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Video Marketing 2020: Mobile vs. Desktop Engagement Stats and Factors

Oct 9, 2020 | Video Marketing

Video has become a critical component in every business owner’s overall strategy. As technology evolves, the quality of the video is improving with it, where consumers seek more engaging content. So the use of video is set to continue to rise exponentially.

Therefore, we have to look at new ways to engage our audience using video content. How do we do it? It starts with giving customers unique experiences that have their best interest at heart while also meeting your business goals. This could be done in several different ways. The most popular marketing videos are explainer videos, which usually are mini videos explaining products or services. They are fun, snappy videos that quickly get the point across.

These are a few more video content marketing examples:

Video interviews
Tutorials
Presentations
Live Streams
Product demos
Video ads

With the world quickly moving toward the mobile market and with 4.78 billion users expected to use mobile almost exclusively by 2020, it has become even more critical to make sure you are marketing to your mobile customers.

When planning your video ad campaigns, it’s essential to keep your mobile audience in mind. Think about how you use your own mobile devices, where you are when you use them, and how you interact with your device while on the go.

MicroLearning is a new concept that has surfaced over the past few months due to the increased interest in using mobile devices. Web designers and online eCommerce business owners may benefit from this recent interest in Micro Learning.

MicroLearning is tied into “gamification,” which takes a “fun” approach to various activities that you can do online. This can be used to appeal to both your customer base as well as your employees. Technical knowledge can be communicated through this technique, and it increases the engagement level of your visitors.

Now that you have a good idea of the most popular video content, let’s look at the latest video marketing stats vital for you to know in 2020.

The return on investment for video marketing (ROI)

91% of marketers have indicated that they are happy with the ROI that video marketing brings in when it comes to social media.

Looking at the current state of videos, they are more time consuming to make and may need more expertise. Yet, would the return on your investment be worthwhile? Let’s look into this. The first return would be seen when more people visit your business website, increasing your brand awareness.

It may not initially bring in sales, but your brand becomes more well known and reputable along the way. As more customers hear that your brand serves their needs, they will be more prone to purchase. Another opportunity to use this data is to invest in video ads on YouTube or Facebook, which can bring you more reach.

Video ads are the number 1 way consumers discover a brand

Video ads drive more users from social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to make purchases. Generally, this means a standard Television ad or social media ad. Most users will find these ads while scrolling or when engaging with content. Often, it makes the brand appear reputable and serves as a visual cue. While they may not buy at that moment, when they see another signal, it could lead to the purchase. Most platforms like YouTube and Facebook push for video ads and optimize for them as well.

Video ads are easier to digest, and it’s visual by nature, so many tactics used in television advertisements could be applied. You can always think of your ad as the first engagement with your customer. However, if you are employing a video ad strategy on other platforms, that’s a good idea too and will eventually be seen by your target customer.

25% of consumers purchase a product they saw on a story on Instagram

We already know that Instagram is a robust platform that has leveraged the idea of stories and offered marketing space for a price. While the in-feed promoted posts were useful, people have grown tired of them and simply scroll past. Stories are more engaging, and they do make people stay longer on the app, more prone to check out your product.

The good news for you is that Instagram has a loyal base of people who avidly check the app for about 53 minutes daily. That’s enough for potential customers to see your ad, make a connection, and make a purchase. Better yet, they may make a connection and share the product with friends and family.

YouTube is the number 1 platform affecting consumer behavior

This video platform is home to 50 million content creators, and each is hoping their best videos get incentivized from advertising income. How does YouTube essentially pay its bills? Well, they can only do it via advertising. If you’ve ever been searching for information and google populates a video or how-to guide, and if you watch it, you will see an ad a few times in that video. This is one of the critical approaches that have made YouTube the prime platform for driving consumer behavior.

In this way, YouTube is affecting consumer behavior through their well engineered ad platform. Another option is via the content creators themselves. Most YouTubers run sponsored videos where they use a product from a brand that pays them to share it with their audience.

Often if they have 100,000 or more people subscribed to their channel, they will be considered an influencer since they can influence that audience to buy the sponsored product. It works on the premise that YouTube creators become like their friends, and they know trust and like them, so when they share a product, it’s easier to purchase because their “friend” recommended it.

85% of businesses use video as a marketing tool

This becomes even more interesting when we see that 96% of marketers have attributed ad spend to video. Since more than 90% of marketers are using videos for marketing, you cannot afford to be left out of this picture. Similarly, research shows that 71% of B2B marketers and 66 % of B2C marketers use video marketing.

