Why You Need Video…

The Short Answer

I’m going to answer the question right away: Because that’s how we digest information in the first century of the new millennium. How we view this video information will change. Dramatically. But video as a means of sending and receiving communication is absolutely here to stay. That’s the short of it.  Keep reading if you want to understand more. Shoot, you’re already here…how hard can it be?

Why? That might be the most important question in all of business. Answering “why” forces a business to consider their core of purpose and dive into the very heart of their existence. If a business owner can’t answer that question, then it’s probably time to pack it in. But answering this question is equally as important for the customer. Why do they need to buy this product or service? As much as it helps business owners define purpose, it helps customers define want and/or need. There’s probably some collegiate expert that would disagree and, indeed, there are exceptions and caveats for almost everything, BUT, the best businesses are ones that define their, “why” in terms of a customers, “why.” In other words, I produce video because consumers are asking for more video.

We Are Reading Less

Newspaper subscriptions began falling off dramatically with the advent of the internet, but we were starting to watch more television and play more video games long before that. It really becomes a function of opportunity cost. More watching means less reading. Unless you play The Legend of Zelda…then, oh yes, you will read…a lot. I digress. Now, this is grossly oversimplified, and it certainly doesn’t account for socio-economic causes, etc., but the reason video is needed is because more video is being sought.

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Why tell you when I can show you? Almost everyone has experienced the frustration of trying to put something together by reading an instruction manual versus being able to watch someone actually do it. I remember purchasing a Transformer for my son when he was little and spending an hour or more trying to help him transform the toy from a robot into a truck. On a whim, I looked to see if there was something on YouTube and, sure enough, there was an 8-year-old (AN 8-YEAR-OLD!) doing a review on that very same Transformer. He explained a little trick for making one section nest into another and voila! MIND. BLOWN. I was tempted to begin using instruction manuals as an alternative heat source for my home.

It’s difficult to overstate the power of showing how great a product or service is verses trying to do it justice in print. Even if I have the words to describe a thing, showing it communicates all of those words much faster than a person can read them. Ergo, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” You can (and should) write up an “About US” section on your website, but how much more powerful would it be to let people see you and, in a sense, meet you?

The System is Designed For it

At least Google seems to think so. Google ranks videos and when it ranks them they get increased visibility, which means it gets watched by more people, which makes it rank still higher. I’m not even talking about viral videos, though they get the most attention (obviously). I mean all videos tend to benefit from the way Google treats video ranking. Your business will get more views, clicks, comments, Likes, Shares, Subscribes, tweets, hugs, hearts, and farts with video than it ever will without.

It’s a Core Part of Marketing Strategy

This is 2018. Video is how business is getting done. If it’s not a part of your core marketing strategy, then you are already behind. It’s disappointing to hear someone say they’re not doing video because they haven’t needed it yet. Successful business owners say this! Here’s a news flash: if you wait until you need it you waited too long. Who restocks anything AFTER they’ve run out? Lazy and inefficient people. If you know (and now you do) that video is an essential part of any marketing strategy today, then NOW is the time to dig that well and prime that pump.

Closing

This brings us to the end. I’ll end where I started (since I answered the question first): You need video because that’s how we digest information today. We can debate the merits of how different media are consumed but suffice it to say that if you aren’t presenting your product or service in a format people will see, you run the risk of people not seeing your product or service at all.