We love video content, you love video content — heck, even cats love video content. Whether it’s a YouTube explainer, a new Netflix documentary series, or a full-length feature film, we spend so much time watching videos — 17 hours a week on average to be precise — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Because of our love of video content, corporate clips have long been a potent marketing tool in their own right. Most businesses now realise this, with 71% of B2B marketers alone relying on video marketing, and worldwide video ad spending reaching a colossal $37.4 (£30.19) billion in 2021, a figure that’s predicted to rise to $45.5 (£36.72) billion by 2025.
We all know that videos can be fun to watch, but what exactly about video production makes it so vital for businesses? Allow us to explain.
It helps explain a company’s product or services
One of the most important reasons businesses lean so heavily on video production is its ability to help a company explain its products or services. Yes, words can do a decent job of this, but videos do it so much better.
The human brain is naturally wired to enjoy watching and listening to things, something that makes videos a lot more palatable to us. Put it this way: how many times have you read Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, and how many times have you seen the films? You might prefer the books, but we’d be willing to bet our mortgage that the average person has watched the movie franchises more times than they’ve read the books — sorry Tolkien and Rowling.
The same logic applies to commercial videos, and it’s this level of engagement that makes them better for helping audiences understand a company’s products or services. Research shows that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, as opposed to just 10% when reading it in text.
Case study
A case in point is our Keep Kids Safe campaign for EE in collaboration with Beano. We helped produce a set of Beano comic strips — including an animated video version — explaining the phone provider’s Phonesmart phone safety licence. As a result of the campaign, 82% of parents surveyed said it helped them better understand the issue.
It shows off a brand’s personality
In the digital age, customers have near-constant access to what a brand is doing and saying, and can interact with them in ways that were previously impossible. Because of this, consumers place more of an emphasis on a brand’s personality than ever before. Examples include everything from Dove’s sincere personality to the sophisticated identity of luxury brands like Michael Kors and Chanel.
Research shows that 57% of consumers buy from brands with strong personalities, with 55% unfollowing companies because of how they spoke online.
So, how can businesses demonstrate this personality? Well, as you almost certainly guessed, video content is an extremely effective way of doing just this. From producing behind-the-scenes clips that show off a brand’s office and employees, to visually representing a brand through things like music, graphics and colours, there are so many ways to harness videos to this end.
Case study
An example of a Pitch campaign that does this is Paddy Power’s England Til I’Dye advert, which featured a video of a polar bear with a St George’s flag ‘spray-painted’ on it. The video initially caused consternation, with fears around animal cruelty, but it turned out to be nothing more than a stunt intended to provoke this very response. All in all, the campaign was very true to Paddy Power’s cheeky approach to marketing.
It gets results
Perhaps the bottom line of why video production is so important for businesses is that, quite simply, it gets results. One study found that:
- 87% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website.
- 83% of video marketers say video helps them with lead generation.
- 80% of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales.
- 89% of video marketers say video gives them a good ROI.
One of the main reasons videos drive traffic to a company’s website is that they can help pages to rank higher on search engine results pages. Consumers often prefer video content, so a brand that produces good videos will receive more interaction. In turn, search engines will deem the video content as useful and reward it with greater visibility in search results.
Meanwhile, some of the most popular social media platforms are heavily video-oriented — from TikTok and YouTube, to Instagram and Snapchat — and even the likes of Facebook and Twitter feature plenty of video content that drives significant traction.
In terms of ROI, the high success rate of video marketing means that, although it can be costly to produce, it more than makes up for this by delivering results.
Case study
Take our video-heavy #DefenderToContender campaign for Betfair which, in Nielsen’s words, led to “the largest spike of earned media coverage around a PR activation we have seen”. While our Way to Play video campaign for Cinch drove a 48% increase in brand awareness on Facebook, and our The Big Sofa Summit video advertising campaign for BT added approximately £446,000’s worth of media value to the company.
From helping to explain a brand’s products and services to boosting its bottom line, there are so many reasons for companies to invest in this type of marketing. And with Pitch’s help, you can get the best possible results from your video marketing efforts.
Our video production service includes everything from ideation to creation, with every campaign tailored precisely towards our client’s needs. This ensures we create video content that’s as targeted and cost-effective as possible, without sacrificing creativity or values. Check out more of our work here, and don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more about our services or make an enquiry.