As more and more businesses seek to get their offerings in front of their ideal customers, the competition has undoubtedly become more fierce. The only way to use this data is to find a way to create compelling video marketing for your business. When video marketing is combined with social media, it can also become a powerful and cost-effective way to get your products in front of the right audience.

75% of consumers decided not to buy a product because the video voiceover annoyed them

This stat from Wyzowl shows that the video’s content and sound quality can be equally important. People have unique tastes, and it always helps to know your customer well. This can lead to your customer relating to your brand better when they eventually do see your ad. The worst thing you can do is have an ad that people don’t watch or find annoying. Also, it’s more expensive to have an annoying video ad. On Facebook, if your ad performs well, then they will show it to more people and vice versa. The aim is that the platform does not wish to create a negative space for its users. The objective is to keep people on the platform so they can buy more.

You can avoid having an unsuitable ad by ensuring you do your research on your audience, likes, dislikes, and tastes in the video. Many marketers join a variety of platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and keep in touch with the conversations to get a sense of their preferences. Alternatively, you can look at your competitor’s ads to find what’s working. If you’re on Facebook, you can easily navigate to all their running ads by accessing their page and watching a few of their ads under the “transparency” section. It helps to ensure that your ads are pleasant and keeps your viewers engaged, so if it means hiring a video editor to make it happen, it makes the best investment for your company.

Mobile Video Marketing

Your customers are more attracted to video than they are to image content, and for this reason, the video has outperformed other forms of content. Additionally, mobile use has seen an uptick in the last 4-5 years, and more people are consuming your content using mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. In short, your customers love to watch videos on their mobile devices. According to YouTube, more than 70% of all YouTube video use comes from mobile devices. Additionally, 93% of Twitter video views are from mobile devices.

You can use this knowledge by ensuring that all your video marketing content is optimized for mobile. Simple aspects such as creating portrait mode video instead of landscape video can make a big difference. With the onset of Instagram stories and TikTok, the world is moving swiftly towards space where we consume most of our video content in portrait mode. The good news for you is that it is easily converted by using software like adobe premiere or final cut pro to update your videos.

82% of all consumer web traffic will be video in the future

Cisco recently released its annual internet report and found that around a million minutes of video per second will pass through the internet. Additionally, they also noted 82% of internet users buying something online would be facilitated via a video. This will prove exciting as marketers will have to cater to more video content by either outsourcing video content or repurpose their content.

Ideally, this video creation must be planned since it can take up to 5-6 hours. Yet, the good news is that more and more companies embrace the need to simplify the video process offering free and paid solutions that will undoubtedly help you create professional videos that are aimed at business marketing.

66% of marketers see success on TikTok

TikTok has multiplied in the last two years, where they allow users to make short-form content and share it with around 800 million TikTok users. While the application is entirely new compared to the giants of social media like Facebook and Instagram, it has been showing some decent results.

More and more adult users are on board for the fun, quirky, and sometimes cringe-worthy videos that show up. Marketers bring their business to TikTok using the trends and popular music to make educational content that draws their target market in. Their ad platform is also seeing some traction, and it is relatively inexpensive to start.

They do have a large influencer base who will gladly make video content for your brand and share it on the page with millions of followers. Most influencers on the platform are learning how to price their services, and you may find you get underpriced attention for your brand leading to more customers coming your way.

Final Thoughts on the Future of Online Video

Video consumption has increased significantly in the last decade, primarily due to the advancement in technology. As a marketer, this should be a useful tool to use in your content strategy. By making use of content like explainer videos, tutorials, Instagram stories, and live streams, you will start to see a rise in engagement on your brand.

The data indicates that people need good video content that entertains, educates, or inspires. If your content does any of this, they will likely be interested in finding out more about your product or service.

Additionally, using video will increase your engagement and brand awareness, especially when making use of YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram stories, which offer inexpensive ad campaigns for businesses seeking to reach their ideal customers.

Did you enjoy finding out about video marketing stats? If so, please go ahead and look at our recent stats on the top video platform, YouTube.

Wait! Don’t forget to check out these related articles:

5 Video Advertising Mistakes Every Marketer Must Avoid

Oct 7, 2020 | Video Marketing

When it comes to video advertising, the creators are always under pressure to compile engaging and informative messages to win over new clients. These communications should have a clear call to action and must stand out against competitors’ ads.

