Before people make a decision, a business must hold the potential customers attention. This is not an easy task in today’s digital and global marketplace. There are many options for consumers and chances for businesses not to be noticed.
To get the attention of a consumer, a business must evoke an emotional reaction from the potential customer. Humans have on average an attention span of only eight seconds. This makes the job of a business more difficult. The tools used to communicate via content online do not have the same effectiveness. Watching a video for example is drastically different than reading text or seeing a still image. This is the reason, why video marketing is one of the most effective and fastest growing marketing method.
What makes video so convincing in business?
It is quite simple really reading is work. Adding the short attention span of humans makes it even harder to be convincing as a business through text copy or images. Images, text, and videos influence and affect us differently, especially in business.
According to Forbes, over 55% of senior executives would rather watch a video than read text. When consumers being to watch a video, they passively absorb the business’s messages with least effort. This is critical. Reading text or images takes work.
Why is video so much more convincing than other content types?
We have already established that video can gain and keep the attention of potential customers better online on websites. What about some other advantages? Why is video so much more convincing than other content types?
One of the main advantages of videos is in the ability to transfer information quickly and with much higher emotional impact. Why is video more convincing in business? Think about the following:
– Website visitors are 85% more likely to make a purchase after watching a product video on a website.
– Information via video is processed by human brains 60,000 times faster than text.
– 90% of information that is transmitted by the brain is visual.
How do consumers make decisions?
You’ve probably heard that people make decisions based on emotion, and only later with logic. That conclusion is actually supported by research. The mammal brain allows us to make decisions by evaluating the relative emotional “costs” and “benefits” of a decision.
Unlike textual information, which must first be filtered through the cerebral cortex, our mammal brains immediately interpret visual information. Instant emotion.
That’s why visual information is processed 60,000x faster than text, why a picture is worth a thousand words, and why people tend to be visual learners.
On this basis alone, it’s clear that a business should be making extensive use of visual media on key sales pages such as the home page of the company website or e-commerce site.
A business should use photos, graphics and videos to help tell the product’s story. By doing so, a business takes advantage of seemingly-instant processing power compared to asking people to “work” for information.
Why is video is effective?
When it comes to convincing consumers, video is effective since it allows for the transfer of visual and auditory information at the same time, which research has proven to increase information retention.
Basically, video allows you to use both auditory and visual cues to tell a more compelling story. And if your video is designed strategically, these elements will work together to create an emotional state that encourages buying and certain consumer behavior.
For best results, videos should be professionally created with experienced marketers and video developers, as well as designers. Video marketing is highly effective and should be properly done for the best possible results.
