Hopefully you’re either already using video and/or exploring the use of video in your integrated marketing efforts. Rich media content as part of your content marketing efforts, video in particular, is extremely effective at driving traffic, driving views and generating leads that can be converted to sales. You know, the stuff that matters.
In other words, if you want to sell more stuff to more people, use video—it really is that simple. Not convinced yet?
Let’s Talk YouTube Numbers
No matter how many times we look at these stats on YouTube usage, we’re still amazed by them.
- YouTube has 800 million unique visitors every month
- 300 BILLION videos are watched each month
- 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute
- 3 hours of video per minute are uploaded to YouTube from mobile devices
- 500 YEARS of YouTube videos are watched every day on Facebook
- 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every MINUTE
Dude. (Yes, I said ‘Dude’) that’s a lot of video action. Oh, and by the way, that’s only on YouTube – there are other video platforms and apps out there, things like Vimeo and SocialCam, and a host of others that are popping up pretty much on a daily basis. And there will be more. Oh yes, there will be more.
How to Use Video to Generate Sales
Want an example of how you could use video to generate sales? Because if you’re a marketer, all your integrated marketing efforts – including the use of video, social media marketing and the like, should always be about driving sales. Watch this video from the folks at ProCharger. ProCharger is a Kansas City-based company that makes products designed for motorheads. You know, people who love cars and who love doing things to cars that makes them faster, louder, cooler – all that jazz. Take a minute and watch this…
Why Video Works When It Comes to Selling
Why does video make sense as a marketing initiative for ProCharger? Let’s think about their target customer for a second. They are typically hands-on kinds of people. They like building things (and taking them apart), and they understand how engines work. In fact, they are turned on beyond belief about anything having to do with engines and how they work. It’s the nature of the motorhead.
And when you can show them, visually, how a product you’d like for them to buy is assembled, how it works, and how it works within the realm of the engine it’s designed to be incorporated into, well, doesn’t that just make the job of selling that particular product about a million times easier?
Video is Powerful. Video Plus Data, Even More Powerful
I loved an article that Chris Gorell Barnes wrote awhile back for eConsultancy about the power of video that so simply explained it:
“It may be that influence is driven by an emotional connection. Video is a platform that provides a multi-sensory experience—a visual, audio and emotional experience all rolled into one. It’s much more engaging than text and still images and viewers are able to react to video in their own personal way, sharing with their friends via social media and even interact with it.”
Video is pretty amazing. And it can be the path to leads and, more importantly generates, sales.
And by the way, with the recently added analytics for YouTube, there is some amazing data that you can collect about your community, video views, etc. on YouTube that you can use to help you drive your strategy. If you decide to start using YouTube as part of your integrated marketing efforts, don’t overlook the importance of getting (and using) all the data that’s available to you.
So. What are you going to do about it? Or, if you’re already using video, tell us how it’s working for you.