The Future MOVES
In the past, it was the drive-in. Archie Andrews loaded up his jalopy with first date memory-making tricks, picked up Veronica Lodge (or Betty Cooper, depending on the weekend), and took her to see a motion picture — a MOVIE, that is. There, the happy teen couple watched moving pictures, made out in the backseat (to the chagrin of Mr. Lodge/Cooper), and filled up on 50-cent hot dogs and extra-large sodas when the intermission commercials came on.
But grabbing teens’ attention via moving pictures didn’t stop in the frosted malt’s heyday. In fact, it’s growing more than ever.
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We’re a long way from the drive in, baby!
Who hasn’t clicked on a video of a panda sneezing or kittens cuddling when a Facebook friend shares the link? Whether it’s cute animal videos, mini docu-dramas on YouTube, or 10-second clips shared on Instagram or Snapchat, online media is more video-oriented than ever before.
Cisco, an American technology company, predicts consumer internet video traffic will be 80 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019, up from 64 percent in 2014. So your company should have a visually-pleasing website and some killer copy, yes, but video content will keep your audience there longer.
Click Play and Stay a While
Here’s why: consumers like to be part of the experience. So, while you’re about to watch that video interview with LeBron James on Sports Illustrated’s website, there’s a 30-second Nike commercial preceding it.
Related: Be Memorable & Inspirational: Experiential Marketing Strategies
Video content, of course, can be much more diverse and original than the traditional commercial.
Bringing it back to the cinema, Cineplex’s pre-movie show that sees hosts interviewing stars, talking about the latest Hollywood flicks, and even hosting an audience-interactive trivia game is a prime example of video content that captures viewers attention. The trick is how the company makes use of time when they have an audience and use it in a meaningful way to connect with their target.
Ninety-six per cent of B2B marketers pitch videos for online marketing, sales, and as a great way to enhance their communications. Eighty percent of those marketers say they use it to increase brand awareness and engagement. For those businesses, video content marketing is about creating a culture, not merely selling products.
Moving pictures paving the way for culture creation
For example, online consumers typically go to Google or Amazon to buy Christmas presents, but are drawn to YouTube to get their holiday cheer. You can get an iPhone case on any site, but can you revel in the joy of watching Mariah Carey perform her 1994 hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You” alongside The Roots and talk show host Jimmy Fallon?
That immortal moment can’t be explained away through a well-written Facebook post, but a link share can convey who you are and what you enjoy to your followers. That’s culture creation.
Videos can also be informational, funny, or leave viewers with a slice of life. Shared micro-moments give viewers a taste of what your company culture is like, and gives them the opportunity to get a coveted peek at what working for you or being present at an event would be like. Such is the case for companies, such as Heineken did at Coachella, that are now using Snapchat to convey their brand through bite-size stories.
The medium of video is more present now than ever, so it’s a no-brainer that businesses should invest in this kind of service and engage people where they already are.
The people have spoken, and they want your video content
And people are interested in watching video. An article or newsletter with “video” in the subject line is 20 per cent more likely to get clicks than those without. When a website has video content, people visiting are likely to stay on the page for an average of two minutes longer than usual.
Consumers from the current and next generation are young. Generation Y — otherwise known as millennials — are entering the workforce, driving the economy, and making big decisions in the next decade. What the millennial age really means is our consumer group is as tech-savvy as never before; we ignore companies that don’t keep up with technology trends, and we make more informed buying decisions than our parents have in the past.
That’s because video gives us the technology to convey that information quicker and more ubiquitously than ever before.
Related:
How Do Brands Stay Relevant To New Generations?
“Time To Enroll” | Marketing Universities
Perhaps Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge wouldn’t have been so discerning in the 1950s, but with Netflix, YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, Instagram (the list goes on) at our fingertips, we’re able to be more engaged than ever to moving pictures — the trick is to make video content that’s unique and captivating enough that two comic book teenagers won’t pass it up for a backseat makeout.
Header Photo: Bady qb via Unsplash
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