The internet and social media have turned into an image only based medium, with videos being the dominant category. Studies have shown that 72% of people prefer video over text when learning about a new product or service.
A 2016 report showed more than 500 million Facebook users watched videos daily. 82% of Twitter users watched a video on the social platform per day. For companies that specialize strictly in the B2B market, 75% of business executives watch at least one industry-specific video a week.
Fast forwarded to 2019, 85% of all internet users watch video content monthly. That doesn’t mean it’s time to start shooting a load of commercials and flood the internet. What it means is you may need to revamp your digital strategy and create more visually engaging content. Before you start to say, “I don’t work in a ‘cool’ industry,” I want you to understand it’s not about being “cool” or “hip.” It’s about knowing what information your followers are seeking.
Let’s take, for example, an uninspiring industry, like accounting. Nothing is exciting about doing your taxes, tax preparation is one of the most difficult things to understand. Many people rely on digital tools such as TurboTax or resort to having that local tax person who will do your taxes for a set fee in a coffee shop. Much of the population doesn’t think about tax preparation past the yearly filing period.
An accounting professional with his/her own business could benefit from video by distributing weekly tax tips year-round that consist of advice on what people can do in their everyday life to decrease their taxable income and manage their finances.
To support their customer base, the accountant professional could record FAQs to be hosted on their site for users to get visual answers to quick questions. Video conferencing could assist with long-distance clients who may be filing their business-related taxes quarterly.
Video production is more about using content (that would traditionally be placed in a long 1500 word blog or white paper) and condensing it down to a medium that is more consumable for users. Time is what businesses are competing with. Attention spans have decreased to six seconds on average, so brands must get their message to their core audience quickly.
