Video is changing the way businesses communicate with consumers. Across the digital landscape, video consumption is spiking, and all of the major players in the global economy are paying attention. Without high-quality video content marketing, your business is missing out on opportunities today and even more opportunities tomorrow. This post will offer a glance at the growth of online video content and what it means for business marketing today.
Facebook Video
In February 2017, during his annual shareholder call, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed his belief that “video is a megatrend.”Over the last 5 months, Facebook has visibly emphasized video on the news feed, and has announced a video player in the traditional cover photo region of a business page. These changes reflect a clear opportunity for advertisers to more effectively connect with consumers within one of the world’s most prominent global media platforms.
Online Video as a Whole
Facebook’s actions are indicative of a broader trend across the media landscape. The U.S. population consumes over 1.3 billion hours of video annually, representing 44% of total media consumption – by far the largest category. Virtually all video consumption growth is occurring on mobile platforms, and the advertising dollars are following suit. This year will mark the first time global internet ad spend will best TV ad spend. We have officially crossed the Rubicon of online video advertising.
The Importance of Video Quality
Just because online video is growing in popularity and marketing efficacy, video for video’s sake won’t cut it. In a hyper-competitive arena where consumers are bombarded with optionality, advertisers struggle to maintain the attention of an increasingly discerning audience.
Tech journalist Larry Alton recently argued that it’s “quality over quantity” with video. Today, search engines take social signals into account when determining page rankings. In other words, metrics such as likes, shares and perhaps even impressions matter. If you’re sharing a high volume of low-quality content, then you probably aren’t getting much traction in this area. However, if the content you do share is high in quality, likes and shares will come naturally.
Even if you spend time and money making video content, if it’s bad, no one will watch it. Even worse, no one will share it, and search giants will bury it. This fact truly matters in a world where Facebook and Google represent nearly 75% of global web traffic.
We have reached the point of no return with video advertising, and businesses must embrace this unprecedented opportunity to reach consumers. If you want to keep up with the digital marketing landscape, start incorporating high-quality video into your growth strategy.
