In an age when plain-text content just doesn’t get the job done, communicators are realizing that amplifying their content across channels is the best way to reach the full variety of today’s power purchasers. And whether you’re creating content for consumers or B2B audiences, video has proven to be the most engaging and effective.
New research from video cloud services firm Brightcove further confirms it—three-quarters (76 percent) of consumers surveyed say they’ve purchased a product or service after viewing a video, and this especially applies to the Millennial demographic (85 percent).
The research also illustrates how consumers overall (59 percent), and Millennials in particular (62 percent), find it important for products and services to share their information through video—underscoring the importance for communicators to understand how consumers are motivated by video content, and how they can utilize it to drive sales and brand engagement.
When analyzing consumer preferences in relation to marketing-specific content, there were three key takeaways that highlight video as one of the most powerful forms of content:
Video is the most memorable form of content
Twenty-one percent of consumers overall and 29 percent of Millennials find video more memorable than other forms of content. Video was ranked significantly higher than other forms of content such as display ads (13 percent), email marketing (9 percent), case studies (4 percent), text ads (2 percent), among others, which all ranked lower than 4 percent of overall consumers.
Video engages consumers more than any other form of content
Forty-five percent of consumers overall and 56 percent of Millennials feel that video is more engaging than other forms of content.
Video is preferred for brand and marketing communication
Thirty-six percent of consumers overall and 46 percent of Millennials prefer video content to other forms of brand and marketing communication.
“Video today has a significant impact on consumers’ choices and buying decisions, so it’s essential for marketers to understand the most valuable ways to use it,” said Sara Larsen, Brightcove CMO, in a news release. “Our main priority is to help our customers be successful with video, and that means maintaining a strong understanding of the entire video landscape and what drives purchase intent. To do this, we are constantly learning how different demographics consume video, the various use cases being practiced across industries, and how the industry as a whole is evolving so we can ensure our customers create videos that better resonate with their audience.”
In addition to seeing an increase in brand engagement after viewing a video on social media, the study supports the need for more interactive content, a rising trend that immediately connects a consumer to a brand. Key findings to support this include:
- 53 percent of consumers overall and 66 percent of Millennials report engaging with a brand after viewing a video on social media. The most common follow up actions reported were visiting the brand’s website (20 percent) and conducting further research (20 percent).
- 45 percent of consumers overall and 57 percent of Millennials find it helpful when videos have a distinct call to action, offering them the ability to engage directly with the brand. More specifically, 35 percent of consumers overall and 41 percent of Millennials expressed interest for links at the end of videos that lead them to more information about the brand and its offerings.
- 23 percent of consumers overall and 30 percent of Millennials want access to links that allow them to directly purchase a product, proving an increase in demand for shoppable content.
- Consumers feel it’s important to see a video when shopping for a specific product online; personal electronics (56 percent), household appliances (52 percent), tools (48 percent), software (47 percent), clothing and makeup (35 percent), and personal care (27 percent).
Brightcove’s new 2018 Video Marketing Survey analyzes the impact that video content has on consumers’ buying decisions. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 4,446 adults. Fieldwork was carried out online and undertaken in September 2018. The figures have been weighed and are representative of US/UK/AU adults (aged 18+).
