It is no surprise that video content is becoming increasingly popular among online marketers. Easily accessible and quick to digest, videos grab a viewer’s attention immediately. They are entertaining and versatile and appeal to a wide audience, particularly social media users.
There is an inevitable cost to creating video content in addition to your photography. However, great value stands to be gained by rolling the two out together. Each serves a different purpose and the two art forms complement each other brilliantly. Whilst videos can increase the initial grab factor, photos allow the customer to peruse products at their own pace.
Here are 10 reasons you should combine video content with photography to optimise your online marketing.
1. Boost memory
Humans process images very easily, so visuals help us to remember a message more clearly than text alone. Three days after hearing a piece of information, we will only remember 10% of it. However, if there is an image linked to that information, we will remember around 65% (source). Visual content (particularly dynamic content like video) helps keep potential customers thinking about your product for longer.
2. Engage with your viewer
The human brain is also lazy when it comes to processing information. It is far quicker for us to digest information from a photo or video than it is to read text. So customers are automatically engaged by video content in a way that text alone would struggle to achieve.
3. Tell a story
Storytelling allows the customer to connect with your brand on a personal level. We’ve discussed before the powerful impact of photography for charities. It connects with people, increases emotional engagement and conveys values. The storytelling nature of video content allows you to bring your brand to life on another level. You can appeal to your customers’ imagination, whether through humour, music or characters. Motivate them. Inspire them. Get them to believe in your brand.
4. Stop the scrolling
21st century users are accustomed to scrolling and absorbing information fast. One of the main challenges in social media is to force users to stop scrolling. To make them focus on one thing – your product – for an extended period. Videos help achieve this, since they require a few seconds longer for the message to be understood. These extra few seconds of attention make the viewer more receptive and more likely to click on a link.
5. From introduction to conversion
Video is best suited to the first stage in the marketing process – awareness. It may not convert directly into a sale, but instead directs the customer towards more information, such as photos and text descriptions. Photos then help the customer clarify the size, colour and design of the product. They give the customer time to consider the product fully before making a purchase. Read our blog post here on how to optimise your product photography to increase conversions.
6. Increase shares on social media
In today’s world of content sharing, video is king. With constant improvements in internet capability, uploading and sharing video content has become easy. At the click of a button, viewers can pass on content they enjoy to all of their social network. They are automatically endorsing your product to others. A popular video can spread your influence wide across many different forums with little effort from you.
7. Diversify across different social platforms
The internet is swamped with social platforms, all serving different purposes. What you post will depend on where you post it. A platform such as Instagram is suited to images, so photographs are often a better choice. On the other hand, Facebook’s algorithms favour video, so it is more likely to be featured on news feeds.
8. Adapt to mobile viewing
Viewers normally use their phones to browse social media, and video content is particularly popular on mobile. Since mobiles are carried everywhere, you can reach potential customers wherever they are. So it’s wise to consider the formatting of your videos with mobile viewers in mind. Vertical videos and images allow for more screen presence than horizontal content.
9. Be multi-sensory
Whilst the majority of viewers watch videos on a mute setting, sound brings a whole new dimension to video content. The combination of movement and noise is the perfect tool for catching users’ attention. As you engage both visual and auditory senses at once, you immerse the viewer in your brand. Subtitles, however, are essential so that the message is still delivered at low volume or muted settings.
10. Combine multiple elements
Videos also allow for a wide variety of content. Images, text, voice overs, graphics or links can all be incorporated into the same medium. This makes video content truly versatile and fully interactive. So you can engage your customer through beautiful visuals, whilst ensuring your message is clearly delivered through text or voiceover.
Video content and ecommerce photography
With its high engagement levels and popularity on social media, we think video content is a worthwhile supplement to your ecommerce photography.
Plan your video content carefully to get the best out of it. Keep it simple. Make it unique. Always use subtitles or text overlay to get your message across clearly. And remember, the first few seconds are the most important, so focus on making these as compelling as possible.
For more information about video work, please get in touch to discuss how we could help you incorporate video into your visual content.