While most of us like to watch videos on Facebook, Twitter and other digital platforms, few of us incorporate video into our own businesses. If your business falls into this category, then maybe these statistics from Wordstream.com will encourage you to consider adding it.

  • Marketers who use video grow revenue 49 percent faster than non-video users.
  • Almost 60 percent of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.
  • Social video generates 1200 percent more shares than text and images combined.
  • Videos up to two minutes long get the most engagement.
  • Eighty-five percent of Facebook videos are watched without sound.
  • Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80 percent or more.

Today and tomorrow, Promotional Consultant Today shares these tips from Kimbe MacMaster of Vidyard on how to incorporate video into your marketing plan to increase customer engagement.

1. Introduce yourself. Try using a video on your homepage that outlines, in less than 90 seconds, what you do and what problem you solve for your customer. You'll find this is a lot more effective than trying to cram these same explanations into the first headline and paragraph of your home page.

2. Share the details of what you do. While one overview video on your website home page or Facebook page (or both) is a great way to introduce people to your company and what you do, you'll often need a little more description to win over your audience. A few more detailed videos that explain your product's features or the different services you offer is a great way to provide more information and help your audience decide to buy.

3. Give third-party proof (customer testimonials). Get other people on camera who love your product, service or company. It's so much more effective than hearing the owner or employees tout your company's winning characteristics. Video testimonials are authentic and believable.

4. Empower your leaders to educate your audience. One of the most effective ways to showcase your company's expertise is for your leader to share his or her own knowledge to educate your audience. One company that does this well is the software company Moz. Founder and former CEO Rand Fishkin shares a whiteboard on Fridays, a practice he started a long time ago when the company was just starting out.

There are endless educational topics in your space that your buyer audience will find useful, including how you ensure the safety of your products and promotional campaign ideas. Plus, this will help them build respect for and knowledge of your brand.

5. Show off your culture. Spend some time developing culture content. This is content that shows who you are as a business. Buyers want to know what you stand for—and who they are buying from—especially if you are a small business. Some examples of how to do this are to conduct short interviews with people on your team or show a time lapse video of a day in your office.

Are you starting to get excited about the possibilities? Read more ways to incorporate video in tomorrow's PCT.

Source: Kimbe MacMaster is the manager of content marketing at Vidyard. She loves all aspects of content marketing and has a special place in her heart for using video to drive real business results.