Ignore Video and Miss Out on 69 Percent of Mobile Traffic In a fast-paced digital world, the visual appeal of the second screen can't be denied. Marketers, take heed.
By Eric Siu
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For years, experts have said that video marketing is on the rise, but many companies still haven't integrated this strategy into their content-marketing mix. Some are convinced it's not worth the effort, others believe they'll get lost in the sea of content, and some just aren't sure where to start.
Whatever your reasons, if you still aren't using video for your content marketing, now is the time to change. Online video has become so pervasive that marketers can't afford to ignore it any longer -- and it's only going to get bigger.
Here's why ignoring video is a risky proposition for any company, regardless of size or industry.
Related: The Video Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Your audience watches video.
You know that Google is the biggest search engine in the world, but what's the second biggest? Bing? Yahoo? Actually, it's YouTube. According to statistics compiled by Mushroom Networks, YouTube processes more than 3 billion searches each month, surpassing Bing, Yahoo, Ask and AOL Search combined.
If you're unconvinced, consider these statistics from YouTube: Across the world more than 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube. Every minute 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. Meanwhile, each month more than 1 billion unique users check out YouTube. Plus YouTube also captures more 18- to 34-year-olds in the United States than any cable television network. Yet it largely remains an underutilized tool for online marketing and brand advertising.
Plus, according to Sandvine's study last fall, YouTube and Netflix together add up to half of all North America's fixed network data.
Of course, YouTube isn't the only source of online video. But overall video statistics are just as intriguing. Digital Sherpa reports that one-third of all online activity is spent watching video. Every day, 100 million Internet users watch at least one video online, and the typical Internet user is exposed to 32.2 videos on average each month.
Video has more impact.
Video is not just ubiquitous; it's more effective. People who watch video are interested, engaged and invested. Digital Sherpa also noted that 80 percent of online visitors will watch a video in its entirety, while only 20 percent will read content all the way through. Meanwhile, 80 percent of Internet users recall the video ads they see online, and viewers spend 100 percent more time on pages with video on them.
In a fast-paced digital world, the visual appeal of video can't be denied.
Your customers are mobile -- and so are their videos.
The digital world is experiencing a shift toward mobile, as smartphones and tablets are poised to overtake desktops and laptops as the primary way people access the Internet.
When it comes to mobile devices, video is a hot topic. Consider that 33 percent of tablet owners watch at least one hour of video on their device each day, according to Invodo's "Video Statistics: The Marketer's Summary 2014," summarized by Brainshark. And last year 72.1 million smartphone owners watched video at least once a month on their devices. Some 86 million projected to do so this year.
Video search is expected to expand. Cisco Systems predicts that by 2018, video will represent 69 percent of mobile traffic.
With more wireless devices than people in the United States, mobile-accessible video is a must for any marketing strategy.
Related: 3 Tricks to Create Premium Video Content on a Budget
Video works. Period.
Those who believe that all of this video consumption is Netflix and funny cat videos are missing out on an opportunity to tap into a robust marketing channel for increased customer engagement. Digital Sherpa compiled the following trends:
Fifty percent of YouTube users watch business-related videos once a week.
After viewing a video, 75 percent of users check out a marketer's website.
Twenty-six percent of Internet users hunt for more information after watching a video ad, and 12 percent purchase the specific product or service featured in the ad.
Videos increased consumers' understanding of a company's product or service 74 percent.
Website visitors are 64 percent more inclined to purchase a product on an online retail site after watching a video.
Click-through rates increase two to three times with marketing emails that include video.
An introductory company email with a video boosts click-through rates 96 percent.
Incorporating the word "video" in an email's subject line increases open rates 19 percent and click-through rates 65 percent, while shrinking unsubscribe rates by 26 percent, according to Invodo's report.
Why wait until video becomes the norm for all marketers and businesses that are still hedging whether to get into the game? Add video to your content-marketing mix, and watch your bottom line grow through this year and beyond.
Related: Tricks to Creating a High-Quality Video With Your iPhone