As to err is human, it is quite natural to commit common errors while creating video ads. Unfortunately, careless advertising mistakes counteract all the hard work and devastate a company’s credibility and miss out getting newer clients. Hence, to avoid such common blunders and to give viewers a negative first impression, it is essential to know about specific things.

One of the initial steps is to double-check all ads before posting to be sure you’re not committing the clichéd video advertising mistakes.

Let’s take a look at what is video advertising:

Advertising through video is the latest and newest trend in the marketing industry for effective brand promotion. This strategy benefits every type of business immensely.

Video ads are the ideal way of communicating with prospective clienteles; these promotional materials enable a company to convey one’s message efficiently to a wider audience. Hence, video advertising allows a marketer to get more exposure in the market. Research says that videos have a more compelling power compared to written advertisements.

Nowadays, every consumer seeks instant information about their choicest product or service. Undoubtedly, video marketing works wonder. Advertising through video is the only channel that can adequately satisfy such clientele needs. Video ads deliver the message at a lesser time compared to any blog or article or any advertised text.

As video advertising holds a crucial position in an organization’s brand promotion, any mistake can destroy the image of a company. One must have detailed knowledge about the many pitfalls of video advertising and never commit these blunders.

Mentioned below are 5 common yet shocking video advertising mistakes that you should avoid now:

Mistake 1: Professionalism is taken for granted

While marketing with video, a businessperson needs to present his brand’s competence level. Here, professionalism is the final word. Your consumers must trust your trade name. So, it is necessary to show a video professionally.

Before creating a video one should understand the essential company culture and its image. Lack of professionalism can be detrimental to the success of the organization. Every conveyed promotional message has a theme. This theme should be presented efficiently.

Although B2C and B2B companies have different company image and specific advertisement requirement, yet, all should portray competence of the brand whether in a fun manner or severe corporate attitude.

Mistake 2: Not giving enough importance to voice-over tone

Voice over is the crucial part of any video marketing. Hence, a marketer must understand the necessity of the usage of a proper tone. If the video tone is not engaging, consumers won’t view the video and all your efforts will go in vain. Make sure to synchronize the voice-over tone with the main theme of your video.

But, one should also keep in mind, if the video has similar kind of tonal aspect throughout then, it will become monotonous and consumers would not find it interesting.

Hence, it is necessary to understand the primary purpose of your video. You can implement some fun elements also simultaneously with a serious business approach. Whatever the tone is, not to confuse the audience, it should be consistent.

Mistake 3: Not doing a proper survey with competitor video ads

It is essential to perform a survey before creating a video advert. Mostly, one should see how competitors in the industry portray themselves. Then one can compare one’s own company and dramatically modify itself based on the industry standards.

Consumers have different expectations from different industries. An entrepreneur should follow them within reason or it could cost the company in the long run.

Mistake 4: Presenting a video ad in strange, ambiguous, or indirect approach

Your video is an attention-grabbing tool; it’s perfectly fine to try something different with your video. But people should not create any promotional video material in strange, ambiguous, or indirect manner.

It is not surprising that a creator would want to spawn a video that goes viral. But there are steps to follow. Incorporating unnecessary artistic and abstract details would hamper the inner essence of video advertising. The fundamental purpose of marketing through video would fail and it won’t fulfill your purpose.

Mistake 5: Not considering video ads post timing:

Timing plays a significant role in video advertisements, but many promoters don’t realize that. Just like other projects or product launches, video adverts should also follow a specific schedule.

Scheduling your video ads would take you to a wider client base. This way a publisher would convey his message at the same the time efficiently to a large mass of target audience.

Scheduling enables you to perform proper ads distributions. Adequate ad post timing can be aligned with the audience(s). Throwing up video ads at any time of day may be appropriate for specific brands but for the most part – there should be some strategy for the distribution.

For instance, watching an advertisement of a fruit juice in the morning would be more useful and boost sales at that time versus at night. Aren’t you shocked to learn about these advert errors? Yes, all these mistakes are common to hindsight, yet, they are shocking. If not taken care, these faults can tarnish the reputation of an organization.

Bottom line

If you’re planning to create a cutting-edge video advertising, then follow the above steps. Although common, yet all such missteps would piecemeal land your business in danger. Whether you are tech start-up or a big firm, committing errors won’t justify your position. It is necessary to be alert and conscious while posting any video materials for promotion.

