As we have discussed in our blog previously, video is one of the most persuasive mediums available, but why should you really be using video? We all know that whether you are advertising, teaching, informing or fund-raising you need to build a rapport with your audience. Beyond video’s capability to create a human connection through emotional cues given via voice and body language, it also has some unique elements that should grab the attention of anyone developing content.

Mobile Friendly

Tablets and smartphones are changing the way people watch videos and YouTube alone has seen mobile traffic triple since 2011, creating an audience of mobile users that bring a billion views a day – to just one site. The fact is, reading on a smartphone is tiresome and while it is doable on a tablet, video remains superior for getting your message across, no matter where your viewer is. With the ability to plugin a set of headphones, review portions of interest, and stream videos without the need for a download, video offers an immersive experience that can go anywhere.

Video Testimonials

Everyone has seen little text blurb testimonials on websites, but how many of us really trust that copy? Now, if you want real proof of how great the work you, your organization or your business is, share peoples stories via video. Greg Jarboe, President of SEO-PR who authored YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour A Day believes that video goes far beyond the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. So how many words can a short video be worth? “A thousand times a thousand. A million. No—I’m exaggerating; that’s the dramatic answer. The actual answer may be somewhere around 2,000 words. That’s the length of a short story – and what a video does is tell a story.”

If you can deliver a powerful message to your audience about the value of your work that is more believable and takes you beyond what your competition is offering why wouldn’t you utilize it?

Overwhelm the Competition

How many of your competitors are using video? How many of them are using video well? No matter your industry, whether you are a nonprofit or for, whether you are just starting out or have been established for years, there’s always those in a sector that are content with doing things the easy way and sticking to old marketing strategies. How many mailers do you receive a month and recycle without thinking? How many spam emails do you delete? How often do you still dodge telemarketers and skip over commercials?

As the consumption of content changes, so should your marketing strategy. This is the time to be creative and use video to let your audience know you. Your brand personality is what makes your unique and there is no better way to introduce yourself. The more powerful your presence and the more you connect the less wiggle room the competition has. Overwhelm them with video, make your voice the one that’s heard. Who would you rather buy from or donate to? A store or charity that offers an individual you can come to know and offers transparency through their content, or a page of text and some pictures?

Ease of Sharing

Getting your content in front of an audience and keeping it there is vital to keeping your message alive. Video is one of the easiest mediums to share online, and can spread like wildfire if you manage to go viral. While blogs and webpages are great, the reach they have can be limited and the content within them gets published just one time. If you do spread a blog post around, it can take a lot of effort to embed your content in other sites and encourage sharing. Beyond posting to YouTube, sharing your video on your Facebook page and webpage and tweeting about it, in our next post we’ll go into detail about where you can put your video so people can find it.