isn't only the content but the trust and emotion behind it. Here YouTube — already the world's second-largest social platform at the time of writing — plays an indispensable role. When loyal fans share and recommend a brand through video, they share more than facts; they share their feelings and experiences.

Fun, engaging videos spread easily on social media, and a video that presents a brand or product conversationally creates a closer, more personal connection. That's why, in an Invodo survey, 57% of consumers said product videos made them more confident shopping online.

Reason 3: Google Loves Video, Which Helps SEO

Video increases the time visitors spend on your site. Longer visits suggest your content is valuable, which is generally believed to help your ranking in Google search results.

Video platform Moovly has cited Forrester Research: properly submitted videos are 53 times more likely to reach Google's first page than traditional SEO techniques. And since Google owns YouTube, video's influence on search rankings keeps growing.

You can also optimize videos on YouTube to improve SEO:

• Write engaging titles and descriptions.
• Add links to your website, products and services in the description.
• Give prospects a clear next step, such as a redemption offer form where they leave their details, and explore interactive video to encourage viewers to act.

Reason 4: Video Captivates Mobile Users

Video and mobile devices go hand in hand. People love watching video on their phones while commuting or out and about, so exposure through video keeps growing your audience.

Phones are personal devices, and what plays on them is more tailored to individual tastes. A 2015 study by Ipsos and YouTube found smartphone viewers were almost twice as likely as desktop viewers to feel a "sense of personal connection" to brands that show videos on their phones — and more likely to watch and share brands' ads and content.

Going Further: Put Video in Your Email Marketing

Adding a video to your first introductory email can lift click-through rates by 96%!

Once you've made your videos, be sure to weave them into your email marketing. According to WordStream data cited by Campaign Monitor, including a video in the first, introductory email of a series can raise click-through rates by 96% — a great way to stand out. Because many email clients can't play video inline, the usual approach is a video thumbnail with a play button that links to the video page.

With message automation, you can send a welcome email with that video link automatically as soon as someone leaves their details, then keep following up on a steady rhythm.

The Bottom Line: Video Doesn't Have to Be Perfect — Clarity Matters Most

Video marketing brings many benefits: greater brand awareness, stronger engagement and trust, and higher conversions and ROI. Every business should consider making video part of its core marketing strategy. Producing video isn't yet the easiest or cheapest task, but the payoff is considerable — online editing tools keep improving and getting more affordable, and even your smartphone can shoot a perfectly decent video.

And here's more good news:

Your video doesn't have to be perfect. What matters is the content!

What disappoints viewers most is a video that doesn't explain the product or service clearly; lower production quality or plain design matters far less. You could say video is like pizza — even when it isn't perfect, it's still pretty delicious! To make your video's title and opening grab attention, see also "A Great Headline Can Double Conversions."