One of the keys to connecting with employees and customers is through content. You could be an enterprise that wants to teach people about what you do, or a leader that wants to keep their employees informed. In order to reach them, you have to meet them where they are with an engaging content strategy. Blogs, newsletters, articles, podcasts and photos all have their own unique way of engaging an audience, but none can do so in the same way that video can.
Video is Immersive
If we start from a basic sense- our eyes are attracted to movement. Our brains were designed to keep us alive in an outdoor, unstable environment. While we may not be fighting for our lives when browsing the web, those primal mechanics are still in place. A video has the potential to make us stop scrolling and observe. Beyond getting our attention, the combination of visual and auditory stimulation makes it easier for us to be removed from the current moment and be lost in what’s in front of us. For these reasons, video goes beyond getting our attention and keeps us engaged for longer.
Video is Easy to Digest
It’s often said that an image is worth 1,000 words. That’s because visual information is processed 60,000 times faster than text. If an image is worth 1,000 words, then a video, which is a combination of hundreds or thousands of images, is worth much more. When a viewer watches a video about a product, it’s much easier for them to digest and retain the information. This is why, when surveyed, more than 68% of customers say they prefer watching a video about a product to reading it. Adding a video to your communication efforts will help ensure your messages are fully processed instead of falling flat.
Video is Great for SEO
Let’s face it- Google rules all, and one thing we know is that Google loves video. A website or post that contains video is placed higher in search rankings than if it contained no video. Google shows a video thumbnail next to search results about 26% of the time, making people more likely to click it. Additionally, videos on social media are 1200% more likely to be shared than text and image content, which drives more traffic to your website, boosting your ranking even further.
Adding Video to Your Content Strategy
How can you integrate video into your existing content strategy? The answer depends on what you want to accomplish. Below are the different kinds of videos your organization can leverage for both internal and external communications.
- Company Overview: Do you plan to educate potential customers about your product or service? Create a company overview video. These videos will live on your website and give a high-level view of what your organization does. After watching, a potential customer should have enough information to know if they’re interested, so be sure to include your contact information for next steps.
- Employee Communications: Perhaps you want to keep your employees informed on internal affairs. If so, you want an employee communications video. These are videos where your leadership speaks directly to your staff about happenings both large and small. These are typically distributed over an internal channel, such as an intranet, or company email.
- Explainer: An explainer video can educate your current and potential customers on how to use your product, or explain a piece of research to a lay audience. This is often used when the message is complex and time-consuming as it’s an easier way of keeping someone engaged than a manual or booklet.
- Employee or Customer Testimonials: It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is if no one can vouch for you. Testimonials are a great way to show the world real customer feedback and bring more humanity to your brand. Testimonials can be displayed with text and graphics, but they’re more powerful when the customer is seen talking about the product firsthand.
- Thought Leadership: A great way to stay top of mind is by positioning yourself or your company as a thought leader in a given industry. An interview from the leading minds at your company can do just that. Things are happening in the news every day. If done correctly, people will think of you when looking for answers to today’s challenges. The more time they spend thinking of your brand, the better.
Engaging content is key to reaching and connecting with your target audience. Nearly all communications experts who use video today say they will keep using it in the future. The question is, will you?