While online video now accounts for half of all mobile web traffic and Cisco has estimated that number will be at 55% of Internet traffic by 2016, video is not only hot today, but it will only become more important with time.
Another important stat that’s been reported by Invodo is that more than half of consumers feel more confident in making online purchasing decisions after viewing product videos. If you’re running an e-commerce site, this has to be eye-opening if you’re not using video right now.
Quick and Simple Video
While video still has an intimidation factor associated with it for many site owners, there is a powerful new trend that should make it more bearable — that is micro-sized video shared via social networks. Vine, a Twitter-owned mobile app and video sharing network, leads the charge as one of the fastest growing networks and most downloaded apps in Apple’s App Store. Not far behind, is the recently-launched Instagram video capability, which is now available to the over 100 million active users on Instagram.
Vine debuted in the beginning of 2013, with the limit of six second videos that loop on the network. Video on Instagram, which was viewed by most as Facebook’s play to compete with Twitter’s Vine videos, allows up to 15 second videos.
Brands Using Video
These short videos have quickly become one of the most popular and most-viewed types of content shared on the major social networks. The time limitations set by these platforms have forced brands to push their creative juices in developing the short but popular videos. Brevity and concise messaging are requirements, but it’s allowed many brands and businesses to emerge.
The tremendous amount of traffic that’s passing through both Vine and Instagram, not to mention the networks that these videos can be shared to, have made this an opportunity that brands have jumped aboard en masse, to leverage the views and eyeballs that can be captured using this short video format.
For many of the businesses that have delved into this form of video, it’s their first foray into video marketing. The short format allows the videos to stay simple. That’s not to say there are not incredible and complex videos being created on both networks, but it has given some apparent courage to many users and businesses whom haven’t engaged video prior.
The simple user-generated-style video has been used by many small businesses to demonstrate interesting, fun and unique aspects of their products and services. While a slew of advanced stop motion videos have been created specifically for Vine and Instagram, the basic camera phone video still does the job.
Not Using Video Marketing Yet?
Have you been holding out on video? If so, does this new form of video interest you to jump onto the bandwagon? The numbers and trends suggest that it’s a smart way to create new awareness and interest in your brand.