Animation in PowerPoint Presentations: Are they worth it?

Oct 7, 2020 | Animation, Video Marketing

Nothing can add life to a PowerPoint presentations better than animation. Animations add flair to a presentation. When used well, the motion effects can add dynamism to your deck and make your message more powerful.

When you first start including animation in your presentation, it may be tempting to overdo it. This can make your PowerPoint slow and often not enjoyable for your audience. The best animation effects have an aesthetic use that is in sync with your message and also helps to control the pace of your presentations.

How to Use Animation in PowerPoint?

PowerPoint has evolved over the years and several new features have been added to it to enhance it further. A presentation, similar to a story, has a beginning, middle and a conclusion. To mark these points, you can use animation in the form of a Transition. The Transition Pane in PowerPoint has several variations and options to choose from.

To use animation in 2013, 2016 PowerPoint, follow the following steps.

Select the text or object that you wish to animate
Click “Add animation” on the Animations tab of the ribbon to choose an animation effect
The speed of the effect chosen is determined by the Duration setting. Click on the Timing option under Animations tab and enter the number seconds that you wish the animation effect to continue
When you animate a text or an object, a small numeral shows up to the left of the object. The numeral shows the presence of an animation effect and its position in the sequence of animations on a slide. To remove an animation, just select the numeral and press delete.

According to experts, a crucial aspect to remember when adding animations is to keep it simple. While PowerPoint offers an array of options for animation, over-using them can make your presentation appear unprofessional and distract your viewers.

Animation should aid, not be a hurdle in your viewer’s understanding of your PowerPoint. The animation doesn’t help much when it is distracting. Flashy animations such as ‘Boomerang’, ‘Checkerboard’, or ‘Bonce’ take the focus away from the message and may even come across as irritating. All said, animation, when used well, can work to enhance audience engagement and recall levels significantly.When using animations, objects, texts and images can flip, fly or drop on your slide. You can make them spin, shimmer or pulse for emphasis. For business purposes, it is best to follow some simple animations such as:

Appear – The object just pops on the screen
Fade – The object moves in and out in a quiet, gentle way
Wipe – An invisible eraser wipes the slide
Zoom – The object comes from far away to the forefront

It is advised that you stick to the same animations all through your presentations to ensure a sense of consistency to your story.

Experts say that the best thing to do with PowerPoint animation is to use it to build your story at a gradual pace. This will also ensure that your audience can absorb all the content without feeling a loaded. Also, they will stay focused as they would want to find out what happens next.

Tips to Create Effective PowerPoint Animations

Here are some things to keep in mind to create effective PowerPoint animations.

1. Choose the right effects

Animation effects fall into four categories: entrance, emphasis, motion paths and exits. Entrance effects are the most commonly used ones. Few people use the exit effects. However, they can be extremely useful in certain situations. Both motion paths and emphasis effects have limited use and should be applied only in specific cases.

When explaining a process or sharing a story, PowerPoint motion paths make for a great tool. You can employ motion animation to take your audience through the different steps of a process. It can be used for objects, texts or images, with a lot of creativity.

2. Control of the effects

When you apply an effect, there are three options: start on click, start with previous and start after previous. Most presenters depend on “start on click” for all effects. It gives them time to get across a specific point to their audience before proceeding to the next effect. “Start after previous” is helpful when you are looking to keep the sequence flowing as you talk. “Start with previous” is helpful to stack multiple effects of running at the same time to maintain a good pace.

3. Timing of the effects

To control the timing of the effects, you can go to ‘speed setting’. You would want to apply the same speed setting so that you are able to anticipate the flow of the effects as you talk consistently.

4. Sequence

The arrangement of the effects is an important consideration. It is crucial to get the sequence of your effects right to achieve the desired results. The layering of the objects can also have an impact on the overall animation. Whether an effect begins on top of another or comes from behind can completely change the effectiveness or the message of the animation.

5. Check thoroughly

It is always a good idea to review your presentation in the Slide Show mode. This way you can test the timing, control and arrangement to produce the desired effect.

The key to effective animation is to understand when to use it. You can follow the 80/20 rule for this. What 20% of your presentation is the most important? That is what is worth adding your animation to.

Once you understand how animations can work for your presentations, you’re limited only by your imagination. Use the extensive selection of animation options in PowerPoint and make your presentations lively and unforgettable.