Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Tweets with images are 94% more likely to be retweeted than tweets that are just text. Receiving information audibly, or through text, means that only 10% of people will recall what was specifically said 3 days later – the rest will forget or just wave their hands around and generalize.  Because when we see images – especially moving images – we are more engaged and entertained.

65% of people are visual learners: meaning they’ll process visual information much more easily and much more quickly than text.

Video in marketing is a go-to at this point – but that doesn’t mean everyone knows the best practices to incorporate it. That’s where we come in:

Step 1: Don’t be afraid to get weird.

  • 73% of worldwide consumers respond to videos that are “entertaining”.
  • Don’t be too conservative: take a chance on jokes
  • Spontaneity, contradiction, shared experience, and outlandish behavior create memorability: and of course, the more memorable, the more successful!
  • But remember: don’t make fun of puppies.

Step 2: Know your audience

  • Make sure you heavily research your potential consumers. The video you make for a church group for 50-year old singles  may not be the same one you make 20-year old married surfers. Or maybe it will be – but you would know if you researched your audience.
  • Your video will not make an impact if it’s made for the wrong crowd.

Step 3: Have clear goals

  • Are you trying to sell tickets? Do you want to get people to donate? Should people buy your next big idea? When you have a clear goal, your video strategy becomes more clear, too.
  • And make your intentions clear to the audience: don’t forget to say who you are, and what you’re selling.

Step 4: Tell a story

  • Consumers want a personal connection when they gather information: even when they watch commercials.
  • The more emotional connection, the more people will be persuaded by your marketing
  • Our brains can’t tell the difference between a story and what we’re experiencing in real life: the same parts of the brain light up. So when your marketing video tells a story, the viewer’s brain thinks they’ve experienced that story – which creates an emotional connection – which ups your chances of gaining a customer.

Step 5: Timing is everything

When incorporating videos in marketing, don’t talk for too long. Keep sentences short. Keep information straightforward. And remember that consumers decide quickly if they want to keep paying attention. And your video length should reflect.

  • 56% of videos published in the last year were 2 minutes long or less
  • Current consumers are so bombarded by digital, marketing, and video content that the average attention span has dropped to about 8 seconds before they decide to either stay or move on to the next shiny thing.
  • But how long your video is depends on on the platform
    • Instagram: 30 seconds or less – the temptation to keep scrolling is too strong, so gotta keep it short
    • Twitter: 45 seconds: People use twitter because it manages to be engaging while brief: so your videos have to be, too.
    • Facebook: 1 minute – 67% of Facebook’s users get their news there; so they’re expecting the content to be a little longer.
    • YouTube: 2 minutes – the users go here to find specific content they’re interested in, so chances are they actually want you to talk.