Around 2015, Facebook changed its News Feed ranking system to weigh videos more heavily than links. Then in 2017, MTV announced it was “pivoting to video.”
Fox Sports made a similar move, laying off about 20 digital writers and editors who wrote for its website so it could focus on video content. Others followed suit.
And though the imminent “pivot to video” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, that doesn’t mean that video isn’t useful for retailers and manufacturers.
Video marketing is one of the fastest-growing trends of the digital era. Whether it’s an explainer video, webinar, or social media campaign, there’s no argument left to disprove that customers and businesses want to create, watch, and share videos.
Think about this: one billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every day. And more than 500 million people watch a video on Facebook every day.
These days, it’s not hard to make a video, especially for social media.
Do you have an iPhone and a spare person who can help you?
Make a video of yourself touring the store for Instagram. Shoot a video talking about trends or new introductions in your store and put it on Pinterest. There are so many ways you can use video to your advantage.
And if you want to take things a step further, you can work with a production company to make commercials or informative videos for your website.
Free State Marketing, a multi-service media group specializing in the creation of video content for the furniture and home improvement sector, is one company that offers affordable video services for smaller retailers in the furniture industry.
Catherine Henegan, founder of Free State, recommends showroom videos because they give consumers a better impression of what they can expect if they make an effort to visit your store. She also says you can get a lot of information across in a short amount of time.
However, you should also have videos that introduce new collections or lines or promote big annual sales, and these should all be updated frequently.
Coming up with an idea for shooting a video is just the beginning, you also have to be memorable and engaging in what you do. But if you do it right and stick with it, it will pay off for your business in the long run.