There’s no wrong way to absorb knowledge and information, and in the digital age of round-the-clock news and social media, it’s easier than ever to stay informed. Many online publishers have already seen the benefits of diversifying their content strategy, but the question remains: just what are online readers today looking for?
The most obvious answer, of course, is a little bit everything. Quick sound bites for those looking for news on the go; longer think pieces for readers with a serious topical interest; quizzes for anyone wanting to burn through 10 minutes of their work day; and of course, video.
It’s impossible to be a serious online publisher today without considering how video could add value to your platform in a major way. But if you needed any more proof, we’ve assembled a list of five, evidence-based reasons why video can change your publication for the better.
1. Video elicits an emotional response.
It’s no secret that video is one of the most effective mediums for eliciting an emotional response from its viewers. According to Dr. Karen Nelson-Field of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, any emotional pull generated by a piece of content, be it positive or negative, makes it twice as likely to be shared on social media. However, of those, positive emotions like humor and exhilaration are 40 percent more likely to be shared than those that elicit negative emotions (just something to keep in mind!).
2. People have different learning and communication styles.
Different learning styles (audio, visual, verbal, or physical) can affect the way a reader digests information. More than any other medium, a video is able to cater to a range of these learning styles at one time. In fact, the Dual Coding Theory suggests that when you stimulate both the audio and visual senses while watching a video, you’re likely to retain 68 percent of that information, as compared to 10 percent of the information you’d remember by using either one sense or the other.
3. A video is attention-grabbing.
In an age when readers’ limited attention spans are constantly under assault, the video makes an effective ally. Using short bursts of stimulation, video effectively combines both sight and sound to attract a reader’s attention and, if applied correctly, fix it on the information you most want them to see.
4. Video makes your content more discoverable.
Google may be the world’s top search engine, but don’t underestimate YouTube. By establishing your own video channel, your brand can take advantage of YouTube’s headline and supporting text fields to make not only your video content more discoverable to new audiences but your entire publication as well.
5. Videos are an advertising opportunity for your platform.
By nature, videos are likely to be shared across social media channels, embedded on other websites, and watched directly on hosting sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. In other words, you can use your videos to promote your publication to a wider audience, simply by adding a call to action or shout out to additional content on your channel.
At White + Joyal Creative we specialize in creating the right video content stack to match your needs. If you are in the Digital Publication industry and looking to leverage more video content, reach out to us!