Video - Marketing by Self-Education

Video Marketing

Do you believe that consumers are more educated now than they ever have been? Well, how much more inclined are you to buy a product or service after watching a video explaining it? I'm guessing about 64% (according to comScore, that's the average). Want to hear a little fact even crazier than that? YouTube has just surpassed Facebook and is now the largest social media site on earth as of last month.

Two more juicy tidbits-

700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every minute.

500 years of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day.

There is nothing else to say here, everyone. Consumers know how to do their homework, and videos are helping businesses in their attempts at transparency toward the public. Are you looking to widen your company's exposure? Prove that your products are the real deal, and not just fluff? Can you think of anything more compelling than a medium that people watch literal years of each day? When people are shopping for a product or service, a short explainer video gives them the skinny on what to expect in the most effective and engaging way possible. They make shopping entertaining, educational, and customers feel more confident in their purchases, making them more likely to recommend to others or leave positive reviews for other self-educating consumers.

Video MarketingThis is a huge marketing opportunity. People want to know more about what they're buying before they buy it, but they aren't as apt to scroll through pages and pages of explanatory text. Exhaustive reading is rare, as outlined in the eyetracking study performed by the Nielsen Norman Group. I'd be pretty surprised if you've read this far, actually. If so, congratulations, and many thanks! I feel special. 

I have to admit, I've always despised traditional advertising. The feeling of being pressured, hollered at, lied to, infuriated me (and still does today). I think the worst aspect, the thing that set me the most over the edge into Crazy Land, was the increase in volume during TV commercials. All of a sudden your speakers are exploding with the screams of people demanding that you buy, buy, buy this immediately! (I'm looking at you, car sellers.) With the evolution of the internet advertising, we're seeing a switchover from these maddening tactics to a level of transparency never seen before from businesses.

Society is as fast-paced as ever, and we're not as gullible in relation to old marketing ploys. Telemarketing, pop-ups, spam, fear tactics, creating false need, and half-truths in marketing are more likely to be your downfall now that people see right through these methods to what they are- plain old dirty tricks. Modern consumers inform themselves. They educate themselves. They do their homework and are drawn to the businesses that offer real information, products or services. By offering compelling video, they have the capability of making up their own mind about what they think of you, and more often than not, it leads to increased site traffic and higher ultimate sales. 

Staying with the changes to remain relevant now, with absolute certainty, includes adding online video to your arsenal of marketing tools. By delivering better products and services (not just talking about how amazing they are, or force feeding them to the public with spam or cold calls), you are already doing the advertising. Consumers are more empowered and will figure out what's swill and what's sense. They can smell phony drivel from a mile away. It's time to take advantage of that self-education and become more transparent.

 

Speaking of great historical marketing education- take a little bit of time to learn about it with this incredibly eye-opening (and at times hilarious) video by Bloomberg, taking aim at traditional marketing methods and going into the specifics of the future of marketing. Well worth the time.

 

Erin Maloney

RECENT BLOG ENTRIES