The Year of Video Marketing

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember.” Marketers are cashing in on this old adage as it becomes easier than ever to create videos with new, innovative tech tools. Video marketing is a new type of digital marketing wherein businesses create short videos and upload them to video sharing website for increased exposure. By 2017, video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic, according to Cisco. Video-on-demand traffic alone will have almost trebled. Nielsen claims that most marketers expect video to dominate their marketing strategy in times to come. The recent Volkswagen campaign with three videos and a total of 155 million views is evidence that video is the future of online marketing.

Video has unique advantages to it that no other form of content has. As audiences get increasingly busier, video quickly grabs attention and keeps the viewer joyfully and emotionally engaged for a longer duration. A video satisfies both engagement and entertainment needs at the same time, making the viewer spend longer time with the brand, increasing brand affinity. Video content is not only easy-to-understand but also enjoyable and takes less time as compared to other content in this age of information overload. No wonder it is going to be the tool of choice in the marketers kit in the future. That said, marketers must consider content relevance and creativity to utilize this tools potential completely. The indispensable role of social media and mobile phones can't be neglected either.

Videos can easily become effective lead generation tools. Video viewing data can be used to score, segment and qualify leads. It is the only way marketers can track actual engagement with the content, and hence, the brand. As marketers use video marketing as an active platform to engage audiences, video analytics can quickly turn data to results from lead generation to revenue. No wonder 2015 has been called the Year of Video Marketing.