Video may well have killed the radio star and it seems quite prepared to do the same to older forms of digital marketing. Now more than ever, if you want to provide an exceptional user experience (UX), one that drives conversions, then you need to make video marketing the cornerstone of your digital campaigns.

But what are the best ways to use video marketing to optimize UX and convert browsers of your site into buyers of your product?

Why Video Marketing Matters

If you need proof of the enormous power of video in capturing the attention, the interest, and the “clicks” of internet users and social media aficionados today, all you need to do is look at the latest data from YouTube. 

There are more than two billion logins per month to YouTube’s platform. Nearly 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube per minute. And 90% of YouTube users report that they turn to YouTube videos to discover new products and brands.

But the benefits of video marketing aren’t just exclusive to YouTube. Videos, no matter where they are hosted, are 50 times more likely to be organically ranked in a Google search than text-only pages. Not only that, but video search results are shown to have a 41% higher click-thru rate than do text results.

In other words, consumers want videos, and they’re far more likely to act, to progress from click to conversion if the information they’re looking for comes in video rather than digital text. 

Why Video Enhances the User Experience (UX)

When you think about it, it’s not difficult to understand why video provides a greater user experience (UX) than text alone. Video is a multi-sensory experience, and yet it requires less cognitive effort than do text and graphics alone. 

This is perhaps the reason why studies have shown that viewers retain 95% of the content they receive through video versus only 10% of the content they receive from a text-based message. This is because audiences don’t have to expend the significant cognitive effort they need to read, comprehend, and retain written content. Video content gets processed and retained through both the visual and auditory systems, enhancing the brain’s ability to encode the message into memory.

It’s not just about the physical senses, though. Video has also been shown to exert a far greater emotional impact than text and graphics alone. 

The most effective video marketing strategies, for instance, are those which employ storytelling. Human beings are inherently predisposed to respond, both intellectually and emotionally, with narrative. We want to identify with the characters, to feel what they feel. That provides the emotional resonance that can make videos so engaging and memorable.

Videos as Informational Tools

You’re not going to provide an exceptional UX or convert viewers into customers if your target audience doesn’t understand what your product is, how it works, or what unique value it can bring to their lives. 

This is where the power of video really shines through. Not only can video be used to create a compelling story that your target audience can’t resist, but it can also be instrumental in demonstrating the utility of your product. 

This is particularly important for your landing pages when audiences are just beginning to learn about your company, your products, and your services. Posting strong video content on your landing pages with videos that tell the story of your business and your product is an ideal way to generate conversions. 

You can, in other words, tell prospects who you are and what your company can bring to their life with just a few short video clips. When done well, these videos can provide far more information, and in a far more engaging manner, than a long block of text ever could.

Best Practices for Video Marketing

While video marketing is an immensely effective tool for optimizing the user experience and driving conversions, not all videos are created equal. To get the most out of your video marketing campaign, there are some important strategies you need to use.

1. Know Your Audience

One of the most important things you can do when creating a video marketing campaign is to know your audience. Using data analytics to understand who your audience is and how they respond to your marketing content is an essential component of this. 

The Internet of Behavior (IoB) is a relatively new but essential trend in the effort to understand consumers and how they behave online. For the digital marketer, this should include collecting data on how users respond to video content, including determining what kinds of content generate clicks, shares, and, especially, sales. Armed with such data, you can then make informed decisions regarding what kind of video content to produce in the future and for which audiences specifically.

2. Production Matters

Video may be a highly effective marketing medium, but that does not mean that your work is done once you decide to make the transition from text content. The video content you produce must be well-designed, relevant, and engaging.

Consumers who watch online videos have very specific needs and viewing habits. They’re often watching the video on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. They also often have very little time to devote to each viewing. What this means, then, is that your videos need to be short, informative, and easily viewable across a range of devices and platforms.

The good news, though, is that you don’t have to have a degree in video production, nor do you have to bring on an experienced professional to do the production work for you. There is a host of easy-to-use video editing tools available at low or no cost online. With a bit of practice, this software can have you producing professional quality videos in no time!

The Takeaway

In today’s highly competitive market, businesses must work harder than ever to stand out from a sea of competitors, Video marketing is an increasingly important tool for doing exactly this. With video marketing, you can optimize your user experience and drive conversions far better than text and graphics alone.