With the many streaming platforms available to us, we now are absorbing more and more video content than ever before. Social media platforms have dived right in with video and animated posts, and this is fast becoming the more mainstream mode of communication especially on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
YouTube is the most well-known video sharing platform and is considered the second largest search engine on the internet. It has seen incredible, unparalleled growth; since the first video was uploaded in February of 2005. The platform now boasts over one billion hours of video watched every day. Recent statistics suggest 400 hours of video are uploaded every minute.
Think about that for a second… People prefer to consume their media by watching, rather than listening or reading. And, now that we’ve acknowledged this it’s about time we adopted this form of communication in all Content Marketing strategies.
Email is not dead, it is just evolving
Video in email is the biggest trend and a marketing win for 2018. This conduit of communication is finding its way into your target market’s mailboxes more and more, and you cannot afford to be left behind.
Gone are the days of a traditional outbound sales and marketing strategies. Today, we are becoming more creative in driving awareness of our brands and services. And, this content marketing strategy has become the modern-day saviour to those looking for a better way to build communication and awareness strategies that actually convert leads.
The official definition of inbound from the trailblazers themselves at HubSpot is: Inbound is a method of attracting, engaging, and delighting people to grow a business that provides value and builds trust. In laymen’s terms, I would say it is creating more human to human business and building brands on trust and education which drives better relationships and growth.
So how does video find its way into the inbound approach?
The very basis of inbound is the human connection, and by making use of video, you are establishing trust in a very human way right up front. You do this by showing your face and the smile behind the words that often find their way into our emails, value propositions and service statements.
How does this affect you and your marketing initiatives?
Well it‘s about time you start making your own videos, and I don’t mean those boring company video explainers, rather:
- Take a moment to understand your positioning statement
- Identify a problem statement with an intended prospect.
- Create a 45 to 90 second introduction of who you are and why you are looking to reach out to them, with as few “me me me” sentences as possible.
- Remember to smile.
- You don’t need fancy video equipment, using your laptop or phone is perfectly acceptable.
- Ensure your surrounds are conducive for light and sound.
I guarantee you if you are authentic, honest and you personalise your video based on your prospect, you will see conversion rates increase by 500% or more.
My role within the sales framework is to connect with people and identify possible challenges preventing them from achieving success through their growth initiatives. Instead of trying to communicate cold with them or trying to engage with them via an email which is filled with jargon on who I am and why I am reaching out, I begin my connect phase with a personal video for that intended individual.
Make sure you make it your own and what works for you.
Now I am not saying you must follow my approach but be sure to make it your own and make it worthwhile. Remember to be authentic and honest and the results will come.
From the latest 2018 video benchmark report from Vidyard we are seeing the following:
- 75% of creators keep their video under 2 min.
- 86% of business-related video take place on desktop browsers.
- 46% of viewers will watch to the end.
Video email is still in its infancy but positioning yourself as an early adopter will set you up as being an expert. This allows you to be more authentic with your prospects.
There are a few people who are really nailing this, and Marcus Sheridan is a great example. His approach with his customers has enabled him to build a career as a coach for the everyday person like you and me. He focuses on how to achieve success in today’s chaotic, overcrowded world of information using the means of video.
Your prospects will undoubtedly feel the energy you bring, and possibly relate to you better because of the personable touch. Video is simply more effective than a worded email. Reading about how you are going to change the lives of your prospects with your product or service has a lot less oomph, than an animated high energy short video.
The tools I use to convey my email video is built right into HubSpot
HubSpot has partnered with Vidyard, an online video creation tool, which will store your videos in the cloud and provide analytics on each piece of content you create. You will have insights into which videos have been watched and enjoyed enough to be shared.
On the paid solutions you are even able to add meeting links straight into the video enabling even less friction.
HubSpot has made it very easy to bring video into your email with a built-in integration, with one click you are able to share your explainer or service right into your email, in a way that you have never been able to before
Email isn’t dead; we are just taking it to the next level, one that resonates with your prospects on a much deeper level.
A level that builds trust instantly, and you cannot afford to be left behind.
Video Stats:
- 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day. (HubSpot)
- By 2020, online videos will make up more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic (85% in the US). (Cisco)
- YouTube is the second most trafficked site, after Google. (Alexa)
- One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. (Forrester Research)
- Users view more than 500 million hours of video each day on YouTube. (Business Insider)
- 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text. (Wordstream)
- 55% of people pay close attention when consuming videos — more than all other types of content. (HubSpot)
- In the past 30 days, more online video content has been uploaded to the web than the past 30 years of TV content. (Blue Corona)
- 51% of all video plays are on mobile devices. (Adelie Studios)
- Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Wordstream)
