A recent study has shown that 78% of people watch online video content every week, and 55% of those people watch videos on a daily basis. It’s clear that if you want to see results, video content is an essential aspect of any digital marketing strategy. But how are people consuming video content in 2022, and how can you use this to leverage your marketing campaigns?
People watch videos to unwind
A recent study by Hubspot found that 32.8% of social media users watch videos to relax and unwind, and 26.3% of consumers watch videos to laugh or be entertained. Think about it, when are you most likely to sit down and spend half an hour scrolling through TikTok? It’s a tool that people use to escape the stresses of daily life. The nature of short form video content means that consumers get easy, stress-free entertainment without putting too much commitment or thought into it.
Consumers use video content for research
66% of consumers say they have used video content to learn about a product or service (this could be product demos, adverts, YouTube or Instagram reviews). Video is a great way to demonstrate how your product works in real life, and consumers tend to trust this more than a flawless, one-dimensional product image or a written description. Video is becoming an integral part of the product research stage of the consumer journey.
Quality is key
If you make the decision to include video content in your marketing strategy (and you should!) then it’s important to ensure that the content is high quality. Consumers don’t need high end, studio quality productions, they like the personal touch. But they do need to see that you are professional and reliable, so having good quality footage and a nicely edited presentation is key. It can have the same effect as if you’re reading through a brand’s home page or social media and you see a typo, this sometimes impacts how likely you are to buy from the brand as it makes it seem less credible and can leave a negative impression.
The good news is that even if you’re on a tight budget, there is software that you can use such as Bonjoro, TwentyThree or Vidyard to produce professional, high quality pitches or welcome videos.
Short-form video content continues to lead
As we all know, short-form video content has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. The TikTok style of content has taken social media by storm, and this trend isn’t going away anytime soon.
Depending on the platform, making videos of anything between 10 seconds and 3 minutes is the optimal length. Hootsuite suggests that entertainment focused channels such as Instagram Reels should be between 15 and 60 seconds, while the optimal video length for TikTok should be between 7 and 15 seconds. For more informative, educational platforms such as LinkedIn, your videos can be longer.
Don’t forget captions
Video captions create a seamless user experience while ensuring that your content is inclusive and accessible to all. The consumer attention span is limited nowadays, so people want to be able to see what your video is about as they are scrolling, without having to commit to clicking on the video. It’s also fantastic for multi-taskers, or people who want to continue to listen to music while they watch videos.
In fact, 92% of consumers watch videos with the sound off and around 80% are more likely to watch the whole video when captions are available. It’s a way of being able to watch a video without disturbing colleagues, or whoever is in the room or on the train. This makes it imperative that your video content is optimised for silent viewing.
So when planning your video content strategy, think about the way that you and the people around you consume online videos. Make sure that it’s a seamless, high quality experience that is light hearted, entertaining, insightful or educational, depending on your audience and your aims. If you would like any support with video marketing, feel free to get in touch with our team today.
