The Video Marketing Revolution
By now, you’ve probably noticed that your Instagram feed has been taken over with video content. It’s not just you. In the first few months of 2022, video has become the predominant medium for delivering marketing information and keeping audiences engaged - and for good reason. In summer 2021, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced that the platform was shifting to focus more on entertainment than photo sharing, in part due to the rising popularity of video trends on TikTok. For a while, we might have said that video was just a trend that would die out, but with no end in sight, we need to start looking at video content as a revolution in digital marketing.
Here are the facts:
- 84% of consumers have been convinced to buy a product after watching a video and this year, video will account for 82% of all online traffic.
- Stats as far back as 2016 found that viewers retain 95% of a message they see in a video vs 10% when reading it in text.
- 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool
- According to Instagram for Business, 91% of Instagram users say they watch videos from brands weekly
Do I Need Video Content in my Strategy?
When you break it all down, yes. From all of our research, we’re predicting that brands who don’t have a video content strategy in place will find it almost impossible to do business online in the next couple of years. That’s because the algorithm is already favouring video content on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. When we pull our monthly analytic reports for clients, we’re consistently seeing video content as the top performing posts month over month. This is becoming true for SEO rankings too. Web pages that have at least 1 video embedded in them have a higher likelihood of a page 1 ranking. Have you noticed that when you do a Google search, you often see a few videos at the top of the results page? That isn’t an accident.
On top of video content beating the algorithm, there are other advantages of incorporating it into your marketing strategy. Think about how often you see a reel or TikTok and send it to a friend. Videos are shareable because they are a quick and easy way to deliver information that people will remember. You can use this way of thinking to share information about your business, too.
Videos also give you the opportunity to make your marketing more personal. Sharing posts about your products and services is definitely a great way to get your name out there, but there’s nothing like posting a reel of you or your team to make people feel like they really know you. It’s an opportunity to make a meaningful connection with your audience and tell a story.
How Can I Effectively Add Video Marketing to my Strategy?
We get asked this a lot, and we want you to know that creating video content doesn’t need to be complicated, and it doesn’t have to be following trendy dances either (another big worry we hear). Creating video content for your brand can be as simple as a meet the team reel with headshots and names on the screen. It can be a short unboxing of a new product delivery, or a before and after video posted to TikTok with trending audio. You can do an ‘ask me anything’ session in your Instagram stories and record yourself giving the answers. Video content can be fun, easy and the perfect way to show off your business without having to increase your marketing budget by an insane amount.
What About the Time Commitment?
There’s this idea that creating video content has to take up a huge amount of your time. We won’t lie to you, it can, but it doesn’t have to. Some of the best performing reels we’ve posted have been less than 10 seconds long. On TikTok, the optimal time sits somewhere around 20 seconds. That’s just enough time to sync a few photos to trending audio, announce an event, share a teaser about exciting news that’s coming, or answer a frequently asked question.
Tips and Tricks
- If you’re creating reels on Instagram, scroll through TikTok for what’s trending. TikTok trends move onto Instagram within a few days, so it’s always good to get ahead of the curve.
- Use trending audio, but try to use it when there are only a few thousand uses. Once audio is used a lot, it becomes over saturated on the platform and your reel or TikTok won’t get as many views.
- How do you find trending audio? Look for the little white arrow on the bottom left of reels as you’re scrolling. (P.S. make sure your Instagram account is set to creator. You’ll have access to the best audio).
- Share your expertise. Video content is a fun way to show that you’re an expert in your industry.
- Spend anytime online as passive research. If you’re like us, and you spend an hour scrolling through Instagram or TikTok after work, keep an eye and an ear out for trends and audio you like. Then you have something to put together the next day.
- Act fast! Trends come and go quickly when it comes to video content.
We Can Help with That
We know that when you’re a business owner with a small team, any extra task can seem like a huge burden. That’s why we’re here. We have a team of talented, passionate people who LOVE spending their time making amazing video content on Instagram and TikTok for our clients. Let us help you be a part of the video marketing revolution and watch your business grow online.
Email us today at
hello@thesmallsocial.com to book a discovery call. Let’s grow together.
