Consumers today don’t often realize how brands are incorporating video marketing into their strategies.

How often do you find yourself binge-watching videos online? If you’re like me, it’s more often than you’d like to admit.

It’s not too hard to see why videos are so popular today. It’s an easy-to-digest format that gives our eyes a break from the textual information we often read on our screens. Plus, it’s fun to kick back and relax while watching a few videos.

Many different brands are using videos in their marketing campaigns in order to reach a wider audience. Video continues its onward march as the lineman of the content revolution, but it’s fairly safe to say that most start-ups and scale-ups have yet to take full advantage of video marketing for their brand.

So the real question is, why should you be incorporating videos into your marketing strategy?

Why Video?

Video is a versatile and engaging content format that not only gives us a real-life picture of what’s going on, but is also easy to share across multiple platforms. Consumers like it because it’s easy to digest, entertaining, and engaging, and marketers like it because it can give a potentially huge return on investment (ROI) through many channels.

For many, life is too busy to have time to read long product descriptions or dig deep into services. That’s where videos come into play. Videos engage even the laziest of consumers. Plus, videos are very accessible – all you need is an internet connection. So many people have access to the internet today thanks to places like McDonald’s and Starbucks who offer free internet to customers.

Video marketing can not only capture a wide audience, but it works on so many different levels. That’s why social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have rolled out features such as live video or stories.

What Types of Videos Should You Use?

Vlogs, or video blogs, are one of the most common, and easiest, forms of video content to create. We see vlogs everywhere – Facebook, Instagram, and of course, YouTube. Vlogs are great when you want to spice up your blog page. They’re cheap to produce, personality-driven, and quite possibly the best bang for your buck in terms of sheer engagement value.

Over the years, we’ve seen that more and more businesses have started to embrace vlogging. One of the most popular vloggers in the marketing world is Gary Vaynerchuck, who runs DailyVee. In his episodes, Gary documents what he does every day at work and shares it with his audience. We might not want to admit it, but YouTube celebrities have been vlogging for years and are experts at producing engaging content about engaging topics.

Interviews are also popular but take more time to produce. You can, however, create incredible videos by interviewing guests or other people of importance. A good interview should follow a set of guidelines like a vlog, but feel unscripted – almost like a podcast.

Another powerful form of video content is “behind-the-scenes” videos. People love businesses that seem like they’re “human” and less like a “money making and taking” corporation. This form is the most personal of all content types. Viewers can see your face, how you’re dressed, your body language, your tone of voice, sense your personality, and so much more. YB Chang of Buzzfeed uploaded a video on YouTube which highlighted how she edits videos for her company.

You’ll see that making these types of videos doesn’t have to be challenging! Making videos can even be fun when you get the team involved.

Video Marketing is Cool!

Videos are an easy tool that can be used to drive engagement on many different platforms. You don’t need to be an expert at creating videos in order to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.

Videos engage even the laziest consumers which will boost your overall engagement. So, try it out – give video marketing a chance. People enjoy seeing that different businesses and their employees are “real humans” rather than just assuming they’re all “money making and taking” corporations.

If you’re looking to see what we’re doing to incorporate video marketing, check out our weekly Facebook live. You might learn a thing or two!