Do You Need More Video Content On Your Website?

Do you need more video content on your website? If you want to reach a new level of engagement with your target audience then the answer is definitely yes. Website development companies everywhere understand that content is king, but there are various types of content and a key aspect of content creation is ensuring that there is engagement with the audience. Video content has been proving its worth in that regard.

Between Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, video content is on the rise. Cisco has forecasted that by 2019 video content will be a huge driving factor for search traffic in the US. Their expectation of it being 85% of all search traffic might seem high, but at the current rate of increase it is certainly possible.

Why is Video so Popular?

In a nutshell the reason for the rise in video is convenience. Video offers an easy way to digest content of all types. Now that technology has caught up enough that video content can be easily delivered, people are eating it up like cake at a birthday party.

It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Regardless of where you are (for the most part) if you have a mobile device you can access a video. While reading blogs and articles was more common in the past, video has shown a level of superiority on mobile devices because of how much easier it is to consume. Getting bumped doesn’t cause you to lose your place, you don’t often have to zoom in to make sense of what you are seeing, and you have both audio and visual information that is absorbed quickly and easily by two senses rather than just one.

Additionally more people are multitasking while watching and or listening to a video, even on desktops. This allows people to get information faster on a subject without having to be fully engaged, something that is especially helpful when following along with a how-to video or to appeal to multitaskers.

Certainly there are people that do prefer content via text and there will always be a place for it, however users are shifting towards video content and in many cases demanding it because they want something that is easy to engage with.

Reasons for More Video

Aside from video becoming a preferred method for users to digest content, it also:

• Builds Trust – You can foster a ‘real’ connection with users via video because it showcases people, places, things and personality. YouTube and Instagram are able to create ‘online celebrities’ is because the video format allows for a person’s personality to be showcased more easily than other types of content. A business can do the same, creating a bond with a user that will build trust.
• Creates Emotional Connections – Similar to building trust, video content is also phenomenal at fostering an emotional connection with users. Think of any great, moving story that inspires other people; video allows you to use imagery, music, and a great story to connect in a way text content has a very hard time doing.
• The Art of Storytelling –You often only have a few seconds to create engagement and with a written blog or article that is hard. However with video that same short period can have a lot more packed into it with both audio and visual input if you are good at utilizing compelling storytelling.

The bottom line is that text content simply isn’t what it used to be. You do need more video content on your website if you expect to keep up as more and more users prefer video over other methods of content delivery. That is not to say that other content types don’t have a place, because they do, but if you don’t include more video content then you risk missing out on conversions that your competition will gladly take.

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